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| The bird hide with its new turf roof |
I went down to the Reserve on Tuesday afternoon but although I saw a good selection of birds,most of them refused to be photographed. They seemed to be favouring the depth of the thorn bushes and just be passing through the vegetation quickly rather than lingering. The exception was one of the Robins which was determined to get his picture on the Blog! It was lovely to see the Long Tailed Tits again as well as Goldcrests at opposite ends of the Reserve. I'm not sure whether they were the same one or not.
Birds:
SC208694 Blue Tit
SC208694 Robin
SC208694 Snipe
SC208695 Song
Thrush
SC208695 Dunnock
SC208695 Goldcrest
SC208695 Robin
SC208695 2 x Jackdaw
SC208695 Chaffinch f.
SC209695 Blackbird
m.
SC209695 Song Thrush
SC209695 Blue Tit
SC210694 Wren
SC209694 (from Hide)
Blackbird m. 2 x Great Tit; 2 x Moorhen m; 5 x Long Tailed Tit; Goldcrest
Other:
SC208694 7-Spot
Ladybird
SC209694 Great
Willow Aphids on several willows.
SC208694 Great
Willow Aphids on several willows along seasonal path.
SC209695 Unidentified
fungi in grass.
SC209694 Fungi
in wood chip
SC209694 and
throughout the reserve - low sun picking out thousands of spider webs
SC209694 the last rose
of summer?
SC210694 I was
removing old notices from the board and discovered a caterpillar pupating
behind one of them. I've put it back.
The Willow Aphids first arrived on the Reserve in 2014 but were absent last year. They produce honeydew which many insects enjoy drinking. In 2014 they attracted many wasps, bees and Red Admiral butterflies, but they seem to have arrived rather too late for that this year.
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| Autumn colours |
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| Autumn colours |
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| Our smallest bird taken from a great distance. Can you spot the Goldcrest? |
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| Unidentified fungi |
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| The Willow Aphids' life cycle is a bit of mystery |
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| They vanish overnight only to reappear months later |
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| A 7-spot Ladybird enjoying the winter sunshine |
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| looking back towards the road along the gorse boundary |
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| this could be anything! |
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| Robin seen from the Hide |
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| and another near the entrance to the Clucas orchard |
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| Fungi in the woodchip |
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| last rose of summer? |
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| sunny reed bed |
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| thousands upon thousands of spider webs |
