Soaking up the Winter Rays!!!

A male common toad starting his nuptial transformation and on migration! When male toads are in full breeding condition they develop large flabby forearms for grabbing the girls, this chap is starting to show signs of this already.  

As a nation, the weather is without doubt one of the most popular topics of conversation in Britain, more so when it is has been one of the wettest years on record, so where better to start? The weather affects the entire natural world which surrounds us and ultimately dictates when many species of animal emerge from their winter resting places or when flowers come into bloom. The YETI challenge will hopefully enable us to record how our wildlife copes with the 2013 weather, and see how it unfolds, as we proceed through the months. With barely a week gone the mild winter weather is already being reflected in the wildlife we are recording, in the YETI challenge. It's the 4th of January and we have already recorded both palmate newt and common toad. Both individuals had started to develop breeding characteristics, when perhaps you would expect them to be tightly hiding away in a disused small mammal burrow or similar, escaping the frost, ice and snow.

Despite it being winter, we are perhaps still seeing signs of the unusually wet summer. One of the by-products of wet summers is mollusc population booms, which is certainly bad news for gardeners, but not for many of the species like amphibians, reptiles and hedgehogs which feed on molluscs, and certainly not for a YETI challenger. Not surprisingly coupled with the recent wet weather we have managed to record 11 species so far this week. It's certainly worth getting them ticked off early, before our more charismatic wildlife emerges. 

Beauty is in the eye of the beholder, Clausilia bidentata, a woodland dwelling algae and lichen feeder, with a long slender shell which looks surprisingly like a beech bud.

Insects generally are thin on the ground during the winter and become difficult to find, here are a selection of species which we managed to record enjoying today's sunshine. 

Calliphora Vicina the regions most abundant bluebottle species, basking on Scots pine. This is a male fly as it has large eyes situated closely together (compare with the other (female) fly further in the post). 

Ceutorhynchus pallidactylus a tiny member of Britain's fauna (c.3mm long), which could quite comfortably fit into a mute swans nostril, despite the weevils large nose. This species feeds on members of the cabbage family. 

Eudasyphora cyanella a somewhat smarter looking relative of the common housefly and one which has recently started to show well across the region during the warm spell.  

As well as animals it is apparent that many of our spring flowers are progressing quickly with snowdrops almost opening their flowers and woodland species like lesser celandine, wood sorrel, and pansy sprouting up all over the place ready to take advantage of the sunlight before the canopy closes.

Currently on day 4 and the team has sprinted past the 200 mark.

A couple more personal highlights. 

Cladonia fimbriata or Fairy Cups as they are perhaps more affectionately known, are a tiny species of lichen abundant in the upland plantations surrounding the North York Moors. 

Marsh Tit, a bland looking but charismatic member of Yorkshires avifauna. The white spot on the upper mandible is a foolproof way of separating this species from the similar willow tit, especially in individuals like this which show a large bib.