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| a September morning view of the meadow |
First of all, Congratulations to those of you who spotted my mistake with the date last week! Clearly it was meant to be 5th September, and not 5th August! Now corrected.
Thursday's visit had a very autumnal feel somehow: seed heads, berries, emerging fungi, leaves changing colour and I was glad of my jacket in the blustery wind. Despite all this, I still saw Warblers and House Martins during my morning visit, so at least some of our summer visitors are still with us. Here is my report:
Birds:
SC208694 a female Sparrowhawk flew right across the meadow about 6 feet above the ground, over the bridge and into the willows.
SC208694 I heard a Chiffchaff chiffchaffing ( rather than the "weep" call ) and found it directly over my head in a willow; later there were 2 of them in the same area.
SC208694 Robin; Rook heard not seen; 2 x House Martins flying over; Buzzard flying over; Great Tit heard not seen; Buzzard seen from this area but it was not in the Reserve; Chaffinch heard not seen; Goldfinch.
SC208695 Chiffchaff heard again.
SC210694 Wren heard not seen.
SC209694 ( from bird hide) Magpie; Chiffchaff ; Kestrel flew across at low level.
SC209694 ( elsewhere) Robin; female Blackbird.
SC209695 Chiffchaff in willow; female Blackcap in same Rowan tree as last week; 2 x juvenile Blackbirds taking berries from this Rowan tree.
SC209694 Buzzard seen coming up from ground on gorse boundary ( seen from distance)
Butterflies & Moths:
SC209694 Small Copper x 2 on Cushag ( Ragwort).
SC209693 Speckled Wood x 3.
SC208695 Red Admiral.
SC208694 Small White.
SC209694 Speckled Wood x 2.
SC209694 Red Admiral x 2.
SC209694 Small White x 3.
SC209695 Red Admiral.
SC209695 Speckled Wood.
SC208694 Speckled Wood x 2.
SC209694 Green Veined White.
SC209694 Common Blue x 2 on Cushag ( Ragwort).
SC208694 Red Admiral x 3.
SC209694 unidentified Moth.
Other:
SC208694 male Common Darter on Boardwalk.
SC208694 female Migrant Hawker among brambles.
SC208694 male Hawker species ( blue) overflying meadow.
SC209694 male Common Darter flying and hovering over path.
SC209694 unidentified Hawker ( yellow/brown, possibly the female Migrant Hawker seen earlier) seen from hide.
SC208694 Crane Fly.
SC209694 7-spot Ladybird on Thistle.
SC210694 Field Grasshopper.
SC209694 Unidentified Hoverflies on Cushag ( Ragwort), and other vegetation.
SC209695 Hoverfly on Rowan berries.
SC209694 3 x unidentified red flies on fouling on path ( I have spared you the photograph!)
SC208694 "funnel" fungi still along path; also unidentified brown fungi.
SC210694 new Ink cap fungi emerging in grass
SC209694 Ink Cap fungi along paths; Unidentified orange-brown fungi along path.
SC209694 several Greater Water Boatmen and a Pond Skater in the dragonfly pond.
SC209693 For a photograph I collected up several Hazel Nut shells along the path. All neatly chiselled open by the tiny teeth of Wood Mice. The Hazel trees on the reserve were planted specifically with these small mammals in mind, so it's good to see them doing their job.
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| a cheery Robin in full voice |
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| it paused for breath occasionally ! |
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| a distant Buzzard seen from the Reserve |
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| the bird directly above my head...... |
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| was a Chiffchaff |
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| I heard it singing before I spotted it |
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| another Chiffchaff (or possibly the same one?) near the Bowman Bench |
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| female Blackcap taking berries |
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| juvenile Blackbird also enjoying them |
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| from a distance I could see 2 Common Blue Butterflies on the Cushag |
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| they seemed happy to share |
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| this is a female |
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| the same one with wings closed |
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| Speckled Wood keeping out of the wind on the path |
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| another doing the same elsewhere |
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| this one was enjoying the blackberries |
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| a Large White |
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| a Small White on the same Cushag as the Common Blues earlier |
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| this Small White preferred a dandelion |
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| Small White on Creeping Thistle |
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| Small White on Knapweed in the meadow |
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| Red Admiral |
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| they too enjoy fruit |
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| as well as nectar |
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| here on Hemp Agrimony |
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| Small Copper and Hoverflies on Cushag |
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| from a distance I saw 2 Small Coppers sparring on the Cushag |
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| the loser retreated to the grass nearby |
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| this White butterfly had been caught in a spider web |
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| unidentified moth |
While watching a Red Admiral in the brambles I suddenly realised I was standing right next to a female Migrant Hawker. Fortunately it was unperturbed by my presence and I was able to take photographs.
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| female Migrant Hawker in the brambles |
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| identifiable in this shot by the yellow "golf tee" shape on section 2 |
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| male Common Darter on the board walk |
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| Hoverfly on Rowan Berries |
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| this one was on an Oak Leaf |
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| another elsewhere on Hazel leaf |
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| Crane Fly |
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| Field Grasshopper near the gate |
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| Backswimmer ( Greater Water Boatman) in the dragonfly pond |
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| 7-spot Ladybird on Creeping Thistle leaf |
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| fungi growing along the path just beyond the boardwalk |
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| some have developed a very wavy margin |
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| biro gives an idea of size |
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| Inkcaps going over in the wood chip path |
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| there was a fine stand of them near the hide |
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| these may be young inkcaps |
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| an unidentified toadstool |
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| other unidentified fungi now appearing too |
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| these had an orange tone, growing in the wood chip |
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| evidence of Wood Mice on reserve |
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| usual view from the ramp |
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| Sneezewort still in flower in the meadow |
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| usual view of the board walk from the meadow |
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| looking back to where the boardwalk crosses the stream |
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| usual view from the board walk - cloudy today |
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| the bramble bend which attracted a Red Admiral and Migrant Hawker |
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| the compost area |
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| the neighbouring firs are less dense since storms this year |
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| usual view of the path under the willows |
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| and looking back the other way |
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| when I reached the dragonfly pond I found the bench was already occupied! |
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| hopefully the owner will be brought back to retrieve it soon |
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| Rowan berries giving the pond area an autumnal look |
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| the tree was reflected in the water |
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| recent heavy rain has raised the water level |
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| the stone which the Common Darter was sitting on last week, now under water |
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| view from the bench |
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| and view from the Bowman Bench |
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| looking along the gorse boundary |
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| a good crop of Hawthorn berries |
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| the usual "reedy bend" photo |
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| and the usual one of the new glade |
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| Bird Cherry leaves starting to turn colour |
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| Willowherb seeding -may attract birds such as Goldfinches |
And finally, the usual views towards the hide and through the shutters - these are all about to change as some radical pond maintenance will take place on 15th/16th September. During this time the Reserve will be closed to the public as there will be heavy plant on site.
I have kindly been given permission by the Wildlife Trust to visit the Reserve while it is closed to take some photos "for the Archives" of the work being undertaken (from a safe distance!) and these will be the focus of my next Blog post.
please click on photos to enlarge them
