April - and the summer blackcaps are back!

Wild Flowers along the Riverside are an important food source for many species.

We need to encourage and protect the vast diversity of all wild plants growing here

in order to sustain the diversity of wildlife inhabiting the rivers, banks and meadows.

Small Tortoiseshell butterfly on Dandelion

April 9th 2014

Orange Tip butterfly female on a common daisy

April 9th 2014

The female is less gaudy than the male which has orange tips to the wings - hence the name.

April 2014 so far has shown the very best of a typical April in England. Blackcaps had arrived back at the end of March and were in full song early in April along the river amongst the willows and Blackthorn blossom.

The River bank in early April - bursting into leaf

Early wild flowers such as the brilliantly shining Lesser Celandine (above), Lady's Smock (Cuckooflower) and Wood Anemone have been lighting up the river banks - surviving 

the winter floods and growing all the better for the damp conditions.

Lady's Smock or Cuckooflower with fresh nettles on the bank,

both attracting butterflies. The former is an important foodplant for the

Orange Tip butterfly caterpillar and the nettle leaves are an important foodplant 

for Small Tortoiseshell butterfly caterpillars and several other species.

Wood Anemone with Lesser Celandine under a tree

Tuesday April 1st 2014

Out along the river with the intention to have a quick look for butterflies - but it soon became evident that the regeneration of the river banks, with wild flowers and fresh green vegetation springing up had attracted a large diversity of wildlife. New nettle and bramble growth and clumps of Cuckoo flower were doing well on the riverside and in the wild flower meadow (reptile field) with profuse-flowering Lesser Celandine everywhere and the first flowers of Wild Garlic appearing under the river bank trees. A good spring indeed for wild flowers.

It was a misty damp start to the day which became clear, bright and sunny with some wispy high loud. It was quiet with no wind and birdsong could be heard all along the river course. 

Chiffchaffs (18) again dominated the riverside song today but a group of goldfinches (21) produced a background chorus from a dense thicket. Three had been bathing in the river and flew up to dry off on overhanging branches.

The river water was clear now and lower, with water plants beginning to grow. A pair of dunnocks were chasing along the top of the bank, another flew into the hedge right past me whilst another was singing over the river (4). Wrens (20) were numerous and easily seen as almost all were singing today rather than hiding away under the banks. Robins (16) too were singing strongly, but could not compete with the chiffchaffs in loudness. House sparrows (33) were busy in their hedgerows and chattering in the bramble thickets, whilst a few starlings (7) whistled from their thicket. Chaffinches were singing today (8) together with 3 greenfinches nearby, high in the trees. 

Numerous caterpillars, mostly amongst the oak branches, attracted the blue tits (24) and great tits(12) and long-tailed tits (4) were collecting insects to feed their young, as they start nesting early in the spring. In the clear sky a group of linnets (7) were seen flying across the river over a conifer. I heard a thin high call from amongst its branches a saw a goldcrest foraging - together with a large bumblebee 

(Bombus terrestris). The tree was full of small cones and large numbers of flying insects danced around it. 

The bat flyway hedgerow is also extremely popular with birds, with its southern side providing a warm area to perch, preen, sing and forage and its shady northern side providing damp leaf-litter foraging at its base. A song thrush flew up from the river into the base of the hedge, into some ivy further down river two more (3) were seen and heard singing loudly, in competition, one on each side of the river whilst close to them a male blackcap was singing a beautiful  and varied song of its own. Others remained hidden.

Blackbirds were numerous today (25), all busy foraging and only one taking time off to perch and sing. A few corvids had joined in foraging on the grass, whilst others flew across - there were 5 carrion crows, 3 magpies, 1 jackdaw, a silent jay and 3 rooks. Woodpigeons (17) were taking advantage of the warming river water to bathe and 6 male mallard were seen in various places on the water - the females were probably hidden away on nests. 

Nuthatches (4) - two pairs - were busy nesting but the foraging birds were calling, more softly than usual, just to make contact with their mates and 4 great spotted woodpeckers were seen in different nest areas, two flying from tree to tree and another two chasing and shouting loudly - one was probably fending off an imposter. Not far away upsteam 2 green woodpeckers were jaffling, much louder than the Great-spotted woodpeckers but just making contact. A loud yaffle from a third green woodpecker rang out from the northern field. 

Finally - raptors!  Looking up from the activity on the river bank, I saw two pairs of common buzzards and a single one (5) gliding in the breeze, forming a group, beautiful to watch and  to listen to their contact calls. Then lower down a kestrel was seen fling over the river into the increasing breeze.

BUTTERFLIES

Last but not least, the excellent conditions this spring for wild flowers has also brought out the butterflies and other insects, some appearing much earlier than usual.

A large number of Small Tortoiseshell butterflies (26) were seen, basking on nettles, ranging over the river bank nettles, warming up on dry fallen oak leaves, debris washed up on the banks, on dry old nettle stalks and some flying high, chasing.

Orange Tip butterflies (11) basking briefly and flying along  and back again amongst the Cuckoo flowers, Wood Anemone and wild violets on the river banks and field.

Comma butterflies (4) perching on the nettle leaves, Brimstones (2) ranging along the banks and Peacock butterflies (8) some settling down on the young nettle leaves to bask whilst others were nectaring on the profuse Blackthorn blossom.

Hoverflies were numerous on and over the Celandine and fast flying Red-tailed and Buff-tailed Bumble bees, several very high-flying ranged over the river course.

A prelude to a fine summer for wildlife here!