April 2014

17th April 2014 - Sally's Silly Psyllids!

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Today Dan and I went down to Penzance to meet up with fellow PSLer Sally Luker. Sally is doing a PhD on non-native bugs found on non-native plants and how they may be interacting with native bugs and potentially outcompeting them or spreading pathogens. Her chosen specialities are aphids, psyllids, psocids and scales (well someone has to show an interest in 'em, lol) Anyway, during her adventures she's found some goodies including one new to Britain. Our first target species was a very local psocid, one which just happens to live on a headstone in Sally's local churchyard. Naturally, we...

16th April 2014 - Rockpool Shenanigans

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Headed off to Gribben Head today, same site we found a Crimson Speckled resting in the grass a couple of years ago. This time we aimed for the small beach just east of the head in order to get to grips with some rockpooling fun. Dan is pretty hot at rockpooling and usually trumps my finds with even better ones. Things started pretty weirdly - I was at one end of a long rockpool, Dan and my missus Sami were at the other end. I had my nose at the water surface when I heard a loud splash close by. I looked up to find Sam and Dan staring at me...what??? "Did you throw that at us?" they asked...

15th April 2014 - Batty Antics

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Spent most of the afternoon down at Kynance Cove and Lizard Point at the extreme southern tip of Britain, again with fellow PSLer Danny Cooper and our better halves. Whilst the ladies enjoyed lounging on the beach, Dan and I hit a stream and the heath finding a few bits and bobs. River Limpets were only my second sightings of the species. We hummed and aahed at various mosses and plants not in flower and a pair of Choughs were a nice bonus as they passed overhead. We tried to string various small grasses into Pillwort but failed. Repeatedly...

Back at St Blazey that evening Dan...

Beach Combing

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Submitted by Skev on

Been poking about in rock pools at Westwood Ho! and Woolacombe over the last couple of days whilst down here in North Devon with family, although beach football and ice creams have been strong competition for my attention. Nothing too exciting or unexpected I guess, but then again I wasn't kitted out for rock pooling . Ticks include two different paddleworm species (Phyllodoce lamelligera and Eulalia viridis), a chiton (Lepidochitona cinerea), two fish (Rock Goby and Shanny), a few of the commoner marine snails that I've previously overlooked (including Thick Top Shell, Flat Top Shell,...

We finally have our own website!!!

Today is indeed a landmark day in modern natural history. A great thanks to David Roy of the Biological Records Centre for funding the construction of the website. A huge thank you to John van Breda for building the website with the help of Charles Roper and Bob Foreman of the Sussex Biodiversity Records Centre. Many thanks to all the people who tested the website out this week and gave comment, most of all thanks to Mark Telfer for starting the whole thing in the first place. Now get busy and get your lists up there on the rankings page!

I am 21 species away from 5000 and I...

14th April 2014 - Reptile Double-whammy

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Currently with Sami spending a week in Cornwall with fellow PSLer Danny Cooper. On the way down we dropped into Bournemouth and enjoyed stunning views with a very inquisitive WESTERN GREEN LIZARD Lacerta bilineata amongst masses of Wall Lizards. Sam spotted it first and during the 20mins we were with it I reckon the best part of 20 people came and saw it too! Next stop was a site for the sole remaining native reptile that I still needed. After a pleasantly easy hour or so I found myself gawping at my first ever ...

9th April 2014 - An unusual beginning!

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I started checking and double-checking my species spreadsheets in readiness for uploading onto this site and took the rather unusual (for me) action of striking off various plant species from the tally. So far I've gone backwards!

I've removed the likes of Swedish Whitebeam, Rose of Sharon, Italian Alder, Shasta Daisy and Garden Pansy. Can I honestly say that the trees were self-seeded not planted? And the flowers, genuine escapees or council plantings gone wild? I was brutal.

A total of 25 species came off, although Oregon Grape went back on once I'd chased the record (...

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