Avoiding the easy route

Wednesday 20th April 2022, Aston Locks Nature Reserves

Glorious sunshine greeted us as we met in the car park at Queen’s Head, near Oswestry, for our visit to the nature reserves by the Aston Locks. 

This area is a series of pools developed to mitigate against the potential disturbance by boating to the Montgomery Canal’s dominant population of Floating Water Plantain which is rare in lowland. Unfortunately “The Flora and Vegetation of Shropshire” suggests that the plant has disappeared from the Shropshire sections of the canal, but maybe, these pools will encourage its return. Only time will tell.

The pools can be seen in the following aerial photographs:

Photograph: Bob Kemp

Queen’s Head is toward the top of the above photograph. The pool in the foreground is the first of the recently created pools. The first pool, which is far more established can the made out amongst the trees to the left of the canal by the white house.

Photograph: Bob Kemp

Again the first of the recently created pools is in the foreground with the second in the distance with a further smaller more established pool just beyond it.

The plan was to visit the site furthest from the car park first.

And, for once, we followed the plan!

However, the plan did not include getting everybody to leave the car park. 

A small picnic area and access to the canal proved irresistible as a small tree in blossom was attracting bees and flies, to the delight of our dipterists.

One insect, not a fly, that was found in this area was the colourful rhopalid bug Corizus hyoscami:

Photograph: Jim Almond

The canal surface was very smooth and provided the opportunity for an artistic photograph of a tree and its reflection.

Photograph: Nigel Cane-Honeysett

Eventually we arrived at the crossing at Lock 2 of the Aston Locks.

As you can see there is a narrow walkway across the lock. And this is the way most people came.

Photograph: Nigel Cane-Honeysett

However, there was a bridge! It is just after the second lock gate. It was not until most of us had crossed the lock that anyone noticed it.

If you look closely at the first photograph of the lock, you can just make out its railings beyond the second gate.

The group is not one to avoid the hard route!

A Green shieldbug was spotted in the vegetation by the lock.

Photograph: David Williams

Arriving on site we were expecting to find a damp meadow (as that is what it was the last time any of us came here); we were very surprised to find a mound had been created and landscaped.

We made our way to the main pool. 

Here any disappointment we felt about the loss of the meadow was more than overcome when one the group did some pond dipping and found a Water spider, Argyroneta aquatica.

Photograph: Bob Kemp

If you look at the abdomen of the spider you can make out a transparent outer layer. (Do not confuse this with the perfect circle at the bottom of the pot!) This is a layer of air that it has trapped in the fine hairs on its body. You will also notice that it is carrying a snack.

The warm sun encouraged a few hoverflies to venture out:

Leucozona lucorum:

Photograph: Jim Almond

Syrphus ribesii.

Photograph: Jim Almond

A Large red damselfly was spotted;

Photograph: John Martin

And in the vegetation running alongside a ditch on the opposite side of the path to the pool we found several Woundwort shieldbugs.

Photograph: David Williams

This prompted another demonstration of the uncomfortable positions our dedicated photographers have to get themselves into in order to bring you the images included here.

Lunch was taken by most of us during which the photographer was accompanied by a Slender ground hopper.

Photograph: David Williams

After lunch we spent some more time exploring the area around the main pool to be rewarded by finding a Water ladybird.

Photograph: David Williams

And we came across a sapling that had been devasted by a host of Alder leaf beetles.

Once spotted Alder leaf beetles seemed to turn up frequently.

Here is a closer view of a beetle taken at some time during our visit.

Photograph: Jim Almond

The decision was made to move back to the original reserve by Lock 1. But there was a problem. We had spread ourselves widely around this large site. Rounding everybody up to suggest we move on was very tricky.

And, as it turned out, impossible, as some had already taken the decision to wander back.

However this process did allow us a short time to look at the furthest pool.

Photograph: John Martin

And growing in this pool were lots of Water-violets.

Photograph: John Martin

We made our way back to the lock, crossed …

Over the bridge …

And made our way to Lock 1.

Here there was no bridge so we had to navigate the walkway across the lock gate. 

Thankfully no-one fell off and we were able to spend 90 minutes or so in this well-established reserve.

Another hoverfly was photographed, Xylota segnis.

Photograph: Jim Almond

And, after seeing many orange-tip butterflies during the day, a couple settled and allowed themselves to be photographed.

A female;

Photograph: Jim Almond

And a male.

Photograph: Jim Almond

A cranefly was spotted, Ptychoptera albimana, with characteristic white tarsi on its hind legs.

Photograph: John Martin

Time was marching on as I rounded the southern tip of this area.

And when I got back to the entrance I found that others had already decided that it was time to stop looking and enjoy the comforts of the site.

Gathering everyone together was far more straightforward this time around and we made our way back to the car park.

On the way we spotted some emergent Giant horsetails;

Photograph: John Martin

And another hoverfly, Epistrophe elegans.

Photograph: Jom Almond

There was a surprise for us as we left the towpath to join the road to the car park. A Red kite glided over us.

Photograph: John Martin

What an excellent end to a very satisfying day.

For this week’s Wednesday Weevil of the Week we have one of the larger weevils, Phyllobius pyri, which is commonly found in low vegetation, for example nettles.

Photograph: Emm Cane-Honeysett

My thanks to the Canal and River Trust for giving us permission to do what we enjoy doing and to the photographers for allowing me to use their images.

Reference:  “The Flora and Vegetation of Shropshire”, Lockton, A. & Whild, S., 2015, Shropshire Botanical Society

A repeat performance (almost)

Wednesday 13th April 2022, Clunton Coppice

For our outing to this Shropshire Wildlife Reserve, rather like our visit to Llanymynech Heritage Centre the previous week, the weather first of all drenched us for an hour or so, then dried us out by the time we went home. However once the first tranche of rain stopped the sun did not shine a great deal and there were a few more light flurries of rain.

That said we did our best to investigate the site.

During the rain we are very dependent on observation and vacuum sampling. Beating wet trees results in a tray full of water which is not healthy for any creature that falls into the tray, (and a further drenching for the beater!). Use of a net just leaves you with a wet net and more waterlogged animals.

Vacuum sampling the leaf litter and sparse ground vegetation tends to collect many small beetles including this staphylinid, Tachyporus obtusus:

Photograph: Jim Almond

And the weevil, Trypodendron domesticum.

Photograph: Emm Cane-Honeysett

Using our eyes and grubbing around in dead trees and other objects reveal larger beetles, for example, the beautifully hued ground beetle Carabus violaceus:

Photograph: Jim Almond

The carrion beetle, Phosphuga atrata;

Photograph: Jim Almond

And the Woodland dor beetle, Anoplotrupes stercorosus.

Photograph: Jim Almond

Of course not everything we find has legs.

A slime mould which has not yet been identified;

Photograph: Bob Kemp

A hoof fungus, Fomes fomentarius, named I assume after its passing resemblance to a horse’s hoof;

Photograph: John Bingham

And a patch of Bitter oysterling, Panellus stipticus, fruiting on a moss covered log on the woodland floor.

Photograph: John Bingham

One curiosity was this inflated mite found on a leaf. We have no idea what species it is but its body is impressive.

Photograph: Bob Kemp

By the time the rain had completely stopped we had advanced around 150 metres into the wood and it was time to find a spot for lunch!

Fortunately we spotted a large birch tree trunk that had fallen to the ground and this became a seat for most of us whilst we munched our sandwiches.

During lunch a pair, if not three, Pied flycatchers were spotted. It seemed that everyone on the lunch log could see them except one person (ME). After a while I began to feel that I was the subject of a late April Fool’s joke concocted by the group. 

One of our bird enthusiasts abandoned his lunch spot to try and get a photograph.

He was successful. Here are a male and female posing on a branch.

Photograph: John Martin

Here is what I saw of the birds!

The sun came out and our aerial photographer took to the skies to take this view which is from the wood looking towards the village of Clunton and beyond.

Photographer: Bob Kemp

And a second which I believe is looking down the valley in the approximate direction of Craven Arms.

Photographer: Bob Kemp

The sun dissappeared.

We advanced further into the woods spotting a muscid fly had ventured out, Eudasyphora cyanella;

Photographer: Jim Almond

And a Cream-spot ladybird, which has 14 spots on its elytra but its brown colour prevents any confusion with the named “14-spot ladybird”.

Photographer: Jim Almond

An area of the wood was chanced upon where there was some flowers. The sun came out for a while focussing attention on the flowers to see what insects visited them. A bee-fly, Bombylius major, was observed but not photographed. However a hoverfly, Platycheirus albimanus, posed for long enough.

Photographer: Jim Almond

A large beetle was found, Cychrus caraboides. This is known as the Snail hunter. Apparently it stridulates when handled but, if it did, no-one could hear it.

Photographer: Jim Almond

On the edge of a very small clearing the lichen Graphis scripta was found on the trunks of hornbeams.

Photographer: Bob Kemp

Time was marching on and we were still moving away from the cars.

Not a good strategy!

What is the black fungus on this twig?

It is, so I am informed, Witches’ butter.

Another fly paused and posed for long enough to be snapped, a tachinid, Gonia picea.

Photograph: Jim Almond

And with that final fly we made our way back to the cars and home.

To finish, our Wednesday Weevil of the Week.

Not one …

But two.

Our judge could not decide so we have joint winners of this prestigious title.

The first is Exomias pellucidus;

Photographer: Emm Cane-Honeysett

And the second is Trachodes hispidus with its strange paddle shaped scales.

Photographer: Emm Cane-Honeysett

My thanks to Shropshire Wildlife Trust for giving us permission to do what we enjoy doing. And, as always, to the photographers for allowing me to use their images to illustrate the report.