Wet Woodland Fungi

Paxton Pits has areas of wet woodland where mosses, lichens and, at this time of year, am interesting mix of small fungi can be found. 

(Taken with compact Fuji X100V plus Raynox 250)

Insect Life Paxton Moorings

A very enjoyable morning in the area of Paxton Reserve that borders the river hunting out insects - some very small and many well camouflaged like this Bulrush Veneer Moth. Mostly cloudy so not many butterflies or Dragons on the wing but Small Copper and Common Blue always favourites.

Dragonfly Day at Paxton Pits

 We have not been at all lucky with the weather for events this year. Our Annual Dragonfly Day in July with the Dragonfly Society (Paxton is a Dragonfly Hotspot ) had to be cancelled because of rain. Our replacement day yesterday was dry but overcast, breezy and cool so not the variety of dragonflies that we hoped plus the Dragonfly Society could not attend the amended date. However, over 30 people turned up for the event and took part in one or both of the walks. Here a few images from the day (Willow Emerald plus the Emerald Damselfly that we hoped but failed to see, Common Darter, Common Blue Damselfly, Blue-tailed Damselfly, Migrant hawker plus other insects including the very spiky Comma caterpillar and the Darwin Wasp (Ichneumon in old terms!)).

Paxton Photogroup: Island Pit Path

A walk along a track through long grass produced quite a variety of species. It was too hot for a formal session but I suggested the group looked for subjects where the backgrounds were far enough away to not distract as with the Hairy Shieldbug about to take off or where they added to the scene as with the Brown Argus. The Hairy Bug is one of those 'nearly' shots - great action shot but the front of head is not sharp. Crickets are always difficult to photograph as deep in the vegetation. Amused to find a very large Wasp Spider on the path  and a minute Zebra Spider (back at the Centre). ID sheet at end.

 

Wildlife Survey on Dodder Fen, Paxton Pits

 On Saturday, we spent a couple of hours recording the birds, flowers, insects on the area of Paxton known as Dodder Fen as it supports a thriving colony of Greater Dodder - a parasitic plant that grows on nettles in wet places and is relatively rare. As you can see it, has a very large population of insects, particularly plant bugs and leaf hoppers. 

The other native species is Common Dodder  and its host is gorse and heather.  Dodder's  small seeds germinate in spring and a swollen, root-like organ emerges from the seed case and seeks out a suitable host. Once a host is found, Dodder attaches to it with a sucker and forms a haustorium (a structure that penetrates the host’s tissue and draws in nutrients). One amazing fact about dodder is its ability to “sniff out” its victims - dodder seedlings can detect volatile organic compounds emitted by nearby hosts. These allow it to choose the most nutritious hosts, maximizing its chances of survival.