Mallard duck

Mallard duck - Anas platyrhynchos

Mallard ducks are well known across the UK. This species of bird, like many others, are sexually dimorphic. The males have an unmistakable plumage with a metallic green head, yellow bill, white collar, brown breast and grey belly which differs greatly from the rather drab brown speckled female. 

Mallards are often seen in pairs through autumn and winter as the male guards the female. The above picture was taken in early January. Come spring, the males leave the females, who begin to lay eggs and rear ducklings, and join with other males to begin their molting stage.

On a walk around the UEA lake I came across one such scenario - a lone female with a small clutch of six ducklings. Usually the clutch size is larger, up to 13 individuals, but seldom will they all survive. 

As I attempted to get some decent footage of the scene with my inadequate mobile phone a pair of dog walkers strolled by, completely unaffected by the sight of cheeping ducklings! I guess I too will become accustomed to the sight of chicks and ducklings as the spring ensues.

Earthworm

Earthworm - Aporrectodea longa

Earthworms are in the sub class Oligochaeta. Oli- (as with oligopoly) is from the Greek 'oligoi' meaning 'few' and chaeta- like 'saeta' is from the Latin for 'bristle'.
Oligochaetes are from the Annelid phyla and comprise of segmented worm like organisms that are covered in small sparse bristles. They use these bristles to create increased friction and traction against the substrate in which they live to aid in locomotion.

There are 27 native species to the UK with a few exotic species having even introduced by mistake. I think the one pictured above is called the black-headed worm Aporrectodea longa, because of its distinct dark colouration and relatively large size.

You may know of earthworms as being a 'good' sight in gardens and allotments. This is because they aerate the soil through the tunnels they create, allowing plant root systems to penetrate and anchor the into the soil well. The spaces can also fill with water aiding in the mineralisation process making important nutrients available to plants. Added to this, earthworms partially digest living and dead plant matter and mix it in with the soil creating a nutrient rich substance known as humus. This humus is so nutritionally valuable to plants that it has led to its cultivation by humans in the form of vermiculture or vermicompost.


At home we would farm the worms by filling a large container filled with decaying matter; the worms would thrive, digesting the material and reproducing. Once all organic matter had been digested to a rich compost we would pour water over the top surface and tap out the nutrient rich liquid from the bottom. This liquid, known as 'tea' was then used as fertilizer by being poured over crops.

Bird's-claw Beard-moss

Bird's-claw Beard-moss - Barbula unguiculata

Almost everyone can look at a tree and know that the green spongy covering is most likely a species of moss. Which species is the difficult question.
I definitely did not know that the moss I was photographing was called Bird's-claw Beard-moss, even though now I know it is one of the most common species found across Britain. It grows, just like most other mosses, in dense aggregations forming a mat like appearance in usually damp areas.

Mosses fall under the division Bryophyta which includes liverworts, hornworts and lichen. All these are small plants which do not have a vascular system and so stay quite small.Their similarities can easily lead to identification confusion which is furthered by confusing names such as 'Reindeer moss' which is in actual fact a species of lichen. They do not produce flowers and reproduce instead through spore formation. The gametophytes of moss are motile and rely on the moist environment to 'swim' to each other.

Mosses are abundant throughout the UK and can be found on structures such as buildings and paths which remain damp. It is safe to drink the water squeezed out of mosses, and in fact to eat most moss and lichen species. Having not eaten any moss here yet myself I cannot comment on their taste with confidence, though I have read they can be acidic and earthy. I quite like the earthy taste found in foods or smelt after a heavy rain - this is caused by a protein called Geosmin that is produced by Streptomyces a genus of Actinobacteria - if you do too, you might enjoy a nibble of moss!

Dunnocks Don't Date

Dunnock - Prunella modularis 

Dunnocks are a species of bird where the females are polyandrous. This means they mate with multiple males during one breeding season. The level of paternal uncertainty increases as males are unsure of how many other males the females has already mated with. From this the term sperm competition arises. Male dunnocks will peck at a females cloaca, urging her to eject the sperm from a previous male before mating.

Because of this method of competition between the males they invest little in extravagant plumage and so look very similar to the females.

A great video that explains this reproductive strategy can be found following the link below:

http://bbc.in/1DNwT3M

Despite this strategy being rather uncommon it can even be found in certain human groups. Females ensure resources from different males to her offspring by copulating with multiple males as each male knows there is a chance the offspring could be his own. This seems like quite an effective strategy but only if there is no way of the male finding out exactly which are his offspring. It relies on good female deceit, in the 'selfish gene' terms.

(The Selfish Gene by Richard Dawkins is a great book - read it!)

Frog Squeak

Common frog - Rana temporaria

The common frog, Rana temporaria, is found all across the UK. I had seen a few shortly after arriving in Norwich in September 2014, but none since; the winter months are too cold for them and they tend to hibernate. Now, with the onset of Spring, the frogs are beginning to emerge again, ready to begin the reproductive phase of their life cycle. 

They can differ in appearance quite drastically and so can be easily confused with other species. I'm not so hot with my amphibian identification and had studied a few different descriptions and raked my memory of my frog encounter before coming across this useful tip. I knew this was a frog straight away because of its bulging eyes, slimy streamlined body and large back legs. For those who might confuse toads and frogs remember those distinguishing features, and that toads tend to look dry and bumpy and tend to walk instead of hop.

I always get excited when I come across animals I  didn't expect to see and inevitably try to pick them up (terrible habit, I agree). When I tried to grab this frog, mid-leap, I got quite the surprise!

Excuse my chuckle. I had never come across a frog that squeaks! Common frogs occasionally squeak to startle predators. Though I did not intend to harm the frog it definitely startled me.

Currently, chytridiomycosis (a disease caused by a species of fungus) is causing a global decline in amphibian numbers. The pathogen uses flagella to move through aquatic environments and infect new hosts through the skin. Because amphibians have such delicate and porous skin and live semi-aquatic lives, they are prime targets and are the worst affected. 

It is great to see these frogs still on the UEA campus. I hope they are not too badly affected.

Great tit

Great tit - Parus Major

The Great tit is the largest bird in the tit family with very distinctive plumage. Their white cheeks stand out against their black crown and throat. Their backs are a yellowish green and their feathers a blue-grey. Their yellow bellies dashed by a black stripe down the middle. It is easy to spot and identify these once you have seen them once or twice.

It is common in bird species for the male to have a more elaborate plumage than the female as it is a display of good fitness and therefore a good mating partner. However in great tits, as with some other bird species, the plumage between sexes does not differ too drastically. Identifying sexes is still quite easy, as in males the black belly stripe extends passed the cloaca whereas in females it falls short about halfway down the belly. Determining age is a little more difficult as it relies on the judgement of shades of colour on the wing. Different species of bird molt feathers at different ages and a different number of times. The great tit molts from a dull grey to a pale blue on its wings. A bird found with predominantly grey-ish feathers is therefore a young bird, and a bird with predominantly blue-ish feathers is an older bird.

Great tits eat an array of things from insects to seeds to berries and occupies more northern ranges; as far north as southern Scandinavia, as far south as Algeria, as far east as Siberia and as far west as Morocco. They are known to be monogamous and to hold territories which they protect through the breeding season. 

Rosemary

Rosemary - Rosmarinus officinalis

Rosemary is a well known herb used in many dishes around the globe. With its distinctive spiky needles surrounding a fibrous stem it is easily distinguished among other herb species and once crushed between your fingers its smell is undoubtedly acknowledged. I love how the smell lingers even after a few washes of your hands - sometimes all you need is a deep inhalation of fresh rosemary to put a smile on your face! (Or get you thinking about dinner.)

In 'Hamlet', Shakespeare has Ophelia refer to rosemary as being for 'remembrance' in her last few remarks before committing suicide. I had always attributed this statement to her depreciated mental state and the folklore behind herbs in that time and place, however, studies have actually proven that the inhalation of rosemary oil can indeed improve memory and enhance concentration. Rosemary is incredibly easy to grow, so why not have this as a potted plant in your kitchen?

If you have ever crushed rosemary with your hands before you will know it results in quite a sticky produce and can be quite difficult to was off without lots of soap and water. This is the phloem sap that is used in the transportation of nutrients throughout the plant. Insects such like spittlebugs (froghopper nymph stage) feast on this sap and can result in plant death. An easy remedy for this is a spray of water across your plant. No need for any insecticides.


If anyone is interested in a study that has shown the correlation between rosemary and memory read this paper: M. Moss, & L. Silver (2012) Plasma 1,8-cineole correlates with cognitive performance following exposure to rosemary essential oil aroma. Therapeutic Advances in Psychopharmacology 103-113