Fruitful October

October's survey showed some rapid changes in conditions, with wildlife adapting fast.

Wednesday 24th October 2018 started just after the early morning cloud cleared. The wind had eased off with most Ash trees having lost leaves, carpeting the ground with light yellow and green. The ground was dry but with no frost although it had become colder during the past few days. A slight breeze wafted the few leaves left on the riverside Willows.  There were plenty of berries untouched by birds and mammals, the riverbanks are still awaiting visiting winter migrants - perhaps they will be late this year as the ground cools down more slowly and with more food remaining in their summer habitats.

A bank Field Maple on 24th October 2018.

The river was flowing well but low - rainfall had still been scarce, but at least brambles and nettles, which had formerly been dying off early, had now been refreshed with new growth. Ivy was flowering and clumps of berries were visible in sunny places. Brambles were buzzing with a variety of insects, mostly wasp-types which will move on to forage on any other late flowering plants. A fine honeysuckle

'hedge' scrambling over an old fence was seen flowering  earlier this month, attracting late bees and at nightfall, bats, foraging for moths.

Late-flowering Honeysuckle on the wild field, attracting bees, moths - and bats! 

It's berries will later attract birds.

House sparrows were the most numerous birds along the riverside today (about 80) in several colonies amongst the Bramble patches and hedgerows. Of the finches, it's strange now to find that Bullfinches are more frequently seen and heard than Chaffinches and Greenfinches! Two bullfinches were calling at an upstream location on the river and another two were on the river-bank Willows some distance away (total 4) whilst no chaffinches of greenfinches were seen or heard. If they are seen or heard here they are never in groups as they used to be, in those days it was quite rare to see a bullfinch. Goldfinches are doing well and are always present in varying numbers - today about 15 were singing quietly in a tangled thicket full of sloes - and house sparrows.

Starling numbers are decreasing almost everywhere but at least we nearly always have a fair number here along the river. Today about 30 starlings were singing together in their day roost - on the sunny side of an old ivy-covered tree. 

Four dunnock were seen, one singing for a short while. With falling leaves they become more visible but quickly move under the cover of roots and undergrowth. Robins (25) were now singing in their territories, their song varying, some only 'chinking' whilst others were singing full songs, sometimes perched only a few meters from another singing robin. There were now a few more singing wrens (16) along the banks, active across the low river, feeding on insects, whilst blackbirds (14) - still only our 'resident' birds - were guarding sources of berries, giving alarm calls at the approach of others. Song thrushes were keeping hidden, low amongst the fallen leaves and under hedges, just two were seen - again no sign of visiting migrant thrushes yet, apart from two redwing moving along at the back of a thicket, probably scouts.

Blue tits (46) were foraging rapidly, high up in the old Maples and Oaks which still held most of their leaves, with no gales to hasten the leaf fall. Great tits (18) were choosing to forage amongst Hawthorn berries, the Hawthorns will probably be bare of berries well before the Blackthorn of Sloes as the berries (haws) are small enough for more species to eat. Two elusive coal tits were seen flying into the tall hedge - they never seem to be seen in large numbers here. There were two goldcrests, seen again fast-flitting in the old riverbank Oaks, nuthatch territory, quite far from where they were most often seen in the past - amongst tall conifers. Four nuthatches were present in four different locations, in Oaks or Ash trees as were a single Jay and 16 woodpigeons, watching from branches. 

Looking above the tree canopy, a common buzzard was gliding over the river course whilst four magpies and six carrion crows were flying from tree to tree, the latter not having spotted the buzzard.

Two jackdaws and Herring gulls in small numbers (12) were seen flying high and a tight group of linnets (8) were flying across the river towards some bare ground.

Finally a kestrel flew past, quite low, to investigate a verge which had just been mown.

The only butterflies seen were a few Speckled Woods and a Red Admiral. 

A Migrant Hawker flying over a sunlit sheltered part of the riverbank was the only dragonfly seen today.

Guelder Rose adds to the rich variety of autumn colours this year

24th October 2018