Stag Beetle
Female Stag Beetle - found crawling across the grass in the back garden by my elder daughter Rebecca. Lesser Stag Beetle, taken last year, for comparison
Posts
Bring it all on
January has at last given way to February, and if things go as they normally do, before the month's end, we should all enjoy the odd mild day where spring will show its hand. The MV trap should start to produce, the number of flowering plant species increase and bird migration become more than just a memory but a reality. I've had a very quiet start to 2013. My local birding has been uneventful, but this I have accepted with a calmness that is not of my normal nature. Part of this is that I have a number of long-term projects on the go that are servicing my 'natural history' needs. I am also quietly awaiting the chance to once more take on some other wildlife groups that I have flirted with in the past, particularly invertebrates. I'm quite excited about this. The pan-listing bug has kicked in again and, although some may see this as merely an exercise in 'ticking and running' it is more an opportunity to broaden my knowledge. Last year I missed out o...
More Ground Pine
Another check of the Fames Rough ploughed strip revealed eight Ground Pine plants plus at least 20 of Cut-leaved Germander. I'm happy about that. This Lesser Stag Beetle was found on the trunk of a long dead tree and provided the best photographic opportunity of the day. I don't see many of these. I've added a link to Sarah Patton's blog, Patton's Tiger . The blog is named after a rather special moth that she recorded as new to the British Isles. No little brown jobbie for her, it's a spectacular one that I'd love to see.