Tag Archives: Gunnersbury Triangle

Love of Nature, Natural History, Wildlife

Hot Summer’s Day Insects

11 June 2015 Ian Alexander

Rose Chafer Beetle on Hogweed, dorsal view

On this lovely hot day, we tried to work, hammering in pegs to fix path edging poles. When we were all a bit dizzy from the heat and effort, we gave up swinging the sledgehammer and had a tea in the hut. Then we did a butterfly transect, which in the absence of anything but Speckled Woods, turned into a nature walk as we photographed all the other interesting insects. The Rose Chafer (on hogweed) is worth looking at full-screen as it’s very pretty.

A brown Shield Bug cf Coreus on Hogweed — A brown Shield Bug cf Coreus

Hoverfly Leuzozona leucorum — Hoverfly Leucozona leucorum

Array of Aphids on translucent Sycamore leaves

These aphids looked amazing with the sunlight streaming through the leaves; the leaves below were spattered with sticky sugar dropped by the aphids.

There was a beautiful Click Beetle too (like Athous haemorrhoidalis) but I didn’t photograph it as we were having too much fun making it go click and jump out of our hands.

See the Red damselfly? Look up: there’s a pair of Azure damselflies hovering above. Well worth viewing full screen.

We were pleased (and somewhat surprised) to find a family of Great Tits in box 10, right beside the path, and not terribly high up either, but it was an old and presumably proven nest-site, and so it has proven again this year. I got a blurry photo of one of the proud parents entering the hole, which I had repaired with some aluminium sheet this winter.

Ovipositing pair of Azure Damselflies; female is the green morph

I was very pleased with this photo, with its surreal light and bubbles. I’ve not remarked the green female morph before: most Azure females seem to be a paler, more lime-green form.

China Mark Moth laying eggs on pond weeds — Brown China Mark Moth laying eggs on pondweeds

This last photo (taken at quite a distance) shows something very curious: the Brown China Mark, a micro moth that lays its eggs on pondweeds, scurrying over the surface of the water searching for suitable ovipositing sites. In the dazzling light, she was far more reflective than anything else, and I had to turn the exposure down two whole stops to get her about right. The larva is aquatic, feeding on pondweeds.

Not pictured: sawflies; a swift Ichneumon beside the pond (without a long ovipositor, but with a clearly clubbed abdomen); many bumblebees and striped hoverflies. Nests of Peacock butterfly caterpillars too.

Love of Nature, Natural History, Nature Reserves

Pond-dipping Day, Gunnersbury Triangle

7 June 2015 Ian Alexander

Large Red (and Azure) Damselfly pairs ovipositing

Today I “manned the pond”, resplendent in my The Wildlife Trusts T-shirt complete with badger logo on a black background. I didn’t so much as “stand up for nature” as lie down, hoping that the rather lively toddlers waving pond-nets wouldn’t fall in. Their fortunately very quick mother asked me if any children had in fact fallen into the pond, and I replied truthfully that none had done so, so far. And somehow, they didn’t.

In the warm sunshine, the air above the pond was buzzing with Azure and Large Red Damselflies, some paired up and laying eggs, some males patrolling anxiously, chasing off rivals and presumably hoping for some more females to turn up.

The eager dippers caught lots of Greater Ramshorn Snails, and some smaller ramshorns too. Among the haul were some very small Water Boatmen, midge larvae in reds and yellows, water fleas, a tadpole or two, some mayfly larvae (very zippy) with 7 pairs of gills, and some little damselfly larvae (more placid).

Large Red Damselfly on Iris leaf; nice hexagons from camera shutter

Two Sunday volunteers, relaxed and jolly, joined in the pond-dipping: it turned out that the Conservation Officer was out on a flat roof trying to catch a mallard duck and her six ducklings. Unfortunately the duck escaped while they were trying to scoop up the ducklings, so the rescue was abandoned. If the ducklings can’t be got to a pond soon, they’ll starve as the duck has no other way of feeding them.

Queen Bufftail Bumblebee in Yellow Iris ... — Queen Bufftail Bumblebee in Yellow Iris …

We did carry out another rescue, however: a very large Queen Buff-Tailed Bumblebee was sitting exhausted on the boardwalk. We looked about for flowers, and tried her on a Yellow Iris, with some success; but she soon used up the energy its nectar provided. I suggested some sugar-water. This was fetched, and it seemed to have the right effect, as she perked up considerably.

Queen Buff-Tailed Bumblebee drinking sugar water

Then, in between telling people about the ridiculously complex fertilisation system in damselflies and dragonflies (indirect fertilisation, sperm storage, yeah) and identifying pond animals, I tried to photograph a mayfly nymph with the absurdly limited depth-of-field of my macro lens. What with the white glare from the pond tray, the sun going into clouds, and toddlers leaning into the light to get a better look, it was somewhat difficult. Here’s what I got.

Mayfly nymph in a (fairly) clean pond tray, more or less correctly exposed and in focus

Talks

Book Launch: The English Love Affair with Nature

18 May 2015 Ian Alexander

The author reading under a Birch tree during the book launch

We were fortunate yesterday to have bright dry weather for the book launch of The English Love Affair with Nature, generously hosted by London Wildlife Trust.

I read sections from the Introduction, Art, and Gardening chapters, with an encore from Spiritual Rebels. The audience took a few minutes, in pairs, to share three things they personally loved about nature. I was kept busy signing copies. Everyone seemed to be enjoying the event, at least they laughed at the jokes and clapped unexpectedly at the end. And everyone lent a hand tidying up, so it all felt very friendly.

Love of Nature, Natural History, Talks

Free Public Event: Book Launch at Gunnersbury Triangle 17 May 2015

8 May 2015 Ian Alexander

London Wildlife Trust have kindly put on a book launch event for my new book ‘The English Love Affair with Nature‘. The event is free and open to all; though small children may prefer to eat the cakes and go pond-dipping, which will be available on the reserve! Attractions will include me, reading from the book; a chance to buy a signed copy, if that’s your sort of thing; nice things to eat and drink; and the beauty of a nature reserve in May, complete with birds, butterflies, bees, bugs, flowers and trees in new leaf, not to mention mini-beasts, newts and everything that wriggles in pond water! I hope to see you there.

Natural History

How to Tell WhoDunnit: Pigeons Killed by Sparrowhawk, Fox

23 February 2015 Ian Alexander

Pigeon plucked by Sparrowhawk — Scene of Crime in London Wildlife Trust’s Gunnersbury Triangle Local Nature Reserve

OK, you see a blizzard of feathers, the entire mortal remains of a Wood Pigeon that once proudly flew the woods, jauntily sailing away from a mere human. Who did it – Sparrowhawk or Fox? You might think it impossible, given that both eat most of their quarry, leaving little but bloodied feathers.

The Guilty Party?
Sparrowhawk in Gunnersbury Triangle

The Culprit?
Red Fox in Gunnersbury Triangle

But you’d be wrong. Each leaves distinctive clues in the debris of their dastardly deeds.

How would one tell if the brutal murder was the Butler with Carving Knife in Pantry, or Doctor with Stethoscope Hose in Library? (with apologies to Cluedo) Or rather, Sparrowhawk with Beak and Claw in Mid-air Murder, or Fox with Teeth in Ambush from Shrubbery? Here’s how to be a wildlife detective …

Sparrowhawk with Beak and Claw in Mid-air Murder

The Sparrowhawk has no teeth; and it doesn’t like to eat feathers. So, it grips each one, and boldly plucks it from the dead prey, leaving whole feathers – the shaft tapering to a point that was once inside the bird’s skin – neatly removed, each in one piece.

Fox with Teeth, Ambush in Shrubbery

The Fox, however, wastes no time on single feathers, biting off and spitting out fluffy mouthfuls as quickly as he can. They may be bloodied, as below, when the skin gets torn, but the feathers generally have broken shafts.

Pigeon feathers bitten off by Fox, detail

The overall effect is still a blizzard of feathers, all that remains of the ex-Pigeon. But, though the Pigeon is no more, its traces indicate quite clearly whodiddit.

Now you know.

Sentimentality

There is a sad little postscript to this tale. Near both murder sites was a scatter of bird-seed. Some kind, well-meaning person, perhaps lonely, perhaps seeking friendship, had put out some food for the pigeons to eat in the cold weather.

Well-meaning, but unwise. The pigeons became accustomed to feeding on the ground … in poor light … without looking about them too much … and fell victim to two keen, hungry, unsentimental predators.

Conservation, Natural History, Nature Reserves, Wildlife

Animal Tracks in the Snow

3 February 2015 Ian Alexander

Animal tracks: Fox, Crow, and Squirrel prints on a snowy boardwalk

Today we woke to a snow-covered city, just a light dusting; and as often with snow, the weather was appreciably warmer than before the snow arrived.

Down at the nature reserve, the paths were empty of human footprints, but thickly sprinkled with animal tracks. Here some crows had walked to and fro across the path; there, a fox had jogged along the trail. But better was to come: the boardwalk across the pond was interlaced with tracks. On the left, a fox had gone the length of the boardwalk. In the centre, a crow had walked unsteadily along, the same way as me; and it, or another, had walked more rapidly back. On the right, more birds’ footprints: and the four-feet-together group of a squirrel, the smaller front prints clearly showing the marks of the sharp claws.

On a Birch branch above the anthill meadow, a Green Woodpecker hammered in search of food. Down by the ‘mangrove swamp’, a Jay screeched harshly, either for us or for a fox. Near the picnic meadow, a Sparrowhawk flew from its high perch, wheeled above the treetops, dived rapidly out of sight.

We carried tools and a ladder to visit the nestboxes and take down all that needed repairs. While I held the ladder, a party of four Long-Tailed Tits blew by, crossing from one Birch to the next one at a time. One of the boxes contained not just a mossy nest (like three others) but two old addled eggs, probably of Great Tit. While we struggled to prise off a somewhat too well attached box for maintenance, a Robin perched nearby, in hope of eating any grubs we might have disturbed. Several boxes had had their openings enlarged by much hammering by Blue Tits or Great Tits: nobody knows why they might do this, as it increases the threat to their nests from predators. We will make aluminium plates for the fronts of all the Tit boxes (the ones with circular holes): the Robin boxes just have a wide rectangular opening, which they definitely prefer. Inside one of the boxes was a mass of woodlice in the moss; another had a plump dead Noble False Widow Spider (Steatoda nobilis) inside.

ObsessedByNature