A few weeks ago my partner and I visited a local nature reserve - Linwood Warren, which I wrote about in this previous post. It was a lovely walk in the sunshine, in a fantastic little reserve which is very much under-appreciated. We've visited the site many times now and are always surprised by how quiet it is
It is a 5 minute drive from the busy market town of Market Rasen, and yet most times we never see another soul, and get to enjoy the whole place to ourselves.
I think this was the fourth time this year alone that I've been here, and my partner has visited at least 7. The reason is that she is preparing for her final year of university, and one of her assignments was to create a short 3 film about a subject of her choice
Filming takes a lot of time and patience, and being quiet too, and if I was honest, I didn't really fancy spending 3 hours sat down and watching, I wanted to go and explore... see what wildlife I could find this time around.
And so of I went. I went at my own pace, wandering and meandering and looking. The below shots are some of the highlights of the morning stroll
Gatekeeper - Pyronia tithonus
The only butterfly seen on this day
Autumn does mean acorns, from the mighty English Oak tree (Quercus robur).
The reserve only had a few Oak trees in amongst the beech woodland, but the few trees here were covered in acorns
There was also an opportunity to see some Galls
Knopper Gall
These Galls are made by a small species of wasp which lays an egg in the acorn as it is developing, and a fascinating chemical reaction causes this hard prickly growth to form. Inside will be the larvae of the Knopper Gall Wasp (Andricus quercuscalicis)
(Link for more info)
Further down the path, was another collection of galls. These are Spangle Galls, and are formed due to the activities of another wasp (Neuroterus quercusbaccarum). This species chooses to lay its eggs into the leaf itself, which create this little red discs on the underside of the leaf.
Galls are a an area which is little understood compared to other field of zoology, are a myriad of complex relationships between the host (tree) and the parasite (in this case the wasp, but other insects can cause these too)
Moving on, I found my first mushrooms of the Autumn
Common Earthball - Scleroderma citrinum
Common Earthball - Scleroderma citrinum
The seasons are always changing, and there is always something new to see. Butterflies and other insects may be fading away, but now we can start to look forwards to the mushroom season...
Note to self: time to plan some trips out to go mushroom hunting
Common (or Ling) Heather - Calluna vulgaris
Common Darter Dragonfly - Sympetrum striolatum
The year may be passing, but some dragonflies can survive into November in the right conditions, and there were several of these Darter flitting about, or sunbathing in the warmth of the sun
Common Darter Dragonfly - Sympetrum striolatum
passing through a sea of Heather
A chance of birdspotting too, with a sneaky shot of a Nuthatch in the distance
And then there were some other inverts to see, both making the most of the sunshine
Grasshopper (I think a Field Grasshopper here)
Spiked Shieldbug - Picromerus bidens
And saving the best 'til last, here is a Spiked Shieldbug. The clue to the name are its spiky 'shoulders' Unlike many Shieldbugs who feed on plants, The Spiked Shieldbug is a predator, feeding on other insect larvae such as caterpillars
And that brings me to a close to this wander around Linwood Warren Nature Reserve. I eventually made it back to my partner who showed me some cool footage of Green Woodpeckers, so she was pleased with how the morning went. And I'd had a great time too... walking and looking and listening, and just enjoying being out in the open.
As I write this, my partner is busy packing, as she will be returning to University this weekend, in order to finish her 4th and final year. This means I'm not sure where, or indeed when my next trip out will be, but I know it will definitely not be Linwwod Warren! I've spent too much time here this Summer, its time to find somewhere new!
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