heliastes21's Journal

The Brown House Moth (Hofmannophila Pseudospretella) is a common house moth originally from Asia. In the 1840s, this moth was accidentally introduced to Europe, eventually spreading through the British Isles, and also into north America.

Of the 2,500 moth species in Britain there are only five – thankfully – that can do your wardrobe and carpets serious damage. The common clothes moth (Tineola bisselliella) and the brown house moth (Hofmannophila pseudospretella) are the worst offenders.

The brown house moth is considered a serious pest in domestic and commercial settings because of the larvae's destructive feeding habits. Larvae feed on various manmade foodstuffs and household materials. These include stored cereals, dried fruit, seeds, clothes and furniture fabric, fur, and wood floor inlays. Their destructive power is largely attributable to their unusual ability to degrade keratin. Larvae also bite through synthetic carpet fibres to construct their pupation cells, and since they rarely ingest the fibres, they are little affected by conventional moth-proofing agents.

Hen Harriers are undoubtedly the most intensely persecuted of all UK birds of prey. Driven to extinction in mainland Britain in the 19th century, they have remained rare due to illegal persecution and disturbance, primarily in areas associated with grouse shooting. Just ten years ago, in 2013, no Hen Harriers nested in England, but there are now more Hen Harriers nesting in England than at any point since they were lost as a breeding species around 200 years ago. In 2023, a total of 54 nests were recorded (up from 49 last year) and 141 chicks fledged.

In the spring and summer months, hen harriers are primarily seen in the upland hills (for example in Scotland) looking for mates and nesting sites in heather moorland. In the winter however, hen harriers can be found in a variety of lowland habitats including farmland, grasslands and wetlands. Hen harriers visit Norfolk in small numbers during the late autumn and winter but do not breed in the County and have generally departed by mid-April. I have seen ‘ringtails’ at NWT Cley Marshes (Norfolk) and at Hen Reedbeds (Suffolk), though always elusive.

This is my 210th British bird species on iNaturalist.

In February 2024 I took a trip to Costa Rica in search of sloths. Sloths are a group of xenarthran mammals comprising the suborder Folivora. Noted for their slowness of movement, tree sloths spend most of their lives hanging upside down in the trees of the south and Central America. There are six extant sloth species in two genera – Bradypus (three–toed sloths) and Choloepus (two–toed sloths). The two groups are from different, distantly related families, and are thought to have evolved their similar morphology via parallel evolution from terrestrial ancestors.

The first sloths we encountered were living within the campus of the University of Costa Rica, which holds some of the largest patches of forest in the San José Metro Area. Initially we came across 5 individuals of the brown-throated sloth Bradypus variegatus (a mother and baby, two adolescents and a solo male) but also a very active – and surprisingly quick Hoffmann's two-toed sloth (Choloepus hoffmanni). Later we encountered more individuals of both species, though mostly the brown-throated three-toed sloth, in Manuel Antonio National Park on the Pacific coast of Costa Rica.

The ancient Xenarthra included a significantly greater variety of species, with a wider distribution, than those of today. Ancient sloths were mostly terrestrial, and some reached sizes that rival those of elephants, including Megatherium – the giant ground sloth, notably collected by Charles Darwin during his expedition to South America on HMS Beagle.

https://www.nhm.ac.uk/discover/news/2018/november/darwins-giant-ground-sloth-skull-pieced-together-and-scanned.html

Smew are scarce winter visitors to the UK, with most birds not arriving until at least December and leaving again by the middle of March. They spend the summer in the taiga forests of northern Scandinavia and Russia.

The number of smews reaching the UK each winter has decreased dramatically in recent decades and they are now considered a scarce visitor. In the mid 20th century, hundreds would spend the winter here, with a record 144 counted at a single London reservoir in 1956. By contrast, in 2019 it was estimated that only 130 smews wintered in the whole of Britain. This decrease has been attributed to the effects of climate change, with warmer winters meaning the birds don't need to travel as far from their breeding grounds to escape freezing conditions.

I have observed this species at a number of sites, including inland lakes (Eye Brook Reservoir – Leicestershire, Rutland Water) but also RSPB Minsmere nature reserve in Suffolk
Smew are protected in the UK under the Wildlife and Countryside Act, 1981. They are classified as ‘Red’ under the “Birds of Conservation Concern: Red List for Birds” (2021).

https://www.wildlifetrusts.org/wildlife-explorer/birds/waterfowl/smew

Between 1997 and 2000 I carried out PhD research on the Mediterranean damselfish Chromis chromis in Corsica (France), yet it is only recently that I have included observations of this species in iNaturalist. In 2018 I published a paper explaining why Chromis chromis are one of the most important species in the Mediterranean (see doi:10.1111/jfb.13551).

The damselfish Chromis chromis is typically the most abundant fish species in the rocky littoral environment of the Mediterranean Sea, where it feeds in huge shoals on incoming zooplankton and rests near the seabed each night. Research has shown that large populations of C. chromis play a fundamental role by transferring carbon, nitrogen and phosphorus directly from the pelagic system to the littoral in the form of solid and liquid wastes and therefore that this species acts as a vital conduit for nutrients. In addition, C. chromis represents a major prey item for predatory fish and seabirds, it has been shown to exert significant predation pressure on coastal zooplankton populations, but it is also a major consumer of fish eggs and hence may have a strong influence on the dynamics of other fish species. Chromis chromis is of only minor importance to commercial fisheries (it is usually discarded), but trends in population abundance of this species can be indicative of levels of fishing pressure on other commercial species. It has been demonstrated that where predator numbers are able to recover from intensive fishing (e.g.in marine protected areas), this is often mirrored by lower densities of C. chromis. Several papers have championed C. chromis as a possible indicator species for human disturbance. As well as being directly and indirectly affected by fishing, the species is also sensitive to a number of other anthropogenic pressures, most notably poor water quality and noise pollution.

In October I was fortune enough to go on holiday to Malta. Whilst being somewhat disappointed at the sheer lack of diversity in the bird species we observed, I was taken by the many ‘Filfola lizards’ that we spotted throughout Valletta and elsewhere in Malta and Gozo. The filfola lizard or Maltese wall lizard (Podarcis filfolensis) is a species in the family Lacertidae. In the Maltese Islands, there are four subspecies , all of which are endemic there.

Podarcis filfolensis ssp. Maltensis is the subspecies found on the three main islands: Malta, Gozo and Comino. It is normally greenish and sometimes speckled. Podarcis filfolensis ssp. Filfolensis is endemic to the tiny islet of Filfla just off the coast of Malta; it is the largest of the four subspecies and is blackish with bluish spots. Podarcis filfolensis ssp. Generalensis is endemic to Fungus Rock (west coast of Gozo); it has a reddish belly and blue-like flanks. Podarcis filfolensis ssp. Kieselbachi is endemic to Selmunett, otherwise known as St.Paul's Islands. Its colours vary greatly e.g. brown, grey, etc. with an orange belly and small black spots. The population became extinct in 2005. Other sub-species are thought to inhabit the nearby Pelagian Islands of Italy.

Once common in wetlands, bitterns became extinct as breeding birds in the UK in the late 19th century, as a result of wetland drainage, excessive egg collecting and hunting. Somewhat against the odds, bitterns returned under their own steam as breeding birds and were next recorded as breeding in Norfolk in 1911. They slowly recolonised from there and by 1954 there were around 80 booming males found mostly in the Norfolk Broads. It seems the increase was helped by the flooding and abandonment of low-lying coastal land during World War II to defend against a German invasion. This allowed both reedbeds and bitterns to return.

With a big push from far-sighted conservationists the bittern has enjoyed a remarkable comeback. The latest counts by the RSPB and Natural England clocked up 228 calling males at 103 sites nationwide in 2022. I have often seen them at RSPB Minsmere in Suffolk (although only very fleeting or obscured views), but also occasionally at Rutland Water and even Whitlingham Broad, Norwich. I have heard their characteristic ‘booming’ call at other sites including RSPB Strumpshaw Fen, NWT Hickling Broad and NWT Cley Marshes in Norfolk.

The water vole population in the U.K. has fallen from its estimated pre-1960 level of around 8 million to 2.3 million in 1990 and to 354,000 in 1998. This represents a 90–95% loss. It is still declining dramatically: the most recent estimate is around 220,000. This decline is partly attributed to the American mink, an aggressive predator of the vole, together with unsympathetic farming and watercourse management which destroyed parts of the water vole's habitat.

The water vole is the U.K.'s fastest declining mammal and efforts are under way to protect it and its habitat from further destruction. When I was a child (40 years ago) they were relatively common in the canals of Leicestershire, yet they are now seldom seen. East Anglia is an important national stronghold for the water vole. I have had fleeting views at a number of sites in Norfolk and Suffolk, however it is only on this trip to Minsmere (Suffolk) in September 2023, that I managed to get a photo to submit to iNaturalist.

Spotted flycatchers are migratory birds, spending the winter in Africa. They arrive in the UK to breed from late April to early May, building a nest out of grass, lichens and twigs, usually in a sheltered crevice. The spotted flycatcher is often the last migrant bird species to reach the UK for the summer months. They typically depart at the end of August. BTO research has shown that some head as far south as Namibia, around 7,000 km from their breeding location.

The spotted flycatcher population is in serious decline. Between 1967 and 2020, the population dropped by 92%, making it a red list species of conservation concern. While the definitive reason is unclear, there are many possible explanations for the decline. Conditions in their wintering grounds in Africa could be to blame, as could a decline in flying insects (their main food source).

I have only observed this species twice in Norfolk (and only managed to get a photo once).

Late summer can be a quiet period for birders, awaiting the increased pace of the autumn migration. The Wood Sandpiper is a smart wader with elegant proportions, a strong eye stripe and speckled plumage. An attractive passage migrant, scarce in spring but more numerous in autumn. Movement to, and from, breeding and wintering areas takes place overland, largely to the east of the UK. The largest numbers occur in east-coast counties, especially East Anglia.

Migrating Wood Sandpipers break their journey to refuel, preferring small shallow wetlands with plenty of emergent vegetation. Individuals using such sites can be surprisingly difficult to see as they forage amongst the tall plants. In Britain, I have seen this species at the RSPB Buckenham Marshes, NWT Hickling Broad, NWT Holme Dunes and NWT Cley Marshes reserves in Norfolk. However, I have also seen them at the other end of their migration routes, typically in October and November, in Zambia (South Luangwa and Kafue National Parks) and in South Africa (Kruger National Park).