2019 - Species of the Year

A great year for new species and in most years the new Waxcap (Blushing Waxcap) or the new Orchid (Twayblade) would be runaway winners of this prestigious accolade. The return of the Lesser Horseshoe Bat would also be a contender as it has stayed around in the shed quite a lot. We have also had three new Pinkgills (Mealy, Crow and Indigo) and the new Club (Wrinkled Club). However the outstanding species this year has to be the Hawksbeard Nomad Bee - one of just a handful of records in the UK since it was first accurately recorded in 2017 and a first record for Wales. Step forward Nomada facilis......

2019 - Butterflies

Definitely mixed news on Butterflies this year. On the one hand the best year since we've been here for Marbled Whites. The heat hit just at the right time and they were flying for just over a month - and plenty of them too. Also a good year for Common Blues who have established themselves solidly in our meadows. Also there were a lot of Painted Ladies this year, or at least they were around for a while. Other than that the picture is pretty poor with not many of the 'common' butterfies around like Peacocks and Tortoiseshells and Gatekeepers and Whites. The truth is there is a decline in insect numbers in general and butterflies like many insects are struggling. The photo is from July and is the delightful underside of the Marbled White.

New Species - Wrinkled Club

As the fungi season comes to an end we have a new 'Clubs, Spindles and Corals' species - the Wrinkled Club (Clavulina rugosa). It's been a good year for new grassland fungi species with a new Waxcaps, three new Pinkgills and a new Club. We are definitely in SSSI territory now although I stioll maintain that it is the relentless surveying I undertake that makes the big difference to other maybe similar sites where species are under-recorded.

New Species - Indigo Pinkgill

And another new Pinkgill - Entoloma chalybaeum var chalybaeum otherwise known as the Indigo Pinkgill. At first sight it looked like another Crow Pinkgill which I had found a few days before. A closer look revealed a very scaly cap and blue-grey gills and this led towards the id of Indigo Pinkgill.

New Species - Crow Pinkgill

I am gradually getting into identifying Pinkgills on site although there are several for me to go at still. The Crow Pinkgill fruited in the West Field and is a nice addition to the Species List.

Waxcap #24 for the year - the Earthy Waxcap

Now categorised as Cuphophyllus fornicatus, the Earthy Waxcap which I first found here in 2017 has made a slight return in that I found one rather battered specimen in the East Field. That makes 24 waxcaps for the year with 23 species and one variety (the Pale Waxcap). Those missing this year so far are Oily Waxcap, Vermillion Waxcap, Crimson Waxcap and Snowy Waxcap var fuscescens. The one I am most hopeful of seeing before the season ends is the Crimson Waxcap.

It's here - the Splendid Waxcap

I was starting to fret that it wasn't going to fruit this year but it's back - Hygrocybe splendidissima. The two largest of the four fruiting bodies seem to have been demolished but the distinctive stipe had been left. I also got a strong honey smell this time from the remains, just as Boertmann tells us.

NEW WAXCAP SPECIES!!!! - Blushing Waxcap

A Red Letter Day here with the magnificent Blushing Waxcap (Hygrocybe ovina) appearing on site for the first time. I am surprised to have missed it in the last few days as it was clearly past its best so must have been around for a bit and it is a prominent chunky fungus. Anyway that makes 26 species of Waxcap here (plus a couple of varieties as well). Pretty cool.

And another impressive animal....

A European Hornet (Vespa crabro) was in the house recently. I managed a quick photo and then opened the window before it got angry!

A handsome beast....

And I think he knows it! We were honoured by the close visit of this Fallow Deer stag today. I think he's on a mission involving fighting and sex.

Exciting return - Lesser Horseshoe Bat

I was pottering in my shed, lights on, noises being made when I looked up and saw a Lesser Horseshoe Bat attached to the ceiling. As I haven't seen one in there for a long while it is an exciting return. I exited quickly to leave it in peace and just sneaked back in for a very quick snap which is shown above. I have noticed a decrease in the number of pipistrelles around so it is good to see the much rarer Lesser Horseshoe is still in the immediate vicinity.

Waxcap #15 - Glutinous Waxcap

Identifiable by its gloopiness particularly on the stipe, the Glutinous Waxcap (Hygrocybe glutinipes) is an occasional sighting here but it's back and provides me with the fifteenth waxcap of the year at The Beeches.

Waxcaps #12, #13 and #14

Three more made their appearance here today, the Meadow Waxcap, the Blackening Waxcap and a welcome return for the Yellowfoot Waxcap (Cuphophyllus flavipes). One of many waxcaps that have a straightforward ID feature - this time it is the yellow base to the stipe that gives it away.

Southern Hawker

The Southern Hawker has been seen at the pond ever since it was first dug. The distinctive territorial behaviour was on show today. They approach quite aggressively when you near the pond edge and I am unclear as to what advantage this tactic achieves given the disparity in size between them and a large mammal.

Waxcaps #9, #10 and #11

Three in quick succession and all in the East Field and they are good ones. First up was a small group of the Goblet Waxcap (Hygrocybe cantharellus) (photo above) then I spotted a faded Honey Waxcap (Hygrocybe reidii) whose smell gave it away and lastly a welcome return for the Persistent Waxcap (Hygrocybe acutoconica). I'm feeling psoitive for a good waxcap season ahead.

Waxcaps #7 & #8

Two more for the list this year here and #8 is a favourite. #7 is the Spangle Waxcap (Hygrocybe insipida) which being small and making a brief appearance can be missed and #8 is the delightful Orange Waxcap (Hygrocybe aurantiosplendens) (photo above).

Muntjac Deer

No photo but I saw my first ever Muntjac deer yesterday. It was not on site but just outside the village and seen when driving home around 10:30pm. Until this year I had only seen Fallow Deer here in the Wye Valley but with a Roe Deer on site earlier in the year and the Muntjac we are up to three species locally. Other people have seen Red Deer in the Wye Valley (some were 'dumped' in The Forest of Dean in 1999 and have moved around since) but I am not sure exactly how close they are to here.

New species - Speckled Bush Cricket

I see a lot of Dark Bush Crickets but this is the Speckled Bush Cricket (Leptophyes punctatissima) which is a new record for me helpfully posing on some Ragwort close to the house. Identification was greatly helped by the site Orthoptera.org.uk which lists a test for this Bush Cricket using a bat detector.

Waxcaps #5 & #6

We're up to 6 on the waxcap front with the addition of Butter Waxcap (Hygrocybe ceracea) and Pink Waxcap (Porpolomopsis calyptriformis) (Photo above). Both were in the West Field. Meanwhile whole troops of Golden Waxcap are appearing in the South Field.

New fungus species - Blusher

Some fungi starting to fruit now including this new species for the site - Blusher (Amanita rubescens). They are apparently the most common Amanita species but I had not seen one until recently. It was fruiting underneath a Beech tree on the wooded footpath through the site. Also fruiting in grassy areas today are Pink Domecap ((Rugosomyces carneus) and both Golden and Butter Waxcaps.

New Fly species - Gonia sp - possibly G. vacua

At first I thought it was a Hoverfly but after determining there was nothing similar in my Hoverfly Guide I looked wider and spotted Gonia spp. To me it looks like G vacua but I don't really have the info to prove that and I can find nothing on the distribution of the species. I do know it's a fine looking fly though.

Waxcap #4 - Golden Waxcap

A lone Golden Waxcap (Hygrocybe chlorophana) takes the 2019 waxcap tally here up to four. I am expecting a rapid increase in September in that number.

New Hoverfly species -Syrphus ribesii

I found a lone Hogweed which was a Hoverfly party, particularly for five or six specimens that turned out to be Syrphus ribesii. I always start optimistically when trying to ID hoverflies because the field guide by Ball and Morris is so helpful. I try and make sure that my photos include face, legs and eyes as well as the thorax patterns and importantly the wing veination so I take quite a few in the hope I have all the info I need. This particular hoverfly is difficult to separate from S. torvus and S. vitripennis but I got lucky that my main photos were of a female (determined by the gap between the eyes) and that I had a good focus on the femur (which is black only at the top in the female S. ribesii). It turns out that this nails the specimen as being ribesii rather than one of the others.

Hog #20 released

Although they don't seem to hang around here the released hogs are being sighted in the village - sometimes with more than one in a garden. Hopefully there will be lots of hoglets around next year. The photo is of the twentieth hog, a smallish female who is got one more night in the soft release pen before freedom beckons.

Cinnabar moth back on site

I always let some Common Ragwort grow in front of the house hoping it will attract Cinnabar moths whose distinctive larvae generally live on the leaves and flowers. I don't remember seeing the larvae for a few years but there are eight of the strikingly coloured caterpillars on the ragwort today.

Major, major new species - the Hawk's-beard Nomad Bee

My friendly local bee expert undertook another survey here in June and was excited to find a 'rare in Wales'Cat's-ear Nomad Bee. Because of its scarcity here it was sent off to the experts at BWARS for formal confirmation. Excitingly it turned out to be the incredibly rare Hawk's-beard Nomad Bee (Nomada facilis) rather than the Cat's-ear Nomad Bee (Nomada integra). As far as I can see there have only been seven records in the UK since 1802. The first recognition that it was a UK species came in 2017 with one recorded in Lewisham. This led to a re-examination of similar bees in national collections which unearthed five more specimens, all from Southern England. Is this the UK's rarest bee?

Daily deer visits

We see fallow deer or their droppings most days in varying numbers. Yesterday there was a group of five which looked like it comprised a mother with a 'teenager' and a mother with two young fawns. At one point the three larger deer all leapt the fence into the woodland but the fawns approached the fence and bottled the jump as it was too high. They then spent a few minutes checking out anxiously for another place to cross the fence but couldn't find one. I was wondering how this was going to pan out but about ten minutes later the mother came back for them and presumably they all left the field the way they came in in the first place.

And another new hoverfly species - Common Drone Fly

Difficult as they are to identify, 'Britain's Hoverflies' (Ball & Morris) gives one a great chance and I am confident that the one I photographed recently is the Common Drone Fly (Eristalis tenax). There are a few specific features that distinguish this hoverfly, and this one is exhibiting two of those features clearly. One is dark bands on the eyes and the other is a curved and thickened, banana-shaped hind tibia. As its name suggests it is a commonly found hoverfly both throughout the year and across the UK.

New Hoverfly species - Sphaerophoria scripta

Luckily this hoverfly of the Sphaerophoria genus can be identified due to its body being longer than its wings. Other species of this genus (there are 11 of them in total) require microscopic examination of the male genitalia> A bit out of my range! This species is also 'widespread in grasslands in England and Wales'. Also flying today was the Marmalade Fly (Episyrphus balteatus), a hoverfly I have recorded before.

Hogs #15 to #19

A major release takes place tomorrow as a mother and four hoglets are currently in the soft release pen. It will be interesting to see if the family depart as rapidly as the single hogs seem to. With one exception the hogs have all disappeared in short order but there have been a lot of sightings in the village so they (or some at least) are apparently surviving OK. The photo is of two of the hoglets out during daylight hours lured out by the smell of food it seems.

Butterfly update

Still a little short on species this year with no Green Veined Whites seen, no reappearance of the Silver Washed Fritillary, Holly Blue only a probable and not confirmed, no Red Admiral. I thought I had recorded Essex Skipper last week but a closer look at the photographs (above) has the two sitting atop a grass stem as Small Skippers as that glossy black underside of the antennae is not there. Still the big numbers of Marbled Whites does compensate to a great extent as they are the iconic Monmouthshire Meadows butterfly.

White Plume Moth

I have seen this before (in 2016) but it deserves another mention as it is a rather elegant creature. It relies on Bindweed for its survival but I found this one indulging itself on the heady attractions of Common Ragwort in the early evening. Despite its size the White Plume Moth ((Pterophorus pentadactyla) is a micro moth and is perhaps the commonest of the 44 species of micro moth found in the UK.

Hog #14 released

Named by us as Ginger due to her colouring hog #14 (I think!) was released yesterday. As usual she disappeared pronto once the release pen was opened. Despite our hedgehog facilities (loads of food, plenty of log piles etc) the released hogs always seem to make a quick exit. I can understand that after weeks or sometimes months of treatment they seize the opportunity to get as far away as possible from their 'captors' or perhaps it is a vain attempt to find their home turf again. These are the hogs that cannot be returned from whence they were rescued. Ginger had serious eye trouble likely from some sort of chemical but with the help of an optician she has made a great recovery. Of course whilst they may disappear from our place there has been a huge rise in hog sightings in the village including one from last night near us that was probably Ginger on her escape route. next up we have a mother and four hoglets arring on Tuesday.

Orchid Final? Tally

Over the last month a few more Orchids have come to light - principally Broad-leaved Helleborines which have a habit of camouflaging themselves in long grass or under brambles - and so the total has moved to 229 orchids an increase of 4% over last year's total of 221. This is not spectacular but in the context of last year's increase of 59% over 2017 a very reasonable consolidation. The Common Spotted Orchids inched forward from 204 to 206 but there was a healthy increase in Broad-leaved Helleborines from 16 to 21 which is a good result. Not forgetting the Twayblade which was the surprise of the year.

Butterfly update

It's been a strange year for butterfly numbers. Of course weather patterns and slight differences in management will affect numbers of different species but even so I am surprised (and a little alarmed) at some of the variances. First the good news - it's been a stupendous year for Marbled Whites. First seen on 26th June, they are still flying twenty days later and in far greater numbers than we have previously had. The weather has been hot and dry for the last couple of weeks which helps I am sure. It's also been a humungous year for Meadow Browns (pictured above) with swarms of them all over the fields. They are the most frequent butterfly seen here but their numbers are larger than in any previous year since we moved in. Also a good year for Common Blues which in their early flight season were up again in numbers although with them it's been a matter of a steady increase year on year. It's been an OK year for Painted Ladies and Ringlets and Skippers but for most of which I would call the common or garden species there has definitely been a dearth. Peacocks, Small Whites have been pretty much scarce and I saw my first Comma today and also one or two Large Whites and Small Tortoiseshells. There's still some time for butterfly action with second broods and the later species so here's hoping.

Burnet moths

We have had loads of Six Spot Burnets this year. The recent warm dry spell has seen them all over the fields. I spotted one Burnet on Knapweed that was very faded and worn but looked like it might be the Narrow Bordered Five Spot Burnet that I occasionally see here. It's difficult to be sure but I think on balance that is what it is. Edit - Having seen what looks like an intermediate I am reversing my opinion and not counting this as a Narrow-bordered Five Spot!

New species - Linnet

Having seen a Brambling on site for the first time earlier this year, another new bird species turned up today - a Linnet. Neither of these species are uncommon but nonetheless this is my first record here after eight years! No photo - it didn't stay long enough for me to get my camera out.

Waxcap #3 Dingy Waxcap

Found on the last day of June and a bit mashed up but identifiable as Dingy Waxcap (Hygrocybe ingrata). The three species I found this June are the only three species I have previously found in June so there is some consistency.

Returning species

Two flowers have been recorded recently, one very common meadow species that I have actually only recorded once before and then only in a garden area rather than in one of the meadows. That is the Ox-eye Daisy (photo above). A single bloom has appeared in the West Field. The other is the rather rarer Southern Ladies Mantle (Alchemilla filicaulis ssp vestita) which hangs on in the same field albeit in a low profile way so I didn't actually record it last year despite looking for it.

First Pinkgill of the year - Star Pinkgill

This is one Pinkgill I can identify relatively easily as the spores are quite distinctive. The Star Pinkgill (Entoloma conferendum) is also one of the commonest in grassland.

Second Waxcap of 2019

The Fibrous Waxcap (Hygrocybe intermedia) is fruiting so that makes two species of waxcap before the end of June this year. The Citrine and Fibrous Waxcaps tend to be the early ones but often it is August before I see them.

Marbled White - flying today

I've seen some at other sites last week but here we are North facing and maybe a little behind and a Marbled White was seen for the first time this year the other day. We are due a few warm days so hopefully they can get their breeding up and running very soon. Painted Ladies have also been about for a few days and there are very many Meadow Browns around so the butterfly situation is improving.

First waxcap of the year -Citrine Waxcap

It is usually one of the early ones but is earlier than usual this year - my previous earliest waxcap was 30th June. This was spotted on the 22nd and had been fruiting for a couple of days by the look of it. The Citrine Waxcap (Hygrocybe citrinovirens) is regarded as uncommon but I get a lot of them here and see it elsewhere reasonably often. It is distinguished in part by a unique greeny yellow colour of cap and stipe (rather faded in this example) and gills which are whiteish tinted with a delicate green.

Orchid update

The caging of orchids has solved the deer problem and the only orchid casualties at the moment are the occasional slug (or similar) damage. Today we actually just passed the orchid total for last year and I am not expecting too many further orchids to appear. Last year we had 221 orchids in total comprised of 204 Common Spotteds, 16 Broad-leaved Helleborines and 1 Heath Spotted. This year to-date we have had 204 Common Spotteds, 17 Broad-leaved Helleborines, 1 Heath Spotted and 1 Twayblade making 223 Orchids in total. Of course they are not the same 204 but most are. The increase of only 1% (so far) compares with a 60% increase last year and a 12% increase the year before. In that sense not a great year but the presence of the Twayblade makes it into a good year for Orchids at The Beeches.

Deer problem

I like seeing the deer in the fields but they are causing an issue. Their appetite for orchids seems to have increased or at least the number of deer visitations has increased because orchid flower heads have been disappearing at a fast pace. I was not going to protect the spikes in the main orchid field this year but I have had to go back on that and put cages around them again this year. Hopefully that will end the carnage!

New Species - Brown Puffball

Another fungi species for the site list - the Brown Puffball (Bovista nigrescens). I removed the slugs around it so rather than see it eaten I could watch it over the time it gradually matured, turning as it does so from white to dark brown. It will end up freeing itself from its tenuous connection into the earth and rolling away with the wind scattering spores as it goes. The photos show it on the day I found it and nine days later.

Grasses

Having been on a grass ID course recently (thank you Gwent Wildlife Trust), I've been surveying the grasses here. My favourite is Quaking Grass (pictured) but I only found three single tiny plants and it doesn't seem to have spread at all in the five years since I first saw it. Other grasses seen so far include Sweet Vernal Grass, Perrenial Rye Grass, Yorkshire Fog, Meadow Foxtail, Crested Dog's Tooth, Rough and Smooth Meadow Grass, Barren Brome, False Oat Grass and Red Fescue. There are others still to identify and I know lots of Common Bent will be along shortly.

Butterfly update

Not a good year so far for butterflies with very few of the normal set around. The one exception here is the Common Blue of which there are loads and loads. I guess it must be based on conditions but also the population here has been building and building over the last few years. I saw six or seven in the space of ten metres today.

Fledging time

The food in our giant feeder is disappearing in double fast time as the eggs hatch and the young need feeding. This tiny blue tit was by the house yesterday getting fed by a parent. We currently have Great Tits, Blue Tits and Sparrows that I know of nesting in the house cavities and plenty more such as Goldfinches, Chaffinches, Greater Spotted Woodpeckers, Robins, Blackbirds, Nuthatches, Marsh Tits etc nesting in the trees nearby.

New Species - Necklace Ground Beetle

This beetle turned up in my porch. It looked similar to Carabus nemoralis in my Collins Insects guide but google tells me that this species is generally absent from Wales. I sent photos to the Invertebrate Recorder and he says that it appears to be Carabus monilis - the Necklace Ground Beetle. I am grateful to the UK Beetle site for the following: "In the UK it is widespread and was formerly common across southern England and the midlands, becoming more local and rare in Wales and further north to the Lake District, but there has been a drastic decrease in recent decades and it is now very local and generally rare, being lost from many of its former sites and now classified as endangered." (From www.ukbeetles.co.uk)

NEW ORCHID SPECIES!!! - Twayblade

Yesterday whilst looking to see if there were any more Common Spotted Orchids coming through I was astonished to discover a single Twayblade in the middle of the West Field. That makes five species of Orchid for the site now and this is definitely this year's surprise flora-wise.

Bee Hotel

We have a lot of holes in our old house walls and there are plenty of bees around using these holes. Earlier in the year there were Hairy Footed Flower Bees and their predators the Common Mourning Bee and later I expect to see Mason Bees. I decided to add a small Bee Hotel to the wall to see if it got used and after a month or so there have been 12 of the holes used with continuing interest from various bees. I'll have to get some photos of the bees and maybe be able to identify the species.

First Cuckoo

Heard today coming from the Whitebrook side. That's all.

Recent sightings

No photos unfortunately but I have now definitely seen a Red Kite overhead. There has been one about 2 miles South West for a couple of years but now one has been circling here. I thought I saw one a couple of times but couldn't get the binos on it to confirm, then last week some builders working at the top of the street got some video of one and then two days ago I saw one just outside the village at closer quarters. I also had a close encounter with a Weasel yesterday, right be the new dry stone wall that I thought might be attractive to them. I heard a rustle and saw some movement in a small nettle patch by the wall and kept still. A few seconds later this head popped out of the nettles and eyed me up from about six feet away. After a little while it dived back into the undergrowth.

New Species - Roe Deer

A female deer caught my eye the other day as it didn't look quite right for the usual Fallow Deer we see on site. I wasn't sure as the Fallow Deer do vary a lot in colouration but close examination of the photos shows that it was indeed a new species - the Roe Deer. In particular the rear shot shows the distinctive all white rump and tiny white tail. This is the front view shot.