July 2011 part 6

3rd Hedgehog back in garden ( hav'nt seen her for a while).
10th Female greater spotted woodpecker in garden feeding on the peanuts if the squirrel has left any.
15th The hedgehog is back but early at 7-30 eating the mealworms left by the birds. St Swithins day is sunny despite the forecasts. "St. Swithin's Day if it do rain, for forty days it will remain. St.Swithin's Day an it be fair, For forty days t'will rain no mare".
16th Very rainy so much for the saying above. The hedgehog appears at 5:45. Seeing one in the day is said to mean something is wrong but she looks OK , is eating and drinking so I'm not worried at the moment.

July 2011 part 5

As we walk towards the kingfisher pond I notice a ragwort being eaten by a group of caterpillars.

The caterpillar of the Cinnabar moth grows to 2.5cm long and feeds on ragwort as in the picture in July - August. The colour acts as a warning.
Once back home I see a fledgling house sparrow in the garden ( we had lots last year ) but this is my first in 2011.

House sparrow (Paser domesticus) Pairs stay together for life. Both adults build loose round nests of grass and straw in  a tree or bush, crevices or eaves of a house. They lay 4-5 eggs and incubation lats up to 14 days. Both parents feed the young who leave the nest after 16 days and are fed for a further 19 days. There can be up to 3 broods.

July 2011 part 4

Sill by the car park the rowan tree and the hazel is bearing their fruit and nuts.

Hazel (Corylus avellana) widely found in Europe found in woods, thickets and hedgerows. It can grow up  to 12m tall. Bears nuts in clusters of 1-4 partly enclosed in a green husk ,they will be brown in autumn.
We walk towards one of the ponds and peeking through the hides we see 2 sedge warblers in the rushes.

Sedge Warbler (Acrocephalus schoenobaenus)  Can be seen clambering amongst plant stems and frequently feeds on the ground within the tangled vegetation. When it sings it is easily visible perching on the outside of a bush.  Lives in thick vegetation in marshes, reed beds and sometimes in drier areas in bramble and hawthorn. Feeds on insects and small invertebrates. Plum reed aphids are important food before it migrates to Africa.
On the pond by the car park we spot 3 Little Egrets.

Little Egrets (Egretta garzetta) Smaller than the grey heron but still an elegant bird with white plumage.In spring it has fine plumes on its breast and long plumes on its hind neck. It lives in marshes, fiver banks and estuaries, nesting in trees and feeding on small fish.

July 2011 part 3

2nd Still at the reserve. The reed mace or bull rush is looking like a sentry on guard around the ponds.

Great Reedmace (Typha latifolia) can grow 1.5 - 2.2 m in still or slow moving fresh water. Flowers June - July. The female flower is brown, the male flower is yellow. Leaves are used for basket weaving.
By the car park the grass sounds alive ! It turns out to be the pods of the common birds-foot trefoil popping in the sun. Amongst the grasses I spot  large skipper butterfly and a ringlet butterfly.

Large Skipper (Ochlodes venatus) 27-35cm. Inhabites meadows flying from May - August in one or two generations.The caterpillar is mostly green and lives in a silk tube on grasses where it also over winters.

Ringlet butterfly (Aphantopus hyperanthus) 40 -50mm common near woods in most of Britian. in flight June- July.

July 2011 part 2

Same visit and another wild flower the welted thistle.

Welted Thistle (Carduus acanthoides) The name refers to the white hairs on the stem and undersides of the leaves. They grow 30-150cm tall and are found in hedgerows and on verges. Flowers in June - August.
Another flower that I thought was a thistle is the common knapweed.

 Common knapweed (Centaurea nigra) The flowers are shaped like shaving brushes growing up to 100cm tall in grassland and flowering June - September.

July 2011 part 1

2nd Sun and cloud in equal measure we visit the nature reserve. I notice the berries are appearing on the elderflower bush, the guelder rose and the holly. Took pictures of some of the flowers, the first is rosebay willow herb which is often the first to take over waste ground.

Rosebay Willow herb (Epilobium angusti folium) Up to 120cm high it is widely spread throughout Britain flowering July -September.
The next is common ragwort (Senecio jacobaea) . A biennial that grows on waste ground and sand dunes. Flowering June - October.

 

"Ragwort thou humble flower with tattered leaves

I love to see thee come and litter gold

So bright and glaring that the very light

Of the rich sunshine doth to paleness turn

And seem but very shadows in thy light.

John Clare

June 2011 part 7

24th Return visit to the river I see more common blue and small skipper butterflies and the female mallard with 4 ducklings.
26th Very hot today. Lots of noise from next doors tree turns out to be the blackbirds seemingly scarring off the last batch of fledglings. I wonder if they are having another brood?
29th Caught a glimpse of the kingfisher as a friend and I stood on the bridge talking, its her first sighting and she is delighted. Its nice to know he is still around.
30th Sunny with grey spells. My grown up son comes home like an excited school boy with a "pet" named George. -A  tussock caterpillar of a Vapourer moth. So called due to the four yellow tussocks on his back.

Vapourer moth(Orgyia antiqua) Flies from June - October. The caterpillar feeds on a wide range of deciduous trees and shrubs from  April - September.

June 2011 part 6

19th Overcast all day went for a walk along the river in weeks. The grasses are waist height now, covering all the rubbish which has been discarded here. Why?  I don't understand and it saddens me. Wild flowers and nettles intermingle with the grass as if covering over our shame.
"And for all this nature is never spent." from God's Grandeur by G.M. Hopkins
 Some of the dog roses are developing hips. The bramble is in full bloom and attracting lots of insects. I can hardly see the river for the Iris, rushes and Himalayan balsam along its banks. I see  a few butterflies and sparrows as I walk along, most of the birds are well hidden by all the greenery.

Small Skipper (Thymelicus flarus) Their yearly flight extends from June to September in open grassy areas. The caterpillar is green and white living in a silk tube and feeds on grasses were it overwinters.

Common blue Female (Polyommatus icarus) 25-30mm. found in grassy areas between May - October having 3 flights. The caterpillar is green stripped with dark green and white. Feeds on trefoils and other legumes. Caterpillars will over winter at the base of the food plant.

June 2011 part 5

13th Rain all day with lots of birds visiting the feeders; goldfinch, blue tits, great tits, sparrows, starlings and a blackbird on the ground.
17th Spent a beautiful hour watching 7 young blue tits coming and going on the feeders. They were joined by 3 young great tits, male and female sparrows and a squirrel on the ground.  This time reminds me to...
 "Remember the magic of ordinary days". I don't know who said this but I often stop to " enjoy the magic."

 Great tit fledgling (Parus major) Nest is made from moss lined with hair or fur. The female incubates a clutch of 7-8 eggs for 15 days. The young are fed by both parents and fledge after 18 days, being fed for a further 4-6 days for the 1st brood , the 2nd brood maybe fed longer.
18th Very showery today. "A dripping June keeps all in tune". The showers are badly needed.
Love them or loathe them 5 Magpies keep visiting the garden to feed. The 4 young are not quite as black/blue and shiny as the parent.

Magpie ( pica pica) Nest winter begins in winter and consists of twigs and mud. 5-6 eggs are laid from late March. The female incubates them for 20 days the young leave the nest after 26 days and stay with the family for a further 6 weeks.
2 young blackbirds are also begging from dad, sometimes they are lucky but they are feeding themselves- to my raspberries!

June 2011 part 4

6th Awoke to hear the beautiful dawn chorus this morning with the Blackbird playing a pivotal role as usual.
"Just listen to the blackbird - what a note the creature has! God bless his happy throat.  T.E. Brown
A beautiful sunny day had begun. A juvenile goldfinch visits the garden and a squirrel, after the peanuts.
10th 4 fledgling blackbirds in the garden today with both parents feeding them. A gang of starlings, 2 sparrows, 2 coletits, 4 young bluetits and a fledgling dunnock all add to the commotion.

The female incubates 3-5 eggs for about 14 days.  On leaving the nest the brood is split between the 2 adults. The male feeding them longer as the female will need to start another brood. They may have 3 in a season.

 Dunnock fledgling (Prunella modularis) Pairing in Dunnocks is unusual- some pairs are male and female, some males have 2 females and in some cases some males share females. The females incubate 4-5 eggs for 15 days. The young are cared for by both sexes and are fed for a further 17 days. There can be 3 broods.