This is the kind of British list addition for which I scan the bird information services several times each day in the hope of something being reachable within my preferred distance range. I have observed (Greater) Short-toed Lark often enough on my past travels around southern Europe, but nationally they mostly turn up on passage in those far flung offshore outposts of the British Isles that I do not cover. So when news broke on RBA early today of one on farmland just 70 miles from home it was too good an opportunity to miss.

Such a record doesn’t occur too often after all and so offered just the sort of shorter-range twitchette that could boost a sense of wildlife motivation that had run a little dry towards the end of the preceding week. I duly arrived late morning in the Surrey village of Shackleford, between Farnham and Godalming. The said bird had been found in a ploughed field to its north-east (SU 93960 46691), and upon enquiring of a horse rider if she had seen any birders the lady replied a couple of dozen and told me where.

That suggested my quest must still be present and I would most likely convert it. Then after setting out on the mile or so walk along public rights of way, one of the first returning birders announced: “Still there and showing well.” On reaching the exact spot it took me some time to get onto this Short-toed Lark from other birder’s directions. But once identified it really stood out from the Skylarks, Meadow Pipits and Pied Wagtail it was associating with by its paleness and attractive patterning. It was noticeably smaller (actually 2cm in length) than the bulkier Skylarks, and just a little bigger than the buffer-toned Pipits.

Thereafter having got my eye in and become more relaxed, as so often I found myself relocating the bird time and again without difficulty. It moved constantly around the dry, bare earth expanse before us as it foraged throughout my stay of around an hour on site. So I knew it would be both difficult to attain and frustrating to attempt digiscoped images. Blurry, distant record shots were all I risked with my equipment today, but these (below) show how this bird was experienced. For quality images published on BirdGuides see here and here.

This small, pale lark breeds across southern Europe, north-west Africa then westward through Turkey and southern Russia to Mongolia. There are eight recognised sub-species across that range. These are fairly common birds of dry open country and arable land where they feed on seeds and insects and nest on the ground. All but some southern populations are migratory, wintering in sub-Saharan Africa and India, but GSTL is a regular annual vagrant to north and west Europe in spring and autumn.

Eventually most of today’s assembly moved on, leaving just myself and a Surrey birder I have met on other twitches, then when the bird suddenly flew we too left. Rather than greeting people walking out from the village with: “you should have been here five minutes ago” we preferred: “You’ll have to re-find it but it’ll be out there somewhere”. And the STL indeed continued to be reported on RBA throughout the afternoon and early evening.

I suppose this all reflects what might be found if mixed passerine flocks on farmland are searched diligently enough. But I as always prefer to let others do the hard work and am grateful for a latest “within range” opportunity to merge an item from my European and West-Pal lists with my British one as well. They continue to arise if I am patient enough, and on this occasion as always gave that special sense of purpose to a day that hitting the road to see a bird creates. And the warm glow of a successful twitch, a feeling I have enjoyed too rarely so far this year, is still with me as I click the publish button now.

Footnote: As an added extra for the tripette, on my walk back to the car this very worn female Brown Hairstreak (above) landed in a Hawthorn hedge right beside me at the top of Chalk Lane in Shackleford where I had parked (SU 93559 45738). It was quite a surprise.

A late event in the King’s Copse Park Botanical Gardens has been long anticipated in the season now drawing to its close. Back in February I acquired what I thought were four Amorphophallus bulbifer tubers from different sources. Of those one turned out to be something else, another rotted and a third has produced only foliage in it’s first season. Now this one (pictured below) has belatedly lived up to its name.

The successes were both sourced from Himalayan Gardens of Forfar. A bulbifer is native to north-east India and the Himalayan region. It is described as amongst the hardiest of its genus, and also as being one of the easiest to grow. The bloom is said to reach around 40cm (16 inches) in height, and is followed by foliage up to a metre tall. It has been an ambition to cultivate this Aroid and bring one to bloom for some time and I’m pleased to have done so now. The flies it attracted (pictured below) seemed quite happy about that too, if a little confused about where the smell was coming from.

The mystery tuber referred to above, that came from a large Oxon garden centre, eventually revealed itself as Amo nepalensis (pictured below), a scarcer form in cultivation. This one is endemic to the eastern Himalayan region where it occurs at high altitude in India, Nepal, Bhutan and Bangladesh. Quite by chance given its accidental acquisition it became my Aroid of the year for 2020 in July … what an absolute stunner!

Amo nepalensis at King’s Copse Park BG (formerly known as Garsington’s shanty town)

Unfortunately when I un-potted the tuber later in the season it had partially rotted, having borne a fork scar on purchase but I took a chance with it anyway. I have read that Aroid tubers imported from Indian wholesalers (see here) can be of “mixed and unpredictable quality”, mainly due to bruising in transit. My experience so far of garden centre-sourced Amo and other Aroid tubers reflects this.

Amorphophallus (from the ancient Greek Amorphos “without form, misshapen”) is a genus of more than 230 tuberous Aroids, most of which are native to the tropical and sub-tropical zone of Asia. In these regions the plants are typically found in lowland forest margins and disturbed ground in clearings, but also in savannah grasslands. Several species occur in Africa, and a few more in Australia and some Polynesian islands, but “Amos” as I like to call them are not found in the Americas. Most species are endemic and many remain poorly understood and rarely cultivated despite their spectacular blooms.

Given the fleeting successes described above I looked into what else may be sourced and found British suppliers of two more varieties. Amo albus (pictured below) looks similar, superficially to nepalensis but with subtly different colouration. Also native to India and the Himalayas, it is said to be as easy to cultivate.

Amo konjak appears to be fairly popular amongst fellow Aroid freaks. Native to the south-east Asian and Far East region, this too is said to be one of the easier Amos to cultivate in British conditions and fully hardy. There are a number of videos on YouTube and I suspect the enthusiasts concerned must have grown their specimens from seed for several years for the sake of the brief flowering event, which does not especially appeal to me. The featured plants, also known as “Devil’s Tongue”, somehow looked less attractive than in these better pictures (below) I have seen.

Amo konjac (all images)

From sufficiently large tubers the tall dark-maroon inflorescence rises usually in spring, having a similarly toned erect spadix and strong foetid odour. The foliage emerges in early summer and grows rapidly. The stalk is mottled with pale pink and grey or olive-green and brownish spots, and is divided at the top to form a classic Amo structure resembling a canopy from which the leaves hang.

I acquired a growing plant on 19th August 2020 from Tropical Britain, and it was quite impressive to receive such a thing expertly packed and undamaged by mail order. According to the supplier’s information this should be watered and fed well until autumn then kept dry until November. When the foliage withers it is best to lift the tuber to avoid winter rot.

I am very pleased to have this plant that sold out within two days of my noticing stock had been released. Now months of gaining experience in cultivating the fascinating Aroids featured above lie ahead. These are long term projects, not instant gardening and that is what motivates me.

African and more SE Asian Amorphophalli 

These seven Amos (below) that are native to the African continent have especially caught my eye during this research. None of them appear to be available for private purchase in Europe at the present time, even if they might be cultivated here, but are they spectacular or what?

Amos (from top and left to right) abyssinicus, baumannii, consimilis, elliotii, johnsonii, dracontioides and aphyllus

Since I can’t get enough of all this here (below) are a few more from around the south-east Asian region. From left to right these are Amos dunnii (China, North Vietnam and Thailand), henryii (Taiwan) and prainii (Laos, Malaysia and Indonesia). If it was possible to acquire any of them for private cultivation I would leap at the chance.

The tubers of as many as 13 Amo species are said to be edible if prepared correctly and some are raised as cash crops within their home range. The aforementioned A konjac has long been used in China, Japan and south-east Asia as a food source and also as a traditional medicine. Low calorie, high fibre flour extracted from the corm is widely used to make noodles, tofu and snacks. Konjac noodles are known for an ability to suppress appetite since they cause the stomach to swell to create the feeling of being full.

A paeoniifolius or Elephant Foot Yam (pictured above) has been harvested in tropical Asia for centuries. Usually the tuber is cooked and eaten as a vegetable, and is often smashed with salt and eaten with rice. It is used widely in curries and also to make chutneys and other sweet dishes, and can be fried into chips. The young unopened leaves and young leaf stalks are also edible when cooked and are frequently served with fish.

In Indonesia these Yam tubers are the third most important carbohydrate source after rice and maize. They are also consumed widely in India and Sri Lanka, though elsewhere are regarded as a famine crop to be used when more popular crops such as rice are in short supply. 

Amorphophallus titanum

Last but by no means least herein is the world-famous phenomenon that is Amo titanum. Native to the Sumatran rain forest of Indonesia, this true giant amongst Amos is cited as boasting the plant kingdom’s bulkiest un-branched inflorescence, ranging from one to more than three metres in height and up to three metres in circumference. It has been in western cultivation since at least 1889 when one flowered at the UK’s Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. Since then just over 570 more have been brought to bloom in cultivation around the world.

Blooming is infrequent and unpredictable and the foul-smelling inflorescence lasts for up to just 48 hours. It rises from a spherical tuber that is reputed to be the plant kingdom’s largest, weighing 70 kg or more. The spathe is the shape of an upturned bell with ribbed sides and a frilled edge, green speckled with cream on the outside and rich crimson on the inside.

The flowers are carried on the lower end of the greyish-yellow spadix. At the base, within the protective chamber formed by the spathe, is a band of cream male flowers above a ring of the larger pink female ones. When these are ready for pollination the spadix heats up and emits a stench that has given rise to the name ‘corpse flower’. The seed stalk (pictured below), that can reach up to two metres tall and holds large red berries, is equally impressive.

After the inflorescence dies back a single leaf emerges in its place, reaching the size of a small tree up to 7 metres tall and across. The leaf consists of a sturdy glossy green stalk mottled with cream, which divides into three at its apex and bears numerous leaflets. Each year, the leaf withers before a new one develops, using the tuber’s energy stores. When the plant is ready to flower again, the tuber becomes dormant for up to four months before another inflorescence emerges, growing upwards at a rate of some 10 cm per day.

Fruting Amo titanum at RBG Kew

This giant Aroid has proved very difficult to cultivate historically and there are only limited places in the world that do so. That is because it is prone to rotting, does not reliably increase in size and fails to produce seeds or offsets as easily as other Amo species. The plants rarely set seed because the female flowers open first and may no longer be receptive by the time the male florets are producing pollen. Even in the wild (pictured below) it is difficult because there must be an another similarly timed pollen producing inflorescence nearby. In addition, flowering can occur at any time of the year so chances are stacked against pollination.

At RBG Kew A titanum is catered for under high temperature and humidity in a tropical glasshouse, and kept in the shade. Even given optimum conditions the plant takes about six years to flower from seed. The first seed to reach Europe was returned from Indonesia to Italy in 1878. One of the young plants that germinated from them was subsequently dispatched to Kew, where it flowered in 1889, exciting great public interest. It next bloomed in 1901, and in 1926 the crowds attracted were so large that police were called to control them.

Kew now has multiple specimens, one or more of which can almost always be seen in leaf in the Princess of Wales Conservatory. But such is the unpredictable nature of the plant that the RBG cannot tell whether it will be months, years or even decades before a Titan Arum will next perform. But due to their burgeoning stock, more than three times as many have flowered there in recent years than over the previous century or more.

In 1996 one bloomed for the first time in many decades. Six years later there were an unprecedented three such events in as many months, the first evidence that Kew’s horticulturists had finally cracked the secrets of cultivating the plant. So between 2005 and 2009 there were up to three more flowerings each year, with the third of 2009’s being the largest ever measuring 2.48 metres. The most recent was in July 2019.

Amo titanum at (from left) Adelaide, Edinburgh and Rhode Island BGs

That increased success is being reflected at various other botanic facilities. Prior to the present millennium there were only 52 recorded flowerings worldwide, but the most recent published figure is just over 570. In the USA Juniper Level Botanic Gardens, NC which brought its first one to bloom on site in 2018, publishes a table of all known such events to date (see here).

Their retail nursery Plant Delights Inc claims to have sold over 1100 nursery propagated plants around the world and publishes a growing guide for private gardeners (see here). But this supplier counsels not to order them “unless you are a passionate and very serious Aroid nut”. Closer to home seed is available from a Dutch supplier (see here) who claims they are easy to germinate in perlite on a window sill. It would be interesting to know how many private collectors have succeeded with the Titan Arum, but I myself will give this one a miss!

All outsourced images in this post are © rights of owner reserved

Useful links 

A full list with pictures of validly described Amo species is published by the International Aroid Society see here.

In Europe the largest Amo collection of more than 150 species is maintained by Rareplants.eu, that offers seed of mostly dwarf species for sale.

The same source also publishes a cultivation guide (see here).

I enjoyed a little local excitement at the start of this week upon realising my top Odo aim for the year of self-finding a Willow Emerald Damselfly in my home county of Oxfordshire. For me the most difficult part of the day motivationally in retirement is mid-afternoon, when a sense of restlessness and boredom invariably strikes no matter how well I might have filled the time up until then. Sunday (13th) had become a lovely sunny autumn day and I could not face sitting it out in the garden.

With the butterfly season largely fizzling out and no notable new bird sightings locally to go after I opted for taking pictures of dragonflies, then tried to think of a venue that would not be crowded with general public. And so I decided on the Otmoor basin bridleway between Noke and Oddington where Blue-eyed (or Southern Migrant) Hawker were first discovered earlier this year (see here). This location I reasoned might offer a better chance of finding something unusual, and the spur of the moment aspect might increase the chances of Willow Emerald.

Parking in the village of Noke I duly trod the bridleway out to the old River Ray weir near Oddington where all that BE / SMH interest had played out. Regular Migrant Hawker, Ruddy and Common Darter were all plentiful but nothing of greater interest. All the while I scanned the track-side vegetation as best I could in search of the slim, metallic profile I was seeking. Then almost back at the route’s entry point (SP552131), suddenly there it was (pictured below) right in front of me.

The above female Willow Emerald Damselfly (Lestes viridis) was behaving in exactly the same way as had been described to me by one of the colleagues who had recorded another one during August prior to my then arrival. After relocating slightly due to my presence she hung in characteristic fashion from a dried bramble stem to which she would return over and again after flying out and back at intervals. I Googled the species on my phone then checked off the diagnostics. This was indeed my afternoon’s quest, and the self-found things are always the most satisfying.

The enlargement below shows the diagnostic detail to look for in the thorax. This is the largest and longest-bodied of the Lestes Spreadwing group at 39m- 48mm. Colouration is a relatively bright metallic green on the upper-parts and brown below, and the large pterostigma (wing tags) are pale brown with a cream centre.

A unique trait of Willow Emerald is that females oviposit into thin branches that overhang water. There the eggs overwinter before larvae hatch and drop down in the spring. They emerge as adults from about mid-July, with a peak in August and September. Egg laying involves scratching a small groove in the twig or host plant, creating distinctive marks in the form of “scars”. The process makes it easy to plot the presence of this species in winter and forms the basis of survey work currently being co-ordinated by the British Dragonfly Society.

Willow Emerald Damselfly (or Western Willow Spreadwing) has enjoyed a rapid and dramatic national range expansion over recent years. Though common and widespread across western and central Europe the late summer and autumn flying species was inexplicably absent in the British Isles through the 20th century. Despite an abundance of suitable habitat it was recorded reliably just twice in 1979 and 1992. More recently another was recorded in south-east Suffolk during 2007, before things took off in 2009 with a marked and sudden boom of 400 records from that area and north-east Essex.

From that time the damselfly has gained footholds in new south-east English counties north to Lincolnshire on a yearly basis. It is said to benefit from urbanisation, favouring garden ponds and park water features. But almost any kind of standing or slow-moving water with adjacent trees and shrubs may be favoured. I myself had observed WED just once before, at Maldon in Essex in September 2014, and I recall other Oxon wildlife colleagues going further into East Anglia to add it to their own lists.

The first record for Oxfordshire occurred in Wytham Wood to the immediate west of Oxford in summer 2019, and Willow Emerald was widely tipped to colonise the county further in the present season. The second record and first picture, a male came from Orchard Lake, Radley (SU519970) on 11th August. Another male was reported on that date at RSPB Otmoor, soon to be followed by a female along the Roman Road bridleway of Brown Hairstreak butterfly repute. Then from 7th September several records of both genders have issued from the Trap Grounds, adjacent to Port Meadow beside the north Oxford canal.

I myself had followed up on both those Radley and Roman Road sightings that are pictured above, but without connecting with either individual. With sunny weather forecast to persist through the week ahead I next elected to seek out more Willow Emerald locally, starting with the north Oxford site from where pictures had been published almost daily over the preceding seven days.

The Trap Grounds local wildlife area immediately south of the Frenchay Road canal bridge (OX2 6TF) comprises three acres of reed bed and seven acres of woodland, grassland, stream and ponds. The open access site is owned by Oxford City Council and managed for conservation, recreation, and education by a local volunteer group (see here). On Monday morning (14th) I found the cited main observation area in shade and it was plain that WED would most likely be viewable later in the day when it would only be possible to capture them pictorially into the sun, which was true of most of the published images from here. So I left this wonderfully well managed piece of habitat to its patch workers and volunteers and attempted further sightings of my own elsewhere.

Male Willow Emerald Damselflies at the Trap Grounds, Oxford

Over the next two and a half days I surveyed some other sites to the south of Oxford that I thought might be suitable, but without recording any more of the newest addition to Oxon’s Odo-fauna. Then on Thursday (17th) I returned to the Trap Grounds at what Adam had confirmed was the optimum time from midday into early afternoon. And with the benefit of guidance from and the practiced eye of patch worker Nicola, and also in company with Adam himself, I belatedly gained my own into the light studies of the resident males (pictured above). I now suspect that my insect agenda for 2020 may be closed.

For recent dragonfly and damselfly sightings in Oxfordshire visit our county recorder’s excellent Oxon Dragonflies website.

On being offered an opportunity to experience one of the newer migrant butterflies that reach Sussex in most seasons I quickly accepted the invitation. Long-tailed Blue has been recorded at a site beside Brighton’s horse racing track since 2015. Ewan learned from a local friend that a transect walker had come across them again on Sunday 6th and asked me to accompany him on what would be a welcome day out.

Long-tailed Blue is a common and widespread butterfly across temperate zones worldwide, but in Europe resides permanently only in the Mediterranean region. It has traditionally been a very rare vagrant to the British Isles, but there has been an upward trend since the late 20th century. A mere 39 sightings were recorded prior to 1939, and another 85 up to 1988. A notable recent irruption came in 2013 when the butterfly was recorded in nine southern English counties and breeding was confirmed for the first time. A further significant influx occurred two years later when the migrants penetrated further inland as far as Surrey.

Since then LTB has been a regular continental migrant to coastal Sussex. More than 50 adults and hundreds of eggs were recorded across southern England in the summer of 2019, resulting in the largest ever national emergence that autumn. But this multi-brooded species cannot survive the English winter in any of its life stages. The cluster in Brighton are late brood butterflies from eggs laid by migrants reaching these shores in summer.

Arriving on site in mid-morning, we walked from the public car park at the racing grandstand back round to the location my colleague had been given. Two dog walkers, guessing our intent then directed us to the exact spot in a meadow beside a radio mast. There we found two other observers squatting and pointing their cameras beside some Sweet Peas that the butterflies are said to favour here. So it was an immediate connect.

More people joined us straight away and things inevitably became a bit of a scrum. This is the butterflying scenario I most dislike, with several people all surrounding one settled insect and jostling for camera space. Then when more specimens began to fly the gathering chased them around, calling every movement. But this was no more than I expected since the sighting had been all over social media in the previous 24 hours, as well as on RBA. So it was necessary in order to add this butterfly to my British list.

That first Long-tailed Blue was a rather worn individual and was also the most prone to settling throughout our two hours at the site. Others were seen in flight over the meadow and adjacent allotments that would perch and offer picture opportunities occasionally. These are rapid, jerky flyers more reminiscent in jizz of a Hairstreak than other Blues. There was no consensus as to numbers but it was agreed that all the butterflies active here were males.

The butterfly owes its name to wispy ‘tails’ on the trailing edge of each hind-wing. Since these wave in the wind above eye spots where each adjoin the wing, the twin effect is to confuse birds into thinking this is the head of their prey. That may serve to reduce fatal attacks but also results in frequent damage to the above cited features. Males are a striking violet-blue in colouration, while females are a variable mix of duller blue and brown. The underside of both genders is a sandy brown colour crossed by numerous white, wavy lines.

All the usual characters were present amongst today’s assembly: the local guide, the over eager and the non-stop talkers. For myself I will welcome a return to butterflying either alone or in select company as I prefer. But by any measure this was a worthwhile added item on my national butterfly agenda for what has been a rather remarkable 2020.