To Bostal Heath (the RB of Greenwich) where we saw lots of Ladybirds

We had intended to spend an hour or so on the Heath and then move on to the Lesnes Abbey Woods. In the event, we stayed on the Heath.

We saw our first Holly Blue Butterfly of the year viz.

Other Butterfly species seen: Brimstone, Comma, Peacock and Speckled Wood plus a few Unidentified White Butterflies.

Additionally, we saw our first Myathropa florea (Hoverfly) of the year.

Wild Flower species seen included:

Annual Meadow-Grass

Annual Mercury

Balkan Spurge

Bittercress

Black Medick

Bluebell

Broom

Buck's-Horn Plantain

Buddleia

Bulbous Buttercup

Bush Vetch

Cleavers

Cock's-Foot

Common Chickweed

Common Field-Speedwell

Common Mouse-Ear

Common Ragwort

Common Sorrel

Coral Spurge

Cow Parsley

Creeping Thistle

Daisy

Dandelion

Dog's Mercury

Dove's-Foot Crane's-Bill

Foxglove

Garlic Mustard

Gorse

Grape Hyacinth

Greater Plantain

Green Alkanet

Groundsel

Herb Robert

Honesty

Ivy-Leaved Speedwell

Lesser Celandine

Lords-and-Ladies (Arum maculatum)

Mouse-Ear Hawkweed

Mugwort

Red Clover

Red Dead-Nettle

Ribwort Plantain

Sowbread

Spear Thistle

Sticky Mouse-Ear

Sweet Violet

White Clover

White Dead-Nettle

Wild Garlic

Wood Anemone

Wood Avens

and Yarrow

We also saw quite a few Dock Bugs but the highlight of the visit was the unexpected find of massed ranks of assumed 16-Spotter Ladybirds on a fallen tree' branch viz.

Wild Flowers in the New Woolwich Cemetery (the RB of Greenwich)

A first visit for 2022: we expect to find a few more Wild Flower' species viz. Bird's-Foot Trefoil, Clovers &c. as the year progresses.

Wild Flower' species seen today included:

Annual Mercury

Buddleia

Bulbous Buttercup

Caucasian Stonecrop

Cleavers

Comfrey species

Common Bramble

Common Chickweed

Common Dog-Violet
Common Field-Speedwell

Common Mouse-Ear

Common Ragwort
Common Stork's-Bill viz.

Common Whitlowgrass

Cornsalad viz.

Cow Parsley

Creeping Thistle

Daisy

Dandelion
Dove's-Foot Crane's-Bill

Early Forget-me-Not viz.

Field Wood-Rush viz.

Garlic Mustard

Grape Hyacinth

Ground-Ivy

Groundsel

Hairy Bittercress

Hart's-Tongue Fern

Herb Robert

Ivy

Ivy-Leaved Speedwell

Lesser Celandine

Maidenhair Spleenwort

Meadow Foxtail viz.

Mouse-Ear Hawkweed 

Red Dead-Nettle

Reflexed Stonecrop

Ribwort Plantain

Round-Leaved Crane's-Bill

Sow-Thistle

Spear Thistle

Spotted Medick

Sticky Mouse-Ear

Sweet Vernal-Grass viz.

Sweet Violet

Thale Cress

White Stonecrop

Wood Avens

and Yarrow

And not many Insects immediately visible! 

We looked for Wild Flowers whilst en- route to the Southern Erith Marsh (or what little there is left it)

Before entering the Southern Erith Marsh via the Waldrist Way' Entrance, we looked around for Wild Flowers on the nearby Road-Side Verges &c. Despite regular mowing &c. and it being a fairly small area, we identified seventeen species (some flowering) viz.

Annual Meadow-Grass

Bristly Oxtongue

Bulbous Buttercup

Common Field-Speedwell

Common Mallow

Common Stork's-Bill

Common Whitlowgrass

Daisy

Dandelion

Dove's-Foot Crane's-Bill

Groundsel

Hairy Bittercress

Red Dead-Nettle

Ribwort Plantain

Sticky Mouse-Ear

Thale Cress

and White Clover

Just inside the Entrance, we saw that the Coltsfoot is still flowering viz.

Xanthoria elegans aka Caloplaca elegans

Xanthoria elegans growing on a local Kerb Stone (in the local Monad).

Although the general appearance initially suggested Xanthoria elegans, on second thoughts, based on the appearance of the lobes giving it a perhaps crustose-placodioid appearance, we wondered, a Caloplaca?

But not a Caloplaca: it being confirmed as Xanthoria elegans.

That being said, the British Lichen Society (BLS) identify Caloplaca elegans as a synonym for Xanthoria elegans.

We understand that in the past it has been recorded as either Xanthoria elegans or Caloplaca eligans, dependent on the observer's perception. 

Interestingly, the synonym persists.

We pay a brief visit to Scadbury Park (the LB of Bromley)

Somewhere to visit when the Butterfly Season hots up: despite time being very limited we managed to see a few Wild Flowers (including a single Bluebell, Ground-Ivy and Lesser Celandine), Common Carder Bees, Hairy-Footed Flower-Bees, Hoverflies and Bee-Flies.

Plus a few Lichens including Parmelia sulcata, Parmotrema perlatum, Physcia adscendens, Punctelia subrudecta, Xanthoria parietina and this assumed Punctelia jeckeri:

viz. C+ red with soredia on the lobe (underside light coloured) margins and brownish (seemingly pruinose) lobe tips. We wonder whether the orange/brown arrangements might be a Trentepohlia species?

Some Wild Flowers

Some of the Wild Flower species seen growing on Pavements, in Road-Side Gutters  &c. and on a small area of waste ground, whilst we were walking to/from the Bus Stop (we went shopping in Bexleyheath):

Annual Mercury

Hairy Bittercress

Buck's-Horn Plantain

Cleavers

Common Chickweed

Common Mallow

Common Stork's-Bill

Common Whitlowgrass

Cornsalad

Dandelion

Four-Leaved Allseed

Green Alkanet

Groundsel

Hairy Bittercress

Henbit Dead-Nettle

Ivy-Leaved Speedwell

Jersey Cudweed

Lesser Swinecress

Pellitory-of-the-Wall

Petty Spurge

Procumbent Pearlwort

Rue-Leaved Saxifrage

Shepherd's-Purse

Shining Crane's-Bill

Sticky Mouse-Ear

Sweet Violet

and Thale Cress

A few more than we expected. So much so, we are now hopeful the local Spotted Spurge has survived the Council' Spraying. And we have just realised we didn't see any Water Bent: previously common, so hopefully it might re-appear.

A Stroll though Lesnes Abbey Woods

Wild Flower species seen included:

Bluebell (soon to be flowering)

Cow Parsley

Dog's Mercury

Garlic Mustard

Greater Stitchwort viz.

Ground-Ivy

Hogweed

Lesser Celandine
Lords & Ladies (both Arum maculatum and Arum italicum)

Sweet Violet (white)

Wild Daffodil (almost flowered out)

Wild Garlic
Wood Anemone

Wood Sage

Wood Sorrel viz.

Yellow Archangel

and Yellow Pimpernel

The Wild Flower Society', Spring Week Hunt 2022

The Spring Week Hunt: to identify Wild Flower' Species seen flowering during the first seven days of March.

We looked for Wild Flowers but didn't find many: just twenty species).

We won't submit any records.

Species in flower found during the seven days:

Alexanders

Annual Mercury

Common Chickweed

Common Field-Speedwell

Cow Parsley

Daisy

Dandelion

Dog's Mercury

Field Madder

Green Alkanet

Groundsel

Hairy Bittercress

Jersey Cudweed

Lesser Celandine

Red Dead-Nettle

Shepherd's-Purse

Sow-Thistle

Sweet Violet

Wild Daffodil viz.

and Wood Anemone viz.

The Wild Flower Society', Winter Plant Hunt 2021/22

The Wild Flower Society', Winter Plant Hunt (for Plants in flower) began on 1 December 2021 and ended today (28 February 2022). 

Wo won't be submitting records but we kept an eye out for flowering plants.

Species seen during the three-month period are as follows:

Annual Mercury

Black Horehound

Black Nightshade

Bristly Oxtongue

Common Chickweed

Common Field-Speedwell

Common Toadflax

Common Whitlowgrass

Creeping Thistle

Daisy

Dandelion

Early Dog-Violet

Gorse

Green Alkanet

Groundsel

Hairy Bitter-Cress

Hazel viz.

Herb Robert

Hoary Mustard

Ivy-Leaved Toadflax

Jersey Cudweed

Lesser Celandine

Mouse-Ear Hawkweed

Narrow-Leaved Ragwort

Nipplewort viz.

Oxford Ragwort

Primrose

Red Clover

Red Dead-Nettle

Round-Leaved Crane's-Bill

Scentless Mayweed

Shepherd's-Purse

Smooth Sow-Thistle

Sowbread

Sweet Violet

Three-Cornered Leek

White Dead-Nettle

Wild Carrot

Wild Daffodil (Lesnes Abbey Woods)

Winter Heliotrope viz.

and Yarrow

Spring is almost here

Wild Flower species seen flowering locally today:

Annual Mercury

Common Chickweed

Common Field-Speedwell

Daisy viz.

Dandelion viz.

Green Alkanet

Groundsel viz. 

Lesser Celandine

Oxford Ragwort

Primrose

Red Dead-Nettle

Shepherd's-Purse viz.

Sow-Thistle viz.

Sweet Violet

and Three-Cornered Leek

Plus Bees, Flies (including Hoverflies) and a Ladybird. 

To Rainham Marshes to look for Birds

One of our occasional Outings. Just across the River (Thames) from here: we have to get there via the Dartford Tunnel.

Bird' species seen (thirty in all):

Blue Tit

Canada Goose

Carrion Crow

Chaffinch

Collared Dove (first of the year)

Coot

Cormorant

Dunnock

Gadwall 

Greylag Goose

House Sparrow

Lapwing

Magpie

Mallard

Moorhen

Mute Swan

Pied Wagtail

Pintail (first and possibly last of the year)

Pochard

Robin

Shelduck

Shoveler

Snipe (first of the year)

Starling

Stonechat viz.

Teal

Tufted Duck

Wigeon

Wood Pigeon

and Wren (first of the year)

Lichens and Mosses seen on the Crossness Nature Reserve and Surrounding area during 2022

Lichens seen as at 6 February 2022:

Caloplaca decipiens

Caloplaca saxicola

Flavoparmelia soredians

Illosporiopsis christsenii (a Lichenicolous Fungus on Xanthoria parietina) viz.

Lecanora carpinea

Lecanora chlarotera/hybocarpa (differentiated only by microscopy) 

Lecanora dispersa agg.

Lecanora muralis

Lecidella elaeochroma

Parmelia sulcata

Phaeophyscia orbicularis

Phaeophyscia nigricans

Physcia adscendens
Physcia caesia

Physcia tenella

Xanthoria calcicola

Xanthoria elegans

Xanthoria parietina

Mosses seen as at 6 February 2022:

Brachythecium rutabulum (probable: note the light coloured glossy branch tips) viz.

Grimmia pulvinata

Orthotricum affine (probable) viz.

Orthotricum diaphanum (probable: white hairpins clearly visible on the ends of the branch tips) viz.

Records have been submitted...