August ends with Bats and Berries

Towards the end of August a change is felt in the landscape - robins start singing again in a pensive way, bats are active on the river, adults now foraging with their hungry youngsters,

swallows are feeding on millions of insects brought down by the warm low cloud, before heading south

and are joined by house martins over the water although these birds usually leave much later.

Friday 28th August 2015 was dry and sunny with some cloud. There had been heavy and continuous rain on the Wednesday but clearing by Thursday. On 28th the grass was very wet with dew, cool with no wind. Most berries and fruits were now ripe, only the Dog Rose hips were still green but turning orange. Nettles on the banks were dying away rapidly, leaving forests of dry stalks - perfect shelter for small mammals and insects. The wild field was buzzing with life with huge numbers of bees, both Bumblebees and some Honeybees - and Hover fly species, too numerous to mention - most just have Latin names but are all very good indicators of biodiversity and quality of habitat.

Hover fly on Senecio jacobaea (Asteraceae) intermingled with 

the popular Fleabane, which is often overlooked as it doesn't grow as tall

as the former but is also a member of the daisy family and an excellent

source of sustenance for butterflies, bees and hover flies: see below:

Fleabane in the damp meadow - wild field 

Following the natural narrow path I had to watch out for basking butterflies, warming up on patches of bare earth. Robins (16) were now singing strongly but in short bursts rather than sustained song - one perched on a grey Blackthorn bush and shone out with it's brilliant orange-red plumage amongst the sloes.

Signs of Roe deer, foxes and Hedgehogs on the field paths and margins were noted - very good to see that Hedgehogs are returning after several years to their former habitats now that grass cutting, strimming and flailing are no longer applied as the 'kill-all in a minute' solution. 

Woodpigeons (42) were active today, bathing in the river and lined up on the fencing around the basin 'scrape' - now well established as a favourite place for most birds for bathing, foraging and drinking.  

Blue tits with their young (55) were feeding on insects and fruits, frequently bickering amongst the best branches. A single dunnock in fine but subtle plumage was perched in a Dog Rose over the river, tail twitching - and wrens (11) were becoming visible again, some singing short songs on the river banks.

A dense but sunny mature Blackthorn and Elder thicket, laden with fruits and berries had suddenly become crowded with birds, some attracted to the Elderberries, others to insects in the understory full of brambles. Great tits (7) greenfinches (5), four blackbirds, a treecreeper, at least two juvenile blackcaps, one wren and several chiffchaffs were all very active amongst the branches and twigs.

Birds here have the best of both worlds with the damp wild meadow one one side and the river on the opposite side with constant movement across from one side to the other. When night falls the area is good for foraging bats as well (see August 17th below). In the old oaks nearby two nuthatches were calling, probably still establishing territories. 

Blackbirds were also active along the grassy margins and river banks (total 14), great tits were foraging amongst the river banks trees (total 12) and blackcaps have done well this summer (total 5 seen today, including the two youngsters).

At least 12 chiffchaffs were foraging for insects in various trees, mainly in Willows along the banks and with them a Willow Warbler with several others heard calling and a single whitethroat, all probably moving through the river corridor on their way south, gaining essential fat for their migration.

Overhead 7 carrion crows were seen, some calling - and just one jackdaw. Herring gulls (8) were calling from the air but there were plenty more gathered on the 'scrape'. A female bullfinch flew across into a thicket whilst 3 linnets dashed into a tree - the finches, especially house sparrows (30 at least seen and heard today) here do not wake early and are seldom seen or heard until later when the sun has appeared and started to warm up their roosts in the hedgerows As seeds are plentiful at this time of the year, hunger doesn't wake them. Goldfinches have certainly prospered this summer (more than 30 today) with many young faces - without the adult red colouring  amongst them feeding on the dock and thistle seeds, on the ground amongst the dry plants or gathered together singing in the old trees nearby.

The sky turned dark and a sudden rain shower scattered the birds, sending them to shelter, and me too. 

Magpies (5), jays (1) and squirrels (1) are going to find good foraging this winter with bumper crops of acorns on the oaks. Many hazel nuts have been pillaged already, torn off the Hazel tree branches whilst still green. 

The rain shower did not last long and the riverside came to life again - a juvenile goldcrest flew into a conifer and was busy feeding at the outermost branches warmed by the sun and butterflies appeared within seconds.

Green-veined White butterflies, Large White butterflies and Speckled Woods were the most numerous, with Brimstones ranging along the hedgerows and river banks too. Bees and Hover flies gathered on the umbellifers whilst a Southern Hawker Dragonfly was seen patrolling along the river in the vicinity of the basin outfall drain, always an attraction for insects - and a Brown Hawker Dragonfly was ranging along the tree margin. We'll see more of these strong fliers before the winter arrives.

BATS

The evening of August 17th was overcast and warm, quiet, with no wind - a good time to do a bat survey along the river.

It was still light enough to see bats at 21.00hrs and there were certainly some around, leaving their roosts. The bat detector picked them up often before they could be seen flying against the sky. It became completely dark soon afterwards and this is when the numbers increased, as more reached the river where insects were most abundant. Some roost in trees close to the river but others roost further away and need to use bat flyways - continuous hedgerows or tree lines which they use to navigate to

their foraging areas.

Common Pipistrelle and Soprano Pipistrelle bats were quite numerous, more so than last summer and Daubenton's bats were detected over the river and banks foraging for insects which are found over the surface of the water. A Noctule, a larger bat, was seen high in the dusk against the sky and a Brown Long-eared bat was present in the dark riverside. There were probably more, only a short section of the river was checked as bats were so numerous. The Riverine area here has always held large numbers of bats but they are continuously under threat of roosting habitat loss. Just felling one tree means many bats have to relocate and find new roosts.

At last we have had a good spring and summer for berries and fruits of all kinds - and the most prized food source for many species of wildlife in autumn is the Blackberry:

Ripening in the sun, food for all