Seeing the Changes 299

In Loughor, Fly honeysuckle (Lonicera xylosteum) and White stonecrop (Sedum album) were in flower. Also visited by 2 small dark moths.

Seeing the Changes 298

In Egham (Surrey), things seemed earlier. The White dead nettle (Lamium album), Heath bedstraw (Galium saxatile), Greater stitchwort (Stellaria holostea), Pignut (Conopodium majus), Redshank (Polygonum persicaria), Pineapple mayweed (Chamomilla suaveolens), Hedge bindweed (Calystegia sepium), Skullcap (Scutellaria galericulata) and Green alkanet (Pentaglottis sempervirens) were all in bloom. In Great Windsor Park, feral Ring-necked parakeet (Psittacula krameri) and Red deer (Cervus elaphus) were both seen.

Digging Deep

The saga of the effects of the BP Deepwater Horizon oil drilling disaster off the Louisiana coast continues (http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/2010/jun/07/bp-deepwater-horizon-costs-soar) with the estimated costs to the company now reaching $1.25bn. It seems as if oil contamination of the marine and coastal environments will continue until at least August and it is certainly an awful event. I would just raise 2 peripheral issues. I wonder if the response from the US agencies and public would have been quite so vehement if the oil company involved had been American? I also wonder what will happen to the US imperative to look for more oil 'locally' (which means deep water drilling with all its potential uncertainties) so that they become less dependent on supplies from the Middle East?

Red for Danger?

The report that 9 month old girl twins in East London had been mauled in their cots in an upstairs room by 'a fox' seems a little strange (http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/10251349.stm). I suppose that it is just about feasible but this seems very odd behaviour even for an urbanised fox (suggestions that the fox was trying to 'escape the heat' seem highly speculative). No one saw the actual beast (dogs and cats could be other candidates) and Red foxes are usually very reluctant to go deep into a location (in through a door, up the stairs and into another room) containing unfamiliar humans (the parents were said to be watching TV, another source of disturbance). Perhaps there is more to this story than meets the eye?

Seeing the Changes 297

Smooth sow-thistle (Sonchus oleraceus) and Vervain (Verbena officinalis) were both prominent in Loughor. A Lily beetle (Liloceris lilii) was spotted in the garden. There was a very wasp-like hoverfly (Chrysotoxum cautum) and a Rhagonycha fulva beetle by the river. In Bynea, the larva of a Drinker moth (Philudoria potatoria), a Small skipper (Thymelicus flavus) butterfly and a Cantharis rustica beetle were seen. In Penclacwydd, there were what appeared to be the larvae of the Yellow tail moth (Euproctis similis) feeding on Alder.

Seeing the Changes 295

Sea bindweed (Calystegia soldanella) was in flower on the Swansea beach. On land, the Foxglove (Digitalis purpurea) was out. In Bynea, the Greater plantain (Plantago major), Slender thistle (Carduus tenuifloris), Tufted vetch (Vicia cracca), Meadow vetchling (Lathyrus pratensis), Nipplewort (Lapsana communis) and the alien Snowberry (Symphoricarpos albus) were blooming. The Goatsbeard (Tragapogon pratensis) was in parachute mode. There were also infestations of Peach-potato aphids (Myzus persicae). At Oxwich, Field forgetmenot (Myosotis arvensis) was in flower. Snipe fly (Rhagio scolopacea) were mating and several trees appeared to be unindated with sawfly larvae in 'tents'.

Seeing the Changes 284

Suddenly, lots of moths in Loughor. Visited by a Great oak beauty (Boarmia roboraria), a Brimstone (Opisthograptis luteolata) and a Common marbled carpet (Chloroclysta truncata).