Photographic Advent Calendar, Day 13: Firecrest

It is always a pleasant surprise to come across one of these superb little gems when out birding: the Firecrest (Regulus ignicapilla) occurs predominantly in the east and south of the country during autumn passage, but can turn up almost anywhere. At this time of year, some of the best places in the country for finding them are in the south-west, where they winter in good numbers in counties such as Cornwall. Indeed, it has been amazing to see so many of these bright crests whilst out birding around Falmouth, with as many as five on campus alone! They make use of the milder winter temperatures in the southern counties, joining tit feeding flocks in their search for insects and other food sources underneath leaves and on branches in areas of woodland. There are around 550 breeding territories in the UK, the first breeding attempt being documented in Hampshire in 1962. Their scientific name translates roughly to 'fire-capped prince', which I think is rather suiting...

These images were all taken on Bardsey Island over the winter of 2012-2013, when a single male bird overwintered and allowed me to get rather close on occasions! I hope you enjoyed my 13th advent blog post, and keep an eye out for tomorrow's post!

Photographic Advent Calendar, Day 12: Garden Tiger moth

I have chosen a bright and colourful species to focus on in today's advent blog post, mainly to remind myself that the dull shades of a dark winter's day will not last forever! The Garden Tiger (Arctia caja) is a moth which is distributed throughout the UK, although some areas have experienced recent declines in numbers. The appearance of the caterpillars are responsible for the alternative name of the 'Woolly Bear' moth, sporting a dense covering of whitish hairs and bright orange and black aposematic colouration to warn would-be predators of its distaste. These pretty creatures feed on a range of herbaceous plants, including common species like Nettle, Dandelion and Dock: classic caterpillar nosh. They overwinter as a small caterpillar, which spends the springtime feasting on these plants, before pupating and emerging as the striking adult Arctiid moth in July and August. They are a favourite find of many people who are new to moth trapping, due to their beautiful appearance. Here on Bardsey, as many as 200 have been trapped in one trap overnight, although there are typically single figure counts on a daily basis during the summer. Collectors used to breed this species in captivity to encourage the development of a number of different morphs and variants, some of which are pictured here. 

If you would like to find out more about this species, check out the following links:

- UK Moths

- UK Safari

- Wildlife Trusts

- UK Lepidoptera life cycle

Photographic Advent Calendar, Day 11: European Shags

My eleventh advent blog post focusses on the European Shag (Phalacrocorax arestotelis). This is a species which can be found throughout the year around the British coast, and of which there are around 27, 000 breeding pairs. The adults develop a showy mohican-style quiff of a crest in the spring, which they show off alongside their shining green colouration and emerald-coloured eyes. They are handsome bird, despite the scientific name eluding to a 'bald raven'! (phalakros= bald, korax= the Raven). Many people often confuse the Shag with the larger cousin, the Cormorant: in contrast, the Cormorant is a good third larger, sports a chunky bill with hooked tip, blue eyes and a different facial pattern.

In the spring and summer, the breeding adults take up their places along the cliff edges around the coast; they assemble a pile of driftwood sticks, seaweed and scraps of rope into their equivalent of a 'nest'. Pairs will incubate their few eggs (typically three) for a month or so, before supplying their prehistoric-looking progeny for another month. By early July, many of their young will have taken the plunge and headed out to sea, but these juvenile birds will often congregate into loose flocks in the summer months. Over winter, extended periods of stormy weather can take their toll on young birds: on Bardsey alone we often have at least five corpses wash up every winter. Unfortunately, like the plight of many other British seabirds, this smart species is Red listed due to recent declines in populations.

Back on Bardsey!

Well, I am immensely happy to say that Rachel and I have made it back home to Bardsey Island! After a ten hour train journey from Cornwall to North Wales on Tuesday, we took the gamble of travelling down to the Lleyn on Wednesday morning, despite the howling winds which had been blowing all night. Thankfully, the wind calmed down enough to allow the large swell to settle down (somewhat!!), and allow Colin to make a dash for it with us on board. It was a bouncy crossing, but not too bad, and we made it to Enlli midday. 

It has been a brilliant first term at Uni, but it is very nice to be back home for Christmas. Having a quick scout around the island has revealed the usual hive of activity on the rotting kelp piles on Solfach: some 35 Choughs, 450 Starlings, 45 Rock Pipits, a Hooded Crow and much more are making use of the bounty of invertebrates dwelling in the seaweed. A walk around the coast yesterday saw singles of Whimbrel and Merlin present, and an impressive haul-out of some 170 Grey Seals on one of the beaches. Today (12th) has been pretty grim weather-wise, but I struggled around The Narrows at high tide and recorded some 40 Curlews, a Whimbrel, 58 Oystercatchers, six Purple Sandpipers, 13 Turnstones, 11 Redshanks and a Black-tailed Godwit trying to find shelter in various spots.

Back on Bardsey! Pleased to be home

There are a lot of Grey Seals around the coast, mostly concentrated onto a small strip of a beach on the Narrows. Over 150 were there yesterday

This pioneering Grey Seal pup has decided to escape the effects of the wind and waves by taking up residence behind this small boulder on the Narrows. It is in the process of moulting out of its fluffy coat, so looks like a badly-sheared Sheep!

It s great to see Choughs up close again, with a feeding flock of about 35 on Solfach

A flock of about 450 Starlings are feeding on the beach too- I am hoping to get the Heligoland trap up and capture a few in the next few weeks

Photographic Advent Calendar, Day 10: European Garden Spider

Although autumn is well and truly passed now, it doesn't feel like too long ago when every hedge and patch of scrub was adorned with the delicate webs of an amazing little architect: the European Garden Spider (Araneus diadematus). Throughout the autumn months, Will Hawkes and I spent a lot of time studying a variety of different insects around campus, and I have to say that this remarkable beast has to be one of the coolest...if a little under-appreciated by many.

I wrote a fairly detailed blog post dedicated to this species a while ago, so check out the link to see that...but I shall give a shortened summary for my 10th Advent Blog post. The European Garden Spider is amongst the family of arachnids known as Orb-weavers.  This species, like many others in the Araneidae family, spin large orb webs to snare unwary prey. Typically about 13mm in length in females, and up to 8mm for males, they can grow to a chunky size- the former in particular can spin sizeable webs capable of catching a diverse range of prey items, from butterflies and grasshoppers through to midges, shieldbugs and species of bees and flies.

The construction process of a web is incredibly detailed and carried out sometimes daily. Firstly, the radials are connected together from an initial 'throw line', resembling the spokes of a wheel. The spider will then set about adding the lethal sticky circular threads, using its abdominal spinneret to secure the line to each radial along the ay.  During the whole construction process, the spider uses a non-sticky spiral of thread attached from the centre to the periphery to move around, which stops its own entanglement in the web! Once finished, the Garden Spider will often rest patiently in the centre in wait of prey. And it is at this stage that, given a particularly misty morning, we can fully appreciate their work; Spider's webs covered in dew droplets possess a certain beauty that enables us to appreciate all their hard work.

Photographic Advent Calendar, Day 9: Turnstones

This is amongst our most frequently encountered shoreline waders, occurring in similar habitats as the more striking Oystercatcher. Perfectly camouflaged on pebble beaches, they can be very hard to spot. Often the sound of their handywork may be the first sign of their presence: as a small group systematically works a section of beach, turning every rock and pebble over with their short beak in search of tasty invertebrates beneath. They are certainly aptly-named, and are a pleasure to watch when at work like this. For the rest of the tidal regime, they can be found roosting on exposed rocky outcrops and boulders, where they may gather with other species like Purple Sandpipers and Oystercatchers.

Turnstones breed in the arctic tundra, wintering as far south as Africa! Many stop off in the UK to make use of the rich food that can be found along our coast; around 51, 000 birds are thought to overwinter here, but declines have placed this species on our Amber list. In the US, the Turnstones breeding in Northern Cananda and Alaska winter in South America. Turnstones have been recorded at an age of 20 years, according to the BTO, and recoveries of British-ringed birds are far-ranging. We had a particularly good spree of catching and ringing these superb birds at the end of the summer- we managed to ring over 20 in a few days, and so hopefully we'll have some exciting news from one of these one day!

Photographic Advent Calendar, Day 8: Ruby-tailed Wasp

For today's post, I have chosen one of the my favourite invertebrate species from 2015...the Ruby-tailed Wasp. When some people first saw my images of this species in the spring, they couldn't quite believe that this amazing little wasp resides in the UK; this is, however, a relatively easy species to find, coming out on warm sunny days and resting on stone walls, piles of wood, buildings and wasteground. A close look at this fidgety hymenopteran reveals a dazzling colouration scheme: the head and thorax are a metallic blue-green, contrasting to the pimpled metallic pink abdomen. Hundreds of fine hairs called chaetae adorn the body, which are its sensory apparatus through which it senses the environment, in combination with its twitching antenna and large compound eyes.

The Ruby-tailed Wasp (Chrysis ignita) is a member of the solitary wasp family called, and are often referred to as Cuckoo Wasps. As the name suggests, they are parasites of other hymenoptera species, such as Mason Bees. Adult females will seek out the nests of these bees, and will sneak inside and lay their eggs in the nest. If they are caught in the act, the Ruby-tails rely on their tough cuticle to protect them from attacks; the cuticle forms protective plates around the insect when it rolls up into an angular ball. Once they hatch out, the Ruby-tailed Wasp larvae proceed to devour the eggs and larvae of the hosts's progeny, and eventually undergo metamorphosis to emerge as dazzling adults.

They really are remarkable species, and are a pleasure (if a little challenging) to watch and photograph.

Thanks for looking, and I hope you enjoy the next few posts :)