July 2014 Nature Notes

Birds

A month when most of the birds have deserted the garden to pursue their interests in unknown places. The grain harvest started on the 14th and the oil seed rape on the 17th, which means there is spilled grain and wide open spaces for the birds to investigate.
However, some birds have remained in the garden; mainly members of the tit family.

Juvenile blue tits (Cyanistes caeruleus).

On the 7th seven young starlings (Sturnus vulgaris) were seen on the bird table. They barge and jostle each other like young boys waiting in line for school lunch. By the 21st I saw 15 of them at one time in the feeder area.

Other juveniles that have been spotted were three young robins (Erithacus rubecula) on the bird table on the 5th.

 The same evening I saw four blackbirds (Turdus merula) chasing a barn owl (Tyto alba) down the farm road.

We also have a large flock of sparrows which can number up to 50 at a time. They love to bathe in the dust of the farm track on dry days and can be heard squabbling among themselves in the clump of conifers as they settle down for the evening.

I don't often see the wren (Troglodytes troglodytes) coming into the garden but I spotted this one hunting around the gate.

Mammals

On the evening of the 1st at 21:00 I saw two roe deer (Capreolus capreolus) fawns and their mother at the end of the farm road near Junk woods. I also saw four hares at the same place and time. Hares (Lepus europaeus) became a rarer sighting once the fields were harvested. However I did see a group of hares chasing each other and standing up on their back legs in what appeared to be an almost 'pronging' movement.

Rabbits (Oryctolagus cuniculus) are still visiting the garden and a rabbit proof fence had to be installed around part of the veg plot to keep them out. Rabbit scrapes are proving more of a nuisance than what they are nibbling.
Mice can be seen scuttling about and one mouse used the tall dahlia stems as a ladder to the bird table so that he could eat the spilt seed.

Insects

I caught this couple in the field margin near B woods.

Soldier beetles (Rhagonycha fulva)

A common beetle found throughout the UK between March to October and feed on small soft-bodied insects.

 It's quite rare to see them singly. More often they are seen as mating pairs, earning them the nickname of 'bonking beetles'.Ref: 1

Their brown, maggot-like larvae live in soil and leaf litter.

These wasps decided that a bird box would make a great place to build a nest.

Fungi

Dryad's Saddle (Polyporus squamosus)? growing on dead beech tree (Fagus).

June Nature Notes

June 2014

I think I will start using Latin names for the species which will be an aid to help me learn them and as a way to avoid confusion between species.
So far we have not seen many corvids in the garden although there are plenty in the area around us. However they have started to venture more often into the garden now. By 08:40 on the 6th I had seen three jackdaws (Corvus monedula), a rook (Corvus frugilegus)and a jay (Garrulus glandarius). They are very cautious and don't stay long.
This was another month for the sighting of many juvenile birds visiting the feeders usually in the company of at least one parent. Here is a list of some of the sightings;
8th Coal tit (Periparus ater) and great tit (Parus major)
20th Three blackbirds (Turdus merula) on the bird table being fed by the mother. The young could be mistaken for thrushes because they have similar breast patterns.

21st Tree sparrow (Passer montanus) feeding the young with seeds. These were part of a flock of mixed sparrows numbering at least 30. A young starling was seen on the same day being fed with mealworms.
23rd A baby robin (Erithacus rubecula) on the bird table.
We were also treated to the arrival of our first juvenile great spotted woodpeckers (Dendrocopos major). The first sighting was on the 5th. I could see the male parent taking suet to feed a bird on a distant branch. Eventually the juvenile came closer but still kept his distance from the feeders and waited for the parent to bring the food to him. On the 10th a juvenile was feeding alone on the fat balls.

 On the 15th the two juveniles were on the feeders together with a female GSW. One was feeding independently. However by the 18th the two juveniles were fighting each other over access to the fat balls.
One of the juveniles had a narrow escape when a sparrowhawk (Accipiter nisus) swooped past the feeders. Another bird did not have such luck and was seen spread spreadeagled on the ground, pinned down by the sparrowhawk, whilst it pecked at. I couldn't see what type of bird it was but it seemed to have wide narrow wings like a swift or swallow. After about five minutes it flew off to the chessnut tree with the dead bird. A few minutes later I saw it fly towards the farm with a very limp looking body gripped in one tallon.

The goldfinch (Carduelis carduelis) has been absent from the feeders in the numbers that were present in the past but I did shot this one out the living room window.

Mammals

There is a hare (Lepus europaeus) that comes up the farm road to just outside the garden and then walks back down again, he sometimes ventures into the garden if the gate is open. I don't think there has been a time when I have walked down the farm road and not seen at least one hare. On the evening of the 24th I saw seven.
The mouse is out and about under the feeders from time to time.

There is usually no more than one at a time.
Two or three rabbits (Oryctolagus cuniculus) are making themselves at home in the garden.

Three squirrels  (Sciurus carolinensis) come to the garden. During the winter the squirrel never bothered the feeders but now likes to take his fill. Perhaps the food he had stored last autumn has ran out and a new source has not come to fruition.

I saw a fox on the farm road. It was late in the evening in the area where many rabbits gather. This was the first sighting of a fox since we came here.
Insects
The damp brings out the slugs and I spotted a fine example of a leopard slug (Limax maximus).

Time to end with a nice pair of tits.

Nature Notes: February 2014

February

The month started with a slight frost leading to a sunny day. It was the first day I saw a GSW male take nibbles from the bird table or a robin feed from the seed feeder.

The female GSW is not as regular a visitor as she was but still makes an appearance on the peanuts. The two males have been seen arriving at the same time and chasing each other off.

A pair of starlings have started visiting the feeders but don't stay for long. This is also the case with a male yellow hammer which sat by the water bath on the 28^th for about ten seconds and then flew off. We also had our first visit of two long tailed tits on the 19^th. Unfortunately i didn't get any photographs but here are some other tits.

Blue tit

Coal tit

On the 23^rd I counted ten goldfinches feeding at the same time; the norm was usually about five or six.

A house sparrow was seen guarding the garage nest box and once away a starling entered the box and left again.

The bird count for this month showed that the finches were the most numerous with the goldfinch and chaffinch taking the top two spots.

There was a big decline in the number of sparrows.

The seed feeders were the most popular.

Mammals

The only sightings this month were three deer on a local walk and the long haired Siamese (LHS) cat. He was sighted in the garden for the first time at 08:00 on the 6^th.

A very distant deer

Other sightings

I uncovered two frogs that were living under a dense mat of damp dead Geranium leaves when I was raking about. I put the leaves back on them and hoped I hadn't disturbed them too much.

Average temperature 6°C

Total rainfall 66mm