Nature Notes: Jono Forgham takes a circular stroll from Tesco to Farnham
Having recently become the proud owner of a senior citizen’s bus pass, I decided to use the bus service from Little Hadham to transport me to my starting point.
A week last Monday found me heading to Tesco on the 35 service free of charge. Here, I alighted, bought a few provisions before heading off through Stortford Fields estate towards Wickham Hall.
A pair of pied wagtails greeted me as I entered the estate, a house sparrow attempted to catch spiders from a house wall, not very successfully as far as I could see. Sparrows are not designed to hover and the activity seemed to be to no avail.
It was still early, so the flowers in the verge by the new primary school were not being attended to by any insects although the sun was bright and the temperatures were rising. Promised to be a warm day.
I passed the vineyard, turned left and picked up the footpath to the left of the house, heading towards Bailey Hills. This path had been recently mowed which was good to see as there was the remnants of morning dew.
By the middle of May most birds are very busy with raising young, constantly searching for food, with many species heard rather than seen and not many offer a good photo opportunity, so I had my macro close up lens on the camera as I was anticipating a plethora of insects and it wasn’t long before I came across a bramble and nettle patch which was alive with a wide variety of nectar and pollen feeders.
A tiny ladybird species wandered down a grass stem, a 24-spot ladybird that has the rather onerous taxonomic name; Subcoccinella vigintiquattuorpunctata. Nearby, upon a leaf, an equally small yellow and black ladybird, the 14-spot version, also bearing a lengthy name: Propylea quattuordecimpunctata.
Bombus lucorum, the white-tailed bumblebees were busy on bramble flowers, whilst a sawfly species was abundant in nearby buttercups, feeding on the pollen. These were a Cephus species, probably Cephus spinipes, but a more thorough examination of the insect is required to be sure. A Blackcap burst into song from deep vegetation, competeing with a whitethroat that was calling his scratchy song from a hedgerow.
As I moved off, a small micro moth fluttered in front of me at head height. I followed this until it landed upon a leaf, whereupon I identified it as Albonia geoffrella. A very distinctive and colourful insect with a wingspan of about 1.6cm. This was the first of this species I had ever seen. It is fairly common in Herts but mainly in the south and west. No records exist for it around the town but a quick check of the map reference showed that I had strayed several hundred yards into Essex. An excellent record, nevertheless. This is a moth that associates with blackthorn, laying eggs upon fallen twigs of that species. It flies as from sunrise and has usually gone to ground before midday. It may, therefore, be less often seen and so may remain under recorded.
I continued along the path. Upon cow parsley were examples of the pollen feeding fly, Empis tessellata and a hoverfly species; Ferdinandea cuprea. I stopped by more nettles for some refreshment before taking the path across a field of lucerne to the Upwick Green/Farnham lane. The path here was made up of longer grass and almost every footfall disturbed one of two moth species.
Firstly, the day flying macro moth, Mother Shipton. This moth gets its name from the pattern on the wings that is thought to resemble a hook-nosed witch. Mother Shipton was a well known “witch” from Knaresborough in Yorkshire. The second moth and far more prevalent, was the Silver Y. This is a fast-flying insect and a migrant to our shores. Last week there had been a mass invasion of this species, coming over the North Sea and continuing their westerly journey. Last Friday literally 1000’s were reported from Great Yarmouth. In the 800 yards of long grass, I must have disturbed in the region of one hundred.
By now the temperatures had passed 20C. A Holly Blue butterfly posed well for a photo opportunity, as did a Lucillia species of fly, one of the Greenbottles. Another colourful insect that caught the eye on regular occasions was the Red-headed cardinal beetle. So much to be recorded.
I crossed the lane on to a bridleway that is bordered on both sides by ancient hedgerow. I estimated that these hedges were at least 800 years old, judging by the variety of plants and trees found within. Here, Briar or Dog-rose was in flower. On one bud, a small beetle species, Grammoptera ruficornis along with several more Empis flies.
The path winds its way along a field perimeter where a hare darted away, flushing a pair of Red-legged partridge as it did so. Overhead, the distinctive mewing of Common buzzards and the more drawn out call of a red kite being mobbed by several carrion crows.
The track then enters a shady area with mature trees either side. The ash trees here looked to be showing early signs of Ash dieback. A buzzard rose from the path in front of me. I went to investigate but couldn’t find any prey that it might have been feeding upon. I checked holes in the ash for roosting owls, but none were apparent.
Soon afterwards, I entered Farnham village and turned right by the village hall. As I wandered along, the fluid musical call of swallows overhead. I changed lenses to get a snap of one as it rested upon telegraph wires. I stopped to check the grassmeadows here, resplendent with wide swathes of bright yellow buttercups. A pair of rooks were busy feeding a single youngster. Long tailed tits were also feeding young as I picked up a gravel track on the right which took me downhill. Here, I stopped for my picnic which was regularly interrupted as I noticed more insects mooching about on a nearby nettle bed.
A Common malachite beetle caught my eye as it looks very red in flight, but when it folds the wings away, it shows a metallic green sheen with 2 obvious red spots upon the abdomen. A Kentish snail held on to a cow parsley stem as a male brimstone moth landed on some adjacent comphrey. A small black and white insect hopped from one leaf to another: a nymph of the Dark bush cricket.
On another umbellifer, a colourful cranefly showing yellow and black stripes on the head and thorax; Nephrotoma appendiculata. Feeding next to it, another Empis tessellata fly, meaning I could get two insects in one shot.
Finally, I completed my lunch and moved off, heading back along a path with hedgerows to the side. A Four spotted chaser dragonfly buzzed me but didn’t hang around for a photo and a Small heath butterfly rose from the grass before settling in front of me.
Another bramble patch had plenty of insects I had already observed, but a new one for the walk as a Nomada species of bee, one of the mining bees. This, just by a casual glance could have been one of 5 species.
By now I was back at Wickham Hall, so popped into the tearooms for a coffee and to check my photos. Only 124 taken, a lower number than usual, but they covered many species and I certainly had enough to illustrate this piece.
I caught the bus from Tesco back home, whereupon I began checking records for the Albonia geoffrella micro. It was certainly seen in Essex so I dispatched the record and photo to Peter, the Essex recorder, who informed me it was a first for northwest Essex. A pleasing find, indeed. With my rare wasp species from my previous walk, a good moth this time out, I await my next wander with some excitement. Good things often come in threes, so my mother told me.
If any readers are out and about for a local wander, do keep an eye on moths flying from long grass. If they disappear rapidly, probably the Silver Y whilst if they flutter a few yards before settling again, possibly Mother Shipton. As always, I am pleased to receive any wildlife photos (camera or phone snaps) for identification. Feel free to email them to the Inide office.
There are rarer beasts out there, just waiting to be observed. When I first started studying insects as a youngster, I would need to make field notes or pop the creature in a pot to study at home. In the beginning, everything was new to me and I was always disappointed when I found the insect in a field guide to note it was described as “widespread and abundant.” Some 55 years later, I now have a smattering of knowledge and can note a rarer species, sometimes!
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