August 2014

27th Aug 2014 - There's something fishy going on in Hampshire...

I had a spare afternoon so, despite the ominous looking clouds, I set off in search of a fish I've wanted to see for a long, long time - Grayling! I'd been in contact with Simon Layton, a keen naturalist from Romsey in Hampshire (just a few miles from where I live). He'd suggested a couple of sites for Grayling near him, it seemed rude not to give it a go.

I parked up at the appointed site, Kimbridge Lane where the river runs under the road, and set to scanning. Thanks to overnight/early morning rains the river had coloured up a bit and was flowing pretty fast. Too turbulent to see...

Lassioglossum prasinum - distinctive heather bee

Got shown a nice lassioglossum by John Walters on the weeked - I expect many of you are already familiar with it - l.prasinum. Its a heather specialist, quite big for a lassioglossum (relatively speaking!) and the males which were in evidence, have a red tipped abdomen (hard to see without capture). Females have white hairs extending along the sides of the tergites. Easiest to find visting on the edge of bare patches amongst heather. Quite a restricted range according to the BWARS map - worth looking out for and submitting records perhaps....

15th August 2014 - All alone in the woods - Boared Stupid

I had a one-day work course to attend in Bristol which finished late afternoon. Hmmm, what to do with myself next? Hang on, the Forest of Dean can't be a million miles away can it? You get Wild Boar in there I'd heard....

And so it was that I found myself driving without any site gen towards boar country. Would I jam into any, would I luck out? I drove towards Cinderford, crested a hill and suddenly there was The Forest laid out before me, blanketing the hills and valleys. Blimey, I hadn't realised quite how extensive it was! This could be a bit of a needle-in-a-haystack affair. I...