SPIDER SURPRISE

   Yesterday I took my macro lens out to SWT North Cove to look for butterflies and insects. It was very sheltered in the reserve between the trees amongst the undergrowth with several butterflies on the wing and masses of dragonflies around. I was happily photographing these which included Southern Hawkers, Brown Hawkers, Common and Ruddy Darters when I spotted one of the darters on the path in front of me. Crouching down I was preparing to take a picture when it flew off leaving me looking around in disappointment but from this lower vantage point I was able to see many insects and spiders around me, one in particular that immediately took my attention that upon closer inspection turned out to be a stunning Wasp Spider.

   These spiders have only recently started to spread up through the country probably due to recent milder winters from the south coast where they first appeared in 1922 but they are still very unusual around here with very few records. They are quite a large spider around the size of a two pence piece and have the yellow and black colouration that resembles a wasp and gives them their common name. Only the females have this colour and grow to this size, the males are much smaller and browner. The males take a big chance to mate with the females as they are often eaten after mating, many males wait until the female sheds its skin before trying to mate as the jaws are much softer after shedding but even with this precaution many don't survive the process. Wasp spiders are one of the few spiders that are able to pierce human skin with their jaws but luckily they are not poisonous so no lasting damage should be done.

BARN OWL RINGING

   Late in June I had the opportunity to accompany the Suffolk Wildlife Trust warden and two ringers to two Barn Owl boxes that we knew from previous visits a month or so earlier contained chicks that were about the right age to fledge. Both of these boxes were located in the lower Waveney valley where several boxes have been raided in the last year with the chicks being stolen so it was agreed that I wouldn't divulge their exact location or publish any pictures until the chicks had left their nests and were in no further danger from human interference. I was fascinated to watch the ringing process and to see how many of the chicks that I had seen before had survived to fledging age.

   The first box we looked at had initially contained 4 chicks so we were delighted to see that they all remained and upon closer examination they were found to all be females. The ringers showed me how to sex the youngsters by looking for the dark spots on the chest and under the wings which indicated females. The males they told me could also have a few spots but they were much fewer in number. The ringers would then weigh the chicks and measure the length of one of the wing feathers which would tell them how close they were to fledging before attaching the ring. In the case of the first box all of the chicks were of a size which would enable them to fledge at any time so we were quite lucky to catch them before they left. When the chicks were removed from the box they were kept in drawstring bags to keep them quiet until they were seen by the ringers and then they were all returned to the box together.

    The second box was found to contain 5 chicks which once again was the same number that had previously been observed and illustrated the fact that this year has been very good for the numbers of Short-tailed voles that Barn Owls predominately rely on for food. If the food supply had been short then it would be very unlikely that all the chicks would survive. It turned out that the 5 chicks consisted of 4 males and one that was still covered in down feathers and was too young to sex. The chicks in this box varied in age much more, from the oldest which was only a week from fledging to the youngest which might nearly need another month in the box. All of the pictures shown here were taken at the second box where the light was much better and show most of the processes involved including removing and bagging, measuring, ringing and also posed shots in the ringers hands before being replaced.

   It should be noted that it is illegal to disturb or photograph Barn Owls at their nest sites without a special schedule 1 license which both the warden and the ringers possess enabling me to accompany them and record events.