Elateridae ...

Athous haemorrhoidalis (Fabricius, 1801)

The Elateridae, or Click Beetles as they are commonly known, are a family of beetles currently comprising 73 species in the British Isles. They are identifiable by their elongated appearance with heads somewhat sunken into the thorax, sharp posterior angles on the pronotum and often toothed or pectinate antennae (the segments are longer on one side giving a comb like appearance). They are named for their ability to flip into the air in order to right themselves when upside down - it is this mechanism that produces the familiar ‘click’. Most species are somewhat uniformly brown or black in appearance, some with a metallic sheen and often a fine covering of silver-grey hairs, though some species are more brightly coloured. Sizes range from 3-4mm up to around 20mm.

Occurring in a wide range of habitats, A. haemorrhoidalis is one of the most frequent spring Elaterids in Britain.

More at: www.elateridae.co.uk

In decline ...

Lapwing (Vanellus vanellus)

The spectacular tumbling display of the male bird, along with its elegant crest and characteristic ee-wit call, make the Lapwing one of our most conspicuous waders. Historically their eggs were collected for food, but the problems they face today are much more complex and these familiar plovers are now on the list of our most threatened birds - with changes in farming practices being the main cause of this decline. Targeted conservation work on individual farms in Sussex and elsewhere have brought impressive increases in breeding pairs, but there are not enough of these intensive schemes to make a difference on a landscape and population scale. Success on nature reserves is at best patchy and any recovery of the Lapwing, if it ever happens, looks likely to be slow.

A beautiful bird which provides fond childhood memories ...

References:

Barfield, C., 2014. Lapwing. The Birds of Sussex. Thetford: British Trust for Ornithology (BTO) Books on behalf of the Sussex Ornithological Society, pp. 243-245.

Pepper, R.T., 1996. Lapwing. Birds of Sussex. Sussex Ornithological Society, pp. 244-246.

Fritillaries for the Future

A conservation project has been launched to stop the severe decline in numbers of two of the rarest woodland butterflies in Sussex - the Pearl-bordered and Small Pearl-bordered Fritillary.

Butterfly Conservation has set up the three-year project Fritillaries for the Future with funding from the Heritage Lottery Fund, after experts recorded a continual drop in the number of sightings coming in across the county. Both species were once common and widespread in Sussex, but last year no Small Pearl-bordered Fritillaries were seen at the only remaining site in the county, raising fears it may have been lost from the southeast entirely. New data from the UK Butterfly Monitoring Scheme (UKBMS) has also confirmed that the Pearl-bordered Fritillary has undergone a 72% decline in numbers across the whole country since 1976.

More at: http://butterfly-conservation.org/48-8765/help-save-sussex-pearls.html

Shades of purple ...

Purple Sandpiper (Calidris maritima)

Few waders are as closely restricted to a particular habitat as C. maritima, which is fundamentally a bird of the very edge of the surf, where it searches through wave-washed, seaweed-covered rocks for invertebrates.

It breeds on the Arctic islands of Canada, Greenland, Iceland, Svalbard, northwest Scandinavia and Russia. In Europe, the British Isles are on the extreme southwestern edge of its range, with up to four pairs breeding in Scotland since the late 1970s. It winters regularly at a small number of sites in Sussex, where it is a scarce winter visitor and passage migrant, with only Newhaven Harbour consistently holding a wintering flock during the last 50 years, where they are found on the harbour arms.

References:

Paul, N. (2014). Purple Sandpiper. The Birds of Sussex. Thetford: British Trust for Ornithology (BTO) Books on behalf of the Sussex Ornithological Society, pp. 258-259.

Curson, J. (1996). Purple Sandpiper. Birds of Sussex. Sussex Ornithological Society, pp. 256-258.

Call of the wild ...

Red Grouse (Lagopus lagopus)

The beautiful Red Grouse Lagopus lagopus ssp. scoticus is the British race of the Willow Grouse (Lagopus l. ssp. lagopus), although it was once believed that the Red Grouse was a species in its own right known as Lagopus scoticus, endemic to the British Isles. Furthermore, birds in Ireland are sometimes thought to be a separate subspecies known as L. l. hibernica.

Males mark out their territories with an energetic display during which they bound into the air, giving their characteristic call, whilst challenging opposing males for an area of moorland with abundant heather and bilberry in which the female will produce a nest scrape for her eggs. The eggs, which are well camouflaged, are typically laid in April and may number ten or more.

Widespread predator control is a key feature of grouse moor management. Foxes, stoats and crows are usually extensively controlled in such areas, with birds of prey, such as Golden Eagles, Goshawks and Hen Harriers, often being illegally targeted. The extent to which this abhorrent abuse occurs is hotly contested between conservation groups and shooting interests. The subject, quite rightly, generates much heated debate and media attention in relation to the management of grouse moors, wildlife crime and the shooting community.

References:

BirdLife International (2015). Species factsheet: Lagopus lagopus [Online]. Available from: www.birdlife.org [Accessed, 28 April 2015].

Moorland riches ...

Golden Plover (Pluvialis apricaria)

Motionless and, at first view, almost invisible against a sunlit moorland, a Golden Plover is a wonderful sight, the ‘golden’ in its name being well deserved. It is even more dramatic when in an environment of silence, only broken by its delicate plaintive whistle.

It breeds on high moorland and tundra from Iceland right across to Siberia, including northern Britain, wintering in large flocks in west and southwest Europe, including Sussex, and the Mediterranean. Its nest is typically a shallow scrape, lined with pieces of lichen, heather, grass and bilberry, often in burned areas; hence its presence in such regions on the upland grouse moors.

A female at rest in the late afternoon sun …

References:

Barfield, C., (2014). Golden Plover. The Birds of Sussex. Thetford: British Trust for Ornithology (BTO) Books on behalf of the Sussex Ornithological Society, pp. 239-240.

Nobbs, J. (1996). Golden Plover. Birds of Sussex. Sussex Ornithological Society, pp. 241-242.

Final approach ...

Skylark (Alauda arvensis)

Rising almost vertically from farmland, grassland, salt marshes, heathland and moorland, male skylarks can be observed, effortlessly hovering and singing from a great height before suddenly parachuting back down to earth. Their long and complicated song-flights can last for up to an hour and the birds can reach several hundred metres before descending. They'll also sing from perches such as fence posts or large rocks. Despite their aerial activities, skylarks nest on the ground, laying three to four eggs. Chicks become independent after only two weeks and parents can have up to four broods in a breeding season.

They are, at least to me, the vocal delight of spring and high summer ...

References:

Gutteridge, T., (2014). Skylark. The Birds of Sussex. Thetford: British Trust for Ornithology (BTO) Books on behalf of the Sussex Ornithological Society, pp. 427-428.

Scott-Ham, M. (1996). Skylark. Birds of Sussex. Sussex Ornithological Society, pp. 383-385.

The Wildlife Trusts (2015). Skylark [Online]. Available from: http://www.wildlifetrusts.org/species/skylark [Accessed, 23 April 2015].