Better late than never

Wednesday 3rd April 2024, Burnside Meadow

It was June 2020 when I received an invitation for the group to visit this site. Nearly four years later, with chunks of time disappearing due to the COVID pandemic restrictions, we finally made it for a day at this site.

Having parked a little way away from the site in a local car park, and meeting one of the volunteers who looks after the site, we walked to the site where we were met by a few other volunteers joining us for the day.

The site is a sizeable patch of grassland with an area of woodland. It is bordered on one side by housing and on the other by the Rea Brook. It is part of the Rea Brook Valley Nature Reserve.

The name of the site has made me ponder on the many names for flowing water! (My thesaurus provides nine alternatives to river.) Is there a difference between a brook and a burn or a beck? When does a brook become a river? When does a stream become significant enough to be named? The answers to these questions are beyond me!

I digress.

The volunteers have planted hedgerows and some trees which are still in the early stages of development. They are trying to control some of the more dominant species of plant. A pool is also planned, and suitable sites are being tested.

Moving onto the grassland our early finds were dominated by ladybirds.

A 2-spot ladybird. This one is a less common form of the ladybird, known as form quadrimaculata.

Photograph: David Williams

A 7-spot ladybird together with the typical form of a 2-spot ladybird.

Photograph: David Williams

A Harlequin ladybird and a Pine ladybird.

Photograph: David Williams

A pair of 24-spot ladybird sensing that spring was in the air.

Photograph: David Williams

And now for something that was not a ladybird …

Not even an insect.

A Common frog, passing the time of day hunkered down in the grass.

After this quick diversion it is back to insects.

A Dock bug, Coreus marginatus.

A solitary bee, Andrena scotia.

Photograph: John Martin

A lesser dung fly, Spelobia clunipes.

Photograph: Nigel Jones

This unfortunate fly has been infected by a fungus which has erupted through its abdomen. The photographer has, helpfully, added a red arrow to point this out.

Moving away from insects once more we managed to find a couple of snails that could be identified:

A Rounded snail, Discus rotundatus;

Photograph: David Williams

And a Hairy snail, Trochulus hispidus.

Photograph: David Williams

And now for another ladybird; one we have seen before, a 24-spot. 

So why include another photograph? 

Because it was spotless!

Photograph: David Williams

Lunchtime! 

As the grassland we were in was very wet and not really suitable for a picnic we sought higher (and drier) ground.

We headed for the edge of the reserve, by the housing, where we made use of some conveniently placed tree trunks that had been coppiced and laid out.

On the way, ever vigilant, we spotted a hoverfly, Eristalis arbustorum;

Photograph: John Martin

And a Cuckoo flower, possibly the only one in flower at the time within the site.

Lunch was consumed in relative comfort.

During this sojourn a large ground beetle was spotted wandering along the ground between our feet. It was put in a pot as we tried to identify the species.

Unfortunately, we were unable to decide which species it was but narrowed it down to either Abax parallelepipedus or a Pterostichus species. [Note: It has now been confirmed as Abax parallelepipedus]

It was photographed then released to continue its rambling. We await information about whether it can be identified.

Photograph: John Martin

Lunch over we hauled ourselves up from our perches and meandered over to the woodland. 

A large bend in the Rea Brook restricts the woodland to a narrow strip between the water and the housing. 

Although some adventurous members entered the body of the wood, as there was no path and the underfoot conditions were wet and slippery, those of us of lesser agility stayed at the edge.

An Alder leaf beetle and a Parent bug were observed.

Photograph: David Williams

And munching its way through some tasty wet dead wood was a Green cellar slug, Limacus maculatus. It is also known as an Irish yellow slug.

Photograph: Neil Nash

Retreating from the woodland and returning to the grassland we continued our searching as we made our way very slowly towards the exit. 

A suction sample of the vegetation revealed a tortoise beetle, Cassida flaveola;

Photograph: John Martin

And a lace bug, Tingis ampliata. The lace bug is associated with Creeping thistle.

Photograph: John Martin

Time to go.

As we left the site, tapping a conifer overhanging the entrance revealed another ladybird. This was the tiny (about 2mm in length) Scymnus interruptus.

Photograph: David Williams

What a nice way to finish the day.

My thanks to Shrewsbury Council and the volunteers for allowing us to do what we enjoy doing. My gratitude to the photographers for sending me their images to illuminate the report.