Best of 2023

With the clock winding down it's time for sitting back by the fire with the pipe and slippers and a domestic measure of malt. Fair warning, though - the latter part of the year was largely a write-off and it's mostly plants! 140 new species this year was the lowest by more than half for a decade.

Fungi

The year got off to a flyer with Crucibulum laeve, Common Bird's-nest at Dreghorn, completing the trio of commoner bird's nests that I had started off in October and November 2022. Even found them myself, too.

Strangest day of the year in terms of fungi was a quick stop across from the scrap metal yard in Inverkeithing to look for plants in a small pond I recently discovered there. One foot out the car and I found Helvella corium. Another two steps and I encountered the morel Verpa conica. These, I was later told, are frequent alpine calcicoles found together in Switzerland. Inverkeithing has a habit of turning up calcicole species in between burnt-out cars, Buckfast bottles and industrial wasteland.

Bryophytes

none new

Vascular Plants 

First up was Purple Toothwort at Musselburgh 18th March, a plant known and long-desired which finally got the visit it deserved. Very nice.

I've been itching to go to Ingleborough for a long time so on 22nd April, when the Manchild was away on some camp or other me and the missus went a-wandering on a day trip to Yorkshire - Ey oop!

It was peeing down, but we had a lovely walk and I added Blue Moor Grass, Bird's-eye Primrose, Green Spleenwort. Not satisfied with that I went again on 13th May with the Wildflower Society, who knew where things were.

In between though, on 13th May, I went up Arthur's seat to spend some quality time with Sticky Catchfly.

Ingleborough, 18th May, WFS

Carnation Sedge, Marsh Valerian, Horseshoe Vetch, Northern Bedstraw, Limestone Bedstraw, Hoary Plantain, Brittle Bladder-fern, Holly Fern, Limestone Fern, Rigid Buckler-fern, Early Purple Orchid, English Sandwort, Spring Sandwort, Teesdale Violet

Teesdale Violet

On 24th May I jammed into Warty Cabbage in Inverkeithing while looking for birds. Just in time to show Pete. Details here.

At the end of June Pete and I headed for Ben Lawers, Beinn Ghlas and Corrie Fee. A good handful of species fell, though we left some for later.

A probably-incomplete list of addtitions: Scottish Asphodel, Mountain pansy, Downy Willow, Two-flowered Rush, Water Sedge (Carex aquatica), Black Alpine-sedge (Carex atrata), Scorched Alpine-sedge (Carex atrofusca), Stiff Sedge (Carex bigelowii), Alpine Lady-fern, Lemon-scented Fern, Poa alpina, Alpine Forget-me-not, Oak Fern, Beech Fern, Alpine Fleabane...

Glen Clova looking magnificent

Molluscs

A long-overdue Iberian Three-banded Slug on the house wall on 22nd July was the only addition of the year.

Annelid worms

I haven't seen a new annelid since 2021 now, so probably time to get out in the intertidal and rummage around

Sea Spiders

As if. Probably not before 2025

Arachnids, Myriapods, Crustaceans , Springtails, Bristletails , Odonata , Orthopteroids

Nothing new in any of the above

Hemipteroids

More bugs than I really remember, though some of these came as by-catch in other endeavours.

Chloriona glaucescens is a Phragmites-loving delphacid bug at S.Margaret's Marsh on 06/06/2023.

The rest were leaf-hoppers (Cicadellidae). Iassus lanio on oak at Cullaloe LNR on 2nd July, Eurhadina loewii at Dalgety Bay on 18th July in the moth trap, Alnetoidea alneti, again in the moth trap at Dalgety Bay on 1st August, Eurhadina concinnata at Dalbeath Marsh while looking for leaf miners on 4th August, Zonocyba bifasciata at Dalgety Bay on 20th August in the garden MV

Not many, but many new to county, probably on account of tiny size.

Zonocyba bifasciata

Eurhadina loewii

Hymenoptera 

Only three additions and none interesting. A very poor year in a group I really would like to make headway in.

Coleoptera 

Few and dull, but Selatosomus aeneus, a click beetle on a random walk up Dumyat, was moderately memorable (the find, not the beetle)

Limnobaris dolorosa was new to me and the county at Dalbeath Marsh mid May.

Diptera 

Hybomitra distinguenda, "Bright Horse Fly" was among the most memorable, but en masse the collection assembled from a Malaise trap at Loch Gelly was the year's highlight. Still processing them at year's end, this assemblage contributed double figures of new species to Fife and one new to Scotland - Tomosvaryella palliditarsus. There were three of the latter including both sexes, so reasonable to assume it's a local breeder.

Tomosvaryella palliditarsis

Bright Horsefly

Lepidoptera - butterflies 

Mountain Ringlet on Beinn Ghlas at the end of June was a nice, but the only, addition. After a few brief glimpses I risked life and limb to yomp downhill over rough ground to get a better look. Well worth it.

Lepidoptera - moths

There were 20 additions, but not the bucketload I had hoped for had the intended trip to Norfolk gone ahead. 

White-barred Tortrix and Small Argent & Sable in Glen Clova were nice additions (as was Broom Moth until I discovered I saw it in 2015!). It was a nice evening anyway, though we didn't get moths up the glen. FIngers crossed for getting back with battery traps in 2025.

Biggest moth night of the year was definitely 27th July at St.Margaret's Marsh, where the addition of Bulrush Cosmet, Triple-spot Dwarf, Bud Moth, Silky Wainscot and Southern Wainscot took me over the PSL 5000. Silky Wainscot may or may not have been exactly 5000, especially after BUBO revision of historical records, but I'm happy for it to stand as the 5000th.

Release the ticker tape - it's 5000!!!

RSO

Pond Olive, Cloeon dipterum, on the 12th of May was memorable on account of its bizarre eye configuration. 

Echinoderms, Tunicates, Fish

Obviously I did very little marine this year. No actual new fish, but new for the list was Mackerel that Bubo reminded me was absent.

Reptiles and Amphibians were also notable by their absence, but there aren't a huge wealth of available species for me to add. I should, at some point in my life, see an adder I suppose.

Birds

I see very few new birds, which is entirely down to the lack of trying to. However, this year I did try and see a couple, and even managed two on one day. Stejneger's and White-winged Scoter together was definitely the biggest bird day of my last ten years, at least in the UK. That twitch also resulted in the acquisition of a new scope, as I only got a good view thanks to a kind chap with a very, very nice scope.

The new scope came into play when a Brown Booby graced nearby Kinghorn. Three cracking bird additions for 2023. I missed a bunch, but nothing that made me grind my teeth too badly. My list is so depauperate that I never have to worry too much about missing things.

I decided to refrain from nicking other people's photos, but there are plenty out there.

Mammals

Plenty of scope for me to see new mammals on both land in sea, but this year's House Mouse came to me and I spent the whole day chasing the thing around the bases of cupboards and bookcases.

2024

Next year promises to be plant-heavy again as I aim for finally getting over the 1,000. Expect a lot of flies, too.