Willow Emerald Damselfly Eggs in Willow Twig. The female cuts a slit in the bark for each egg. The cuts have healed up (by now, November) leaving a bump around each egg.Willow Emerald Damselfly (photographed earlier this year). The species is very new to Britain, having arrived last year or not long before that; and this year is the first time we’ve seen them at Gunnersbury Triangle, so it’s very exciting to see the unique egg-laying traces!Netty with glorious autumnal Aspen twig. The colours are exactly as photographed.
Sulphur Tuft Hypholoma fasciculare on Birch loggery at Gunnersbury Triangle (down the entrance ramp)Sulphur Tuft on the ground, among Ivy and BrambleTurkeytail Trametes versicolorGreat Tit egg, found abandoned as we checked and cleaned out the nestboxes for the year
Lunar Underwing Moth from among the grassy tussocks in the Small Meadow
We carried on clearing brambles from the north bank and then the small meadow. The debrambling of previous years has helped, as there are far fewer large deep-rooted monsters than before, but we’ve still had plenty to do. I coppiced some Holm Oak, too.
We saw two or three of these Lunar Underwing moths (Omphaloscelis lunosa) among the grass. They eat grasses such as Yorkshire Fog and Annual Meadow-Grass.
Willow Emerald or Spreadwing Damselfly, rainbow iridescent in the beautiful Indian Summer sunshine. The wings never quite close over the back as they do in other damselflies.Southern Hawker ovipositing on boardwalk (in front of my boots)Common Darters in CopDog’s Vomit Slime Mould, Fuligo septica, on Birch log
Willow Emerald Damselfly on Willow in GT. This is a new species in the UK, only having arrived from the Continent in the past couple of years. It appeared in numbers ovipositing in the GT pond in August. The species perches with its wings not fully closed together. The iridescent green is handsome when it flies, remarkably well camouflaged when perched.Woodmouse by GT bicycle wheelFemale Southern Hawker on BroomTara Netty Eleni volunteers mowing Anthill Meadow (and looking at interesting specimens). We found small toads, frogs, and newts in the grass.
The first Small Copper butterfly we’ve ever recorded at the Triangle. It has been on or close to this small dried-up dock plant for two days now.I showed our local MP, Rupa Huq, around the reserve. Here she’s getting an idea of what the volunteers get up to!
The English seem unemotional … except for their passion for nature
