Wednesday 23rd to Saturday 26th January 2019

Wednesday 23rd January:
A dull, cold, blustery day provided little of note on today's visit to the Common.  The only real highlight was seeing a flock of 57 Redwing perch up briefly in the trees along the NE boundary of the site near the Wilden Top car park.

The only other addition to my site year list was Oak Moss lichen which is quite abundant in places on the branches of some of the Oaks in the SE woodland.

Oak Moss (Evernia prunastri) lichen

Friday 25th January:
Today I undertook an amble around the Lower Heath area of the Common.  At one area of the walk I  I could smell the unmistakable pungent odour of a Fox's marked territory.  I will monitor for activity in this area over the coming months.

Also of note were 3 Cormorant that flew over heading NNW towards the River Severn.

Saturday 26th January:
Today I undertook a walk along Hillditch Coppice.  A couple of the many Lesser Celandine their were in bloom and I've got to say it was nice to see a splash of colour.

Lesser Celandine (Ficaria verna)

Also of interest during the walk were a couple of additions to my 2019 site fungi list that came in the shape of  Coral Spot and Willow Bracket.

Coral Spot (Nectria cinnabarina)

Willow Bracket (Phellinus igniarius)

During my amble I also noticed a number of leaf mines on the Bramble leaves.  These mines are caused by the larvae of a micro moth called Stigmella aurella feeding within the leaves.

Stigmella aurella leaf mine

Thursday 17th January 2019

Hartlebury Common - Lower Terrace:

This afternoon I took a walk around the lower terrace of the Common.  It was a sunny day with blue skies and a cold breeze.  On the bird front it was a case of the usual suspect with the highlight being  a Kestrel hunting.hovering over the terrace.  Also noted were Carrion Crows, Magpies, Robins, Wrens and Blackbirds.

Kestrel (Falco tinnunculus)

Robin (Erithacus rubecula)

Carrion Crow (Corvus corone)

The days best find however came on a much smaller scale in the form of a Longitarsus dorsalis beetle.  This minuscule beetle of only 2-3 mm in length was basking on a fence post that was catching the winter sun.  These cracking looking invert has a scattered distribution in Worcestershire (possibly due to under recording) and favours sites where Ragwort is present as its larva feeds on the roots of said plant and the adults its the leaves.  There is certainly plenty of Ragwort present on the lower terrace of the common and I for one hope that it isn't all pulled out in future as it is such an important plant in sustaining a number of our invertebrates.

Longitarsus dorsalis beetle

Friday 11th & Saturday 12th January 2019

Friday 11th January - Upper Terrace:  
Today, I parked up at the Wilden Top car park and undertook an amble around the Upper Terrace of the Common.  Large numbers of birds were feeding in the paddocks between the common and Stourport Riding Centre including 71 Redwings, 1 Mistle Thrush, 11 Greenfinch and 19 Goldfinch. 

Mistle Thrush (Turdus viscivorus)  & Redwing (Turdus iliacus)

The terrace itself was pretty much devoid of bird life which is not surprising as not only is it the winter months and many species are not present this time of year and secondly this area of the Common just gets so busy with dog walkers so is perhaps not quiet enough for many species aside from the more confident ones such as Robins and Magpies.

The walk did however yield a new fungi species for the year list is Velvet Shank.

Velvet Shank (Flammulina velutipes)

I was also saddened to find a dead Fox underneath one of the hedgerows along the eastern edge of the common.  There was no sign of external trauma to this individual so perhaps it had died naturally or maybe it had ingested something toxic, who knows, this is all just conjecture.  The only positive that can be drawn from finding this Fox is that it is unlikely to be a lone individual and, sad that it is, it serves as a record that this species of mammal is still present on the Common.

Fox (Vulpes vulpes) deceased

Saturday 12th January - Lower Poolands:
For this afternoon's visit I focused my attentions on the Oak wood and heath on the SE side of the Common.  Starting in the woodland I added a new year tick to my site bird list as a ♂ Bullfinch was present skulking in the bushes (see poor record shot below).  Bullfinch is a species that I have only recorded on a couple of  occasions and both previous times were in Hillditch Coppice.

Bullfinch (Pyrrhula pyrrhula)

I then spent a while mooching for fungi through the decaying logs/stumps along the pylon ride. Here I added Sulphur Tuft to the year list and discovered another fungi, Split Gill, which I hadn't previously recorded at the site before.

Sulphur Tuft (Hypholoma fasciculare)

Split Gill (Schizophyllum commune)

I also found a nice group of the wonderfully named Cow Pat Gem fungus growing on the remains of (yes you've guessed it) a cow pat.  These tiny disc fungi are bright orange with a granular outside edge and can form quite large swarms over dung.

Cow Pat Gem (Cheilymenia granulata)

On the ground amongst the heather I was able to identify another of the moorland/heath land lichen in Cladonia portentosa.  This branching lichen is a bit reminiscent of ball of wire wool in shape.

Cladonia portentosa lichen

Sunday 6th & Tuesday 8th January 2019

Sunday 6th January 2019:

I started today's visit to the Common with a mooch around the area near the Wilden Top car park and soon added another species to the bird year list as there were 3 Greenfinch perched in one of the trees there.

I then headed over to Lower Heath where I was pleased to see both a male and female Kestrel present.  I also added a handful of year list ticks in the form of 2 Coal Tits and flyover Lesser Black-backed Gull and Black-headed Gull.

Kestrel (Falco tinnunculus) ♀

From Lower Heath I then headed over to Hillditch Pool.  In the trees above the pool were 17 Redwings and a Song Thrush.  A Common Buzzard flew through as did a single Pied Wagtail.

During my walk along the wooded footpath I recorded 3 more fungi for the 2019 list:  Candlesnuff, Turkeytail and King Alfred's Cakes.  The latter is so named as, when they mature and become a burnt black colour,  they are said to resemble the cakes that King Alfred burned when he fell asleep. The ones in the photo below are a more immature specimen and are hence a browner colour.

Candlesnuff (Xylaria hypoxylon)

Turkeytail (Trametes versicolor)

King Alfred's Cakes (Daldinia concentrica)

Tuesday 8th January 2019:
For today's visit to the Common I decided to have a mooch about in the area between the Old Rose and Crown pub and The Bog.  At first it seemed like it was going to be a fruitless visit but then as I neared the wooded area at the rear of this section of common I picked up on 3 Siskins (2♂, 1♀) feeding in the Alders alongside 9 Goldfinch.

Nearby, there was a small flock of House Sparrows present in the trees next to The Bog car park.

Siskin (Carduelis spinus) ♂

Friday 4th January 2019

Lower Poolands and Upper Terrace
Today's walk took me around the Lower Poolands heath and around the Upper Terrace of the Common.  The walk itself was surprisingly devoid of bird life with only two new additions to my 2019 suite year list in the shape of a flyover Herring Gull and a Nuthatch that was present at the edge of the SE Oak woodland.  Thankfully the ever approachable Robins were as showy as always.

Robin (Erithacus rubecula)

With things being so quiet on the bird front I decided to spend a little time looking for some of the Common's specialist heath/moorland species of lichen and managed to find both Cladonia floerkeana and Cladonia foliacea.  C. floerkeana is commonly known as Devil's Matchstick lichen as it's red tips are reminiscent of Swan Vesta matches.  Where as C. foliacea has brown tips that tend to form around a cup shape.

Devil's Matchstick lichen (Cladonia floerkeana)

Cladonia foliacea lichen

Finally, I am going to leave you with one of today's views from the Terrace Bank looking across the Lower Terrace towards Rush Pool and Lower Heath.

Wednesday 2nd January 2019

Lower Terrace:
I began today's visit by undertaking a walk on the lower terrace of the Common. I started my walk by traipsing through The Bog.  Sadly the water levels have dropped here since my last visit just before Christmas and only very few shallow puddles amongst the tussocks remain.  I certainly can't see any wintering Snipe using the are whilst the water levels are this low. 

I did however add a few more bird species to my site year list during my amble around the terrace with Common Buzzard, Collared Dove, Carrion Crow and Chaffinch added to the list.

A single additional fungi species was added in the form of Common Jellyspot.

On the mammal front a number of Grey Squirrels were encountered and there were signs of plenty of Mole action with lots of mole hills present in the less sandy lawns near to Rush Pool.

Grey Squirrel (Sciurus carolinensis)

Signs of Mole activity near Rush Pool

Hillditch Pool:
From the Lower Terrace I then went and spent some time down at Hillditch Pool.  The pool itself was fairly quite but for 3 Moorhens (2 adult & 1 1st winter) and 6 Mallard (4 drake, 2 female).

A flock of 7 Long-tailed Tits were flitting along the hedgerow next to the footpath and a number of Goldcrests were flitting around in the Oak trees near the bench.

Also of interest (but just off site opposite Hillditch) was a Water Rail that was calling/squealing  regularly from along Titton Brook.

1st winter Moorhen (Gallinula chloropus)

Common Jellyspot (Dacrymyces stillatus)

Tuesday 1st January 2019

So here it is, a New Year and for me it represents a continuation of my wildlife recording project on Hartlebury Common and it's resulting blogging escapades.  I must admit, after what was an indifferent year both personally and in terms of my blogging output I am now returning to it with a renewed passion and can't wait to see what flora and fauna Hartlebury Common and Hillditch Pool/Coppice may hold in 2019.  So without any further ado here is today's post....

Lower Poolands
For my first visit of the year to the Common I decided to spend my time on the Lower Poolands side and started by undertaking a walk through the Oak woodland.  This is perhaps one of the best places to see woodland birds there during the winter months and on my arrival I was immediately greeted by a Song Thrush in full song.  Other birds of note in the woodland were Great Spotted Woodpecker, Jay, Treecreeper, Goldcrest, Goldfinch, Great Tit, Blue Tit, Dunnock, Wren, Blackbird, Robin and Magpie.  Walking around the heathland I added Woodpigeon to the list and also 2 Redwings that flew over heading east.

Treecreeper (Certhia familiaris)

During my visit I also spent a fair bit of time mooching along the electricity pylon ride that cuts through part of the Oak wood. The decaying log piles and tree stumps in that area are an ideal place to look for fungi (especially the gelatinous ones that are still prevalent during the winter months).  This paid of as I recorded Leafy Brain, Purple Jelly Disc, Witches' Butter and Yellow Brain along the ride.  Leafy Brain is particularly interesting as its a parasitic fungi feeds on dead wood already inhabited by the yellow/orange coloured Hairy Curtain Crust fungi.

Leafy Brain (Tremella foliacea) & Hairy Curtain Crust (Stereum hirsutum)

Witches' Butter (Exidia glandulosa)

Purple Jellydisc (Ascocoryne sarcoides)

Yellow Brain (Tremella mesenterica)