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| Lesser Celandine (Ranunculus ficaria) |
Making the most of a nice chilly afternoon, a trip to the park.
The stream that runs through edge of the park starts a bit further up over the road, a stretch of rough land between the houses and school. Here can be a good place to look for things as it is often left to grow wild most of the time.
Lesser Celandine (Ranunculus ficaria) often flower here first as than the park, they are not in the shade of to many trees.
The manmade structure the stream runs through is a good place to look for liverworts.
On the 25th February I had taken some photos, today 9th of March you can see how the liverwart is growing. This and two other liverworts grow on the stream edge through the park, due to the trees and high banking of the stream it quite hard to get a photo.
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| 25 February 2021 |
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| 25 February 2021 |
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| 9th March |
I took my watchmakers eye glass out today as well to look at the lichen, noticed some small orange patches on a twig.
(Xanthoria is a genus of lichenized fungi in the family Teloschistaceae. Common names include orange lichen, orange wall lichen, and sunburst lichen. They can be identified by their characteristic squamulose morphology with distinctive "fairy cups")
There are a few Xanthoria which look similar, Xanthoria parietina being the most common one.
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| Daisy - Bellis perennis |
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| Dotted thyme-moss ((Rhizomnium punctatum) |
I lifted a few stones , wood and an old bit of carpet next to the stream.
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| Beetle |
There must have been up to 8 of these beetles under this rock , all moving rather fast so this was the best photo.
The beetle in the photo below looks the same but this one did not scarper once discovered, have not seen one like this with it's antennae straight out to the side...
Under the mat there was a spider, also one I have not seen before.
Did post it on a Facebook group and nothing to helpful came back.
Macrargus and Centromerita were mentioned.
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| Spider |
Macrargus rufus (Araneae)
M. rufus is primarily a spider of woodlands, where it may be abundant in the leaf litter, moss and grass under broad-leaved and coniferous trees, from ancient oak .. (This does fit the location)
Centromerita bicolor (Araneae)
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| Grey Wagtail |
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| Lichen on a fallen branch |
Ramalina farinacea
Another strap-like species that is common throughout the UK. It’s widespread and can survive in shaded or sunny locations. It can be silvery grey-green or yellow-green with narrow flattened branches reaching up to 7cm long.
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| Snail |
On the way back from the park had a look at some of the lichens and mosses on the trees.
Chewing Gum Lichen - Lecanora muralis
Usually forms a loose rosette and has a variety of colours from off white, through dirty greys to pale browns. On rocks, concrete and other urban substrates that are enriched with nitrogen - such as from bird droppings. All year round.
(Crustose lichens)
Not ID this one....
(foliose lichen)
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| Grimmia pulvinata Moss |
Grey-cushioned or Common Grimmia - Grimmia pulvinata
LINKS
A really interesting post with great sightings. Super photos as always :) It is lovely to see Lesser Celandine appearing and it is amazing how many liverworts, lichens and mosses you can find if you look.
ReplyDeleteThank Caroline, still struggling with the mosses and Lichens, there are fewer Liverworts to find so that's helpful.
ReplyDelete