RHASLAS CALLING, RHASLAS CALLING

[Dunlin May 2016] The Nant Llesg appeal process, apparently, is about to kick off, as such can all birders who have visited the area in the last 5 years please hang on to all note books and images and have / make  them available, if necessary, for forensic analysis. Also both butterfly and dragonfly species, not noted during the RPS(*) managed ecological surveys,  have recently been photographed and recorded, as such can all naturalists who have visited the area in the last 5 years please hang on to all note books and images and have / make  them available, if necessary, for forensic analysis. 

(*) RPS if you can ever forget, the chap in charge, stated in not 1 but 2 public meetings that the only birds using Rhaslas were, and I quote, "seagulls". He was pulled by a member of the public, who unknown to him happened to be an ecologist. At the next meeting he repeated the statement, he was again pulled by a member of the public, another ecologist. 

It's sad that the character most admired by the people I love and know is integrity, while it is the character most detested by both those who govern us and their mealy mouthed underlings.

Garden Tick

Saturday afternoon provided a first for my garden a Sparrowhawk which is quite surprising as I have lots of small birds using the feeders. I did not actual see the dastardly deed so I am not sure what he was having for dinner, plenty of young Siskins, Goldfinches and Sparrows around so they would be favourites. Photos had to taken through the kitchen window. Note to oneself clean windows.

The Caddisfly from Hell

Yesterday morning I took a walk up the Taff trail to Pont-y-Gwaith bridge and back (Yes, I know Pont is Welsh for bridge so don't really need to repeat it in the name). Birdlife was quite quiet, though a Kingfisher flashed past several times. At the bridge I watched the Elms for a while in the forelone hope that there might be a late White-letter Hairsteak still on the wing. Unfortunately the only butterfly on show was Speckled Wood.
My attention, however, was drawn to numerous Cadisflies "hunting" over the leaves. On closer inspection these proved to be quite distinctive, rather reminiscent on a "devil" profile. Luckily they were also easy to identify as Mystacides azurea. 
I was hoping for a bit of a mushroom fest, but they proved to be rather thin on the ground. The best were several Chanterelle's - all a bit munched.

 Mystacides azurea, Typical ventral view, showing red eyes, dark cape and the black "horns". On closer inspection the "horns" are enlarged pedipalps which the males were sweeping across the leaf surface, presumably search for the females scent (as below)

The best of what was left of the Chanterelle's.

For today's jaunt, the original plan was a trip to Whiteford sands on the Gower, but late new of a probable Icky Warb at Peterstone Great Wharf, saw my self and Phil go for an early morning dip. 5 fly over Yellow Wagtails and a fly by Whimbrel were about the best we could manage, and just as we were leaving two Sparrowhawks flew into a nearby tree - a male and a female. Both were juvenile birds, so presumably siblings.
On returning home, it was just a little too late to head down to the Gower as the traffic would have been building up so I decided to wander round Craig Evan Layshon Common for the first time in a few years. Bird wise the highlight was a pair of Wheatear and a pair of Kestrels. I managed to connect with Heather Collete's bees, but strangely the only one's I could find were in the old quarry, with none on the heather elsewhere.I did managed to pick up a couple of new spiders, the common ground spider Drassodes cupreus and the rather smartly marked Steatoda phalerata, and a new leaf beetle, Sermylassa halensis.

                                           Drassodes cupreus 

                                            Steatoda phalerata

                                           Sermylassa halensis

Wall to Wall

With a free day, I decided to check out Site A for Red Grouse. The walk out was quite quiet with nothing on show until I reached the raised bog. A couple of Snipe flushed, but I couldn't see them, a couple of Skylark flew over, and a Meadow Pipit flew by, but overall it was quiet. A ring-tail Hen Harrier flew past, but no sign of any Grouse. Fresh droppings hinted they were still around. After about an hour I turned around there, about 30m away on a ridge stood a Red Grouse. As it disappeared over the ridge a second birds head popped up. My best view ever at this site.

Once I made it back to the forestry edge, the sun had brought out the butterflies. Highlight were two Wall's

Robertstown Fungus

I been checking on my Earthstar for a couple off weeks but no change, they still look like a couple of onion sets. I walked on a little bit more today and I checked where I had saw them in the past and I found these two beauties.

I was walking the dogs over Robertstown east last night and I found what I thought were some cracking Fly Agaric but after going back over today they all got bites on them. I found six in total.

 I found these near the Earthstars, any ideas boys

Last up I found a load of Meadow Thistle Gall and I checked the fly online and it looks a cracker.

Rhaslas

I called in at 09:15 and noted a flock of starling c300 birds foraging along hill just north of pool, biggest count of the autumn. Then the local peregrine noticed them, panic, the starling were using the twin pole high tension for refuge. The male was flying in and almost landing among them causing them to flush for the waiting female. This process was repeated 3 - 4 times yet I didn't note a kill, I wonder if they were just playing, training. Also 3 greenshank but very nervous, originally foraging along inner face of north dam but continually flushed by dog walkers, 2 ringed plover on Monday but on the whole quiet with a lack of mud.

Sker rocks and back

Today me and my youngest daughter Kathryn went down to Sker for a walk with the dogs. There was a bit of migration passage overhead and I probably had my last Tree Pipit and Redstart of the year. We also had a couple of Whitethroat, Linnet and Stonechat going down and on the  shore off the cow pond was a Single Dunlin. The fields around Sker were full of Autumn Lady's Tresses, a new flower for me and I wished I had my small lens with me to take some photos. Once we had got to Sker it was coffee time and has I sat there I heard a bird calling overhead, it took a couple of minutes to sink in that it was a Chough. It landed on the rocks with some Carrion Crows a young crow rushed over to be fed by the Chough but it was spooked and it flew off towards Porthcawl but within ten mintues it was back and was feeding along the bank. It was flushed by a dog walker and flew a short distantance and carried on feeding. I also counted 94 Oystercatcher on the beach and 45 Turnstones on the rocks. I also saw two Little Egrets, a single Curlew and on the sea I had 3 Shelduck flying west and a single winter plumage Med Gull  flying east.

I found this fish box and I also wondered how did it end up here, it's from the Netherlands, but registered to a boat from Brixham in Devon. Last thing a good old rant I got to vistors centre and I needed the toilet but it was closed. The carpark was full as far as the road and you think how many of these people would have gone into the centre and maybe bought something or took interest in the Nature Reserve, I think any other organisation running this place and it would be a gold mine and because the council  are running it's a joke. I remember when I first started going there in the eighties there was a public toilet on the side off the carpark and it was handy for when centre was closed and where is it now been demolished to save money Sorry I will put a Tenner in the swear box for the christmas drink pmsl.