Red Kite Day - the end of July

Today, Sunday 31st July 2016 was remarkable, being a fine day, all day, although with more cloud moving in later. Knowing that most birds are still moulting and staying quiet, under cover until they are equipped with new flight feathers, it was a good time, around mid morning, to concentrate on butterflies again. However, whilst surveying the butterflies amongst the grasses, I looked up to see a magnificent Red Kite flying directly overhead, not very high up, its distinct markings and wing shape easily seen.

It glided leisurely around, circling over the river for some time, then slowly entered a glide that took it downstream along the river course until it was out of sight.

This was one of very few birds seen today - so back to butterflies:

Gatekeepers were out in force, they have an advantage over the earlier butterflies as have not been vulnerable to the torrential rain and lack of sun.

A male Gatekeeper butterfly on one of its favourite plants, the Bramble

Today they were to be seen almost everywhere in the sun, amongst the grasses on the field, along the river banks amongst the nettles and brambles and low along hedgerows. The males are quite territorial and will chase any other insect flying along their section of a hedgerow or bank. They are easily distinguishable from other butterflies such as the Meadow Brown (see previous post) when perched showing their distinct brown and orange markings and clear double eye spot. Their flight is rapid and erratic and they seldom perch for long. 

They are however vulnerable whilst in the caterpillar stage as they overwinter in this form low down amongst grasses.

The larger Meadow Brown butterflies were about today too but in fewer numbers, and Speckled Woods were more numerous today but keeping cool in areas with dappled shade. The only other 'orange' butterfly seen today was a Comma butterfly.

 Brambles were attracting many types of bees and Large and Small White butterflies which were ranging the riverside, some being chased by aggressive Gatekeepers.  Green-Veined Whites were numerous - these being the Summer Brood individuals which fly from July to September.  Other butterflies seen were Common Blue and Red Admiral together with strong flying Brown Hawker dragonflies and heavyweight Southern Hawker dragonflies.

A bee almost completely covered in pollen on a Musk Mallow flower

at the river bank

This is the quietest time of the year for birds - but knowing that they are still present although not seen or heard makes one look forward tremendously to the arrival of early autumn when they will 'reappear' as the leaves start to fall - and will be joined later by winter migrants.

Three blackbirds were seen, two giving alarm calls and a single male foraging on the grass. Twenty blue-tits were counted, mostly vocal young, and only six young great tits also calling, amongst the thistles on the bank. House sparrow numbers were reduced  (- a few adults with young fledgelings calling (47) - with continuing good conditions many more will fledge later in the summer, joining already large colonies or starting new colonies close by. They prefer to stay close to their original home territory and are tolerated by older birds rather than being chased out to find new territories.

Just a single wren was heard - an alarm call from a bird well out of sight, low on the river bank. For the first time this year there were more dunnocks (3) heard and seen than wrens, with two young dunnocks heard and one adult seen collecting food under the base of a hedge.  Very high thin calls came from at least two young treecreepers in an oak whilst a very loud jay was calling

nearby, hidden in the dense canopy. Whitethroats (summer migrants) were still very present  along the river bushes but only one was seen, whilst the other more common migrant warbler - the chiffchaff, was showing well in a Hazel giving contact calls (hweeeet) which were answered by a second bird with a third heard calling in the distance. Four migrant warblers favouring the Willow and Blackthorn along the river, blackcaps, one adult male and at least two juveniles bordering an area of richly-fruiting brambles were seen and heard, with another - alarm-calling in a river bank willow.  

It was at least good to hear and see more than 30 goldfinches, many singing from favourite old Field Maples on the banks with easy access to plentiful supplies of seeds from wild grasses and flowers.

Sightings of our resident birds were scarce - they do not have spend time feeding up in preparation for a long journey - only three robins were seen, one singing a very short snatch of song from a Blackthorn, the other two silently collecting food on the edge of a wooded path whilst a song thrush flew low across a shady bank. Just one vocal magpie was seen today, the rest hiding in the shade.
Out beyond the trees, three carrion crows were watching from a fence, flying down onto a grassy slope to join wood pigeons (24) drinking in the scrape and river nearby - and others keeping watch from old oaks (24 total). Herring gulls (14) were flying lazily across when a  common buzzard (2) appeared, sailing quite fast out of the crowd. Calls were then heard directly above - another buzzard, warning off the gulls.

Summer wild meadow warmed by the sun - splendid foraging for all, a mixture of all the scents to attract bees, shelter for nesting warblers, a myriad of insects, patrolled by dragonflies, butterflies,  hoverflies, grasshoppers and crickets….

A great spotted woodpecker called out a warning from the oak canopy over the river,  triggering  very noisy calls from three juvenile green woodpeckers, not quite a full 'yaffle'  yet but doing well!
The young remain for some time near their nest area in the old trees close to their source of food - ants.
Ants' nests soon appear as soon as the earth dries out in the wild fields, pushing mounds of bare earth up through the wild flowers, easily spotted by the green woodpeckers. Alternatively they can forage on ants in the shorter grasses.
It was also good to hear a nuthatch calling further along the river downstream after a long quiet spell
whilst the young are raised and fledge to fend for themselves.

Meadowsweet and Meadow Browns in July

July started with more overcast days - becoming warmer and more humid. On Monday 4th July a cormorant was seen flying along the river course, heading south. The day was sunny at first, with the chance of finding butterflies. Sure enough, the first Ringlets were seen on the damp banks, very active, chasing each other amongst the grasses and chasing Meadow Brown butterflies too. Other butterflies found were Red Admirals and Speckled Woods, with good numbers of damselflies, both Beautiful Demoiselles and Banded Demoiselles. Bees were covering a flowering Bramble bush tangles up with flowering arching Rosa canina branches. 

In the wild field, tall grasses were giving way to a sudden proliferation of Meadowsweet growing fast and flowing in large areas:

Meadowsweet (Filipendula ulmaria) in the wild field alongside the river, and important

boggy floodplain, this year flowering naturally, as it used to.

Azure damselflies under a blue sky

    Tuesday 28th June 2016 began as a fine day - maybe the only chance for weeks to come to see more butterflies and dragonflies after a series of overcast days since 19th June and very little sun since the last full record on 6th June (see previous blogs). Hence another full record - just in case…

The sun was hazy with rain forecast for later and indeed the clouds soon appeared. Grasses were dying down slightly now and mud on the riverbank vegetation indicated the recent high level of the river after  torrential rain in the thunderstorms with spectacular lightening strikes of the evening of the 22nd June - a forecast of things to come!

Plenty of wild flowers were forging ahead  - Lesser Stitchwort appearing from the long grass, spires of Purple Loosestrife, Bird's foot Trefoil, Periwinkle, ground ivy, White clover and Rosa canina but above all a spectacular increase in Meadowsweet both on the river banks and large amounts flourishing in the wild field in the soggy ground. Walking along the field, the shoulder high flowers gave a sweet scent to the air.

Azure damselfly male on pond vegetation, one of several drifting from leaf to leaf in the sun - they seem to drift in the air rather than fly and prefer small sheltered ponds with plenty of vegetation.

Nearby a Banded Demoiselle male flew across the path - quite different - these are more aggressive and are strong flyers, exploring large areas away from the river. Two female Beautiful Demoiselle dragonflies were also seen, near the larger pond.

Many small moths were flying up from the long grasses which provide shelter for both moths and butterflies during heavy rain. They drop down the stems of grasses, as low as possible and close up, waiting for the sun to reappear. It was good to see so many Meadow Brown butterflies today as everyone is reporting a very bad year for butterflies in general so far.

Here is a Meadow Brown butterfly nectaring on a Bramble flower on the river bank. They prefer long meadow grasses and can be seen flying low amongst the vegetation.

Many birds were still very vocal, song thrushes (10) singing strongly - most will have second broods as the damp conditions have provided plenty of food for adults to feed their young. The birds nest low down in dense undergrowth here and the adults can often be seen carrying food just across the river or from the grass into the hedgerows. Wrens (13) too were very active and singing loudly, maintaining their territories along the river bank. and a single dunnock was seen foraging under a mossy root. Blackbirds (17) could be heard in full song, their voices echoing along the banks whilst young blue tits could be heard calling from branches, asking to be fed by their parents which could be seen foraging in the willows close by (14). Young yellow-faced great tits were seen in a conifer with adults foraging in the adjacent Willows (7) and a single goldcrest  was very active in the same conifer.  Only three robins were seen today, one of them a speckled young robin - they are still on the riverside but most are hiding and moulting - soon the numbers of birds seen and heard will be greatly reduced as most will be undergoing their seasonal moult to gain fresh strong feathers for the winter, or in the case of migrants for their long journeys to their southern wintering grounds. 

Unruly young magpies (4) were seen chasing each other in the trees whilst a green woodpecker flew quietly across, silent at this time of the year. House sparrows can always be heard, all year round here in their sparrow hedges, fortunately uncut  this summer - about 20 in this one colony and many more in other hedgerows and bramble thickets further along, impossible to count.  Only one chaffinch was seen and no greenfinches.

Goldfinches (40) are doing very well this year, most singing together in groups in the field maples, oaks and thickets, the young still to acquire their characteristic red faces (adult plumage).

Woodpigeons (17) and carrion crows (5) were foraging on the grass, with more flying in to the damp 'scrape', now with plenty of vegetation around it ,whilst a few herring gulls flew overhead and a jay could be heard cursing in the old oak on the bank nearby.

Warblers were still singing, with five loud chiffchaffs in various locations and five blackcaps, three males singing very loudly in different Willows along the river course, one very close to me. One garden warbler was singing too, also in a Willow and last but not least, three common whitethroats were seen, again one pair in and out of the long grass and bushes and one singing in a thicket.

Back to the spectacular insects on the river: to summarise:

Meadow Brown butterflies were numerous,  Speckled Wood butterfies, Small Skippers, Small Tortoiseshell butterflies and a fresh and brilliant Comma butterfly.

 Azure damselflies at least 5, Beautiful Demoiselle damselflies - 3 males, 1 female and 1 immature (one chased by a Meadow Brown butterfly)

several Banded Demoiselle damselflies males chasing and two females. 

The most important was a fine close -up view of an immature White-legged damselfly (Platycnemis pennipes) warming up on a hazel leaf on the river bank, in the sun.

Hedge Woundwort (Stachys sylvatica)

A look back to the June Deluges

Just over a month ago, on 19th June 2016 after a series of overcast, humid days, hoping for some sightings of summer butterflies, I was rewarded instead, on traversing the wild meadow where bramble shoots had tangled themselves across the natural foot track overnight - I saw a common whitethroat darting in and out of a bush and a second one collecting food close by. They were obviously a pair with young to feed, silently. Earlier in the month several had been heard singing in different locations

along the riverside bramble bushes where they return each year. 

A few Meadow Brown butterflies were seen but bees were more numerous, being able to withstand the heavy rain over the past few days.

Tree Bumblebee (Bombus hypnorum) on a bramble leaf in a moment of rare sunlight.

A new species to arrive in the UK in recent times - seen first in the South East, it reached

Scotland only 2 or 3 years ago.

Brambles in flower are probably the most important source of sustenance for bees and many other insects over the long summer months and then when they fruit, provide food for birds in the autumn.

White-tailed Bumblebee (Bombus lucorum) feeding on a Bramble flower, collecting pollen on the way.

All bees love Brambles:

This is a Communal Mining bee joining the bonanza:

Communal Mining Bee (Andrena carantonica - scotia)

Apparently this bee is a solitary bee despite its name!

Large clumps of unusually tall Common Bird's Foot Trefoil are now forging ahead

on the fields and grassy banks, like the Lesser Stitchwort growing up through

the grasses. Eventually the grasses will dry out and die down - leaving the meadow

flowers more visible - but this year we'll have to wait…

In addition to the Meadow Brown butterflies this day, 19th June, several damselflies were seen - Large Red damselflies over the river, Beautiful Demoiselle damselflies on riverbank nettles and Banded Demoiselle damselflies over the brambles.

Four blackbirds, four song thrushes and four wrens were seen. two chaffinches, a great spotted woodpecker, ten starlings and two blackcaps were were also seen but only one blue tit.

House sparrows were singing in the hedgerow - about 20.

This was just a quick check on a warm sunny and humid day.