Crikey - More new stuff!!!

The Safari was out near the nature reserve with another school gang studying the habitats again, It wasn't long before they started to bring home the bacon. Drinker moths seem to have had a good season judging by the number of caterpillars found so far this week although they do appear to be a little on the small size.

No idea what this one is, Holly Blue has been suggested but we think is was collected from the middle of the field so it might not be. Offers anyone? It's some kind of sawfly rather than a Lepidopteran.

 This one anyone?

Now the decent weather, at last, had brought out a myriad of spiders, many/most were the common Garden Cross Spider but this one looked just a bit too different, we were right to have suspicions. It's Araneus quadratus, not one we've heard of before but we must admit we're not that up on spiders.

 Also found was an interesting looking shieldbug, again one we've not come across before.

Hardly surprising - Spiked Shieldbug hasn't been recorded round here before, whether that's because it's new in or just not found might never be known. Look how far away the nearest green dots are on this screen snip from the NBN Gateway

Not a lot of bird life was seen by the group - well they were excitable and noisy! But earlier we'd had a very quick sprint round the nature reserve, pretty quiet but pretty damn good! At least a couple of Cetti's Warblers singing, Redwing, Meadow Pipits and Coal Tit (MMLNR #93) new for the year there which was nice. In the field to the east a Buzzard sat on a post surveying the 2500 or so Pink Footed Geese in the field on the opposite side of the dyke. There were more; before we got round to the embankment at least another 5000 left to the north. A scope might have been good as there have been a handful of Barnacle Geese mixed in with them and European White Fronted Geese have turned up on the South-side, somehow we've missed Whooper Swans there so far this year too.

Not much on the sea this morning flocks of four and eight Shelducks and a couple each of alba and Grey Wagtails going over.

What will they find tomorrow???
Where to next? More of the same with the final class.
In the meantime let us know what might be new in your outback.