Wednesday, March 11, 2009

From the cormorant's nest

I was recently presented with an old and large cormorant's nest from the Rye Harbour Nature Reserve.

Consisting of a large bundle of sticks decorated with a few strands of flotsam and carrying a rich complement of fish waste, guano and dead chicks, it came in a dustbin but has now been transferred to an Owen emergence trap.

20090311 South View 002

So far two insect species have emerged, both in some numbers.  One is the common overwintering greenbottle, Eudasyphora cyanella, and the other Siphunculina aenea, a tiny, rarely recorded red data book gout fly (Chloropidae) - see below. 

20090302 Cormorant - Siphunculina aenea

This species has been bred from bear's dung in the Orient, so it sounds as though it is not too fussy, though there has to be some reason why it is rare.

No comments: