Much has happened during May 2019 with the river warming up. Damselflies and Dragonflies have appeared later than last year, but are now emerging into the sun.
This Large Red Damselfly male on 24th May was shifting from place to place but returning to the same sunlit leaf on the river bank. Flies of all kinds were numerous over the water and foraging was easy.
The survey this month was made on Tuesday 21st May 2019, a fine day after overcast weather. There was no rain and not much wind and very bright clear sunshine. Dandelions along verges and banks were mostly in seed now with 'clocks' sending flying seed in all directions, some of it taken by house sparrows as it drifted past. Cow Parsley was growing prolifically along the banks and under hedge margins in semi-shade:
The young green Cow Parsley shoots emerging from the winter layers of fallen leaves are always one of the first signs of spring and the flowers herald summer. The Oaks are now in full leaf and ash trees in leaf at last. Fruit trees have tiny fruits following on from the blossom and bramble flowers are just appearing in the sun. Soon they will be full of bees. This acceleration of growth means that birds have more hiding places and associated aphids and caterpillars to pluck for their young, perfect timing.
A continuous chorus of small birds singing and calling filled the air but today singing blackbirds were the loudest. Thirty-nine were present along the riverside, many singing, whilst others gave alarm calls or soft contact calls to their young, finding their way through the under storey of Cow Parsley and ivy.
Less obvious but always present were the calls and 'songs' of House Sparrows, juveniles increasing the usual numbers present in colonies totalling well over one hundred. Most of these prefer insects to seed at this time of the year. Starlings were seen flying over in a new flock of about thirty with many noisy juveniles scattered amongst branches in other places totalling more than forty. Another common bird was seen in fewer than usual numbers, the wood pigeon but this was only due to many nesting or foraging in fields beyond the river (22). Magpies were even more scarce, for the same reason. As usual the more delicate collared doves were hiding, just one pair being seen and heard.
The songs of robins were short and subdued, with 19 visible including 2 juveniles silently exploring in the undergrowth, the habitat of the dunnock too. Eight were seen, some had been bathing in the river, on an island of twigs. Song thrushes were at different stages, some giving short songs with just one singing a full song, the rest were foraging, collecting food for young in their low under-storey nests, six in total. Nuthatches, as usual whilst nesting, avoid attracting attention - but two were seen in the oaks today.
Wrens (20) are so numerous that they can be seen and heard at different stages too, all along the river banks.
Their songs and alarm calls could be heard in many different places, three were singing from very prominent tree-top perches whilst others were singing close to nest sites, low down - but the total effect was for their songs to echo along the river banks.
Blue tits (26) and great tits (9) were active amongst the thickets, foraging for insects, the great tits preferring to search amongst tall grasses on the ground of on the river banks. Two coal tits flew fast into a tall hedge, making their way down, probably to a low nest.
Buttercups take over from Dandelions, and grow tall, attracting numerous insects.
Whilst most wildlife activity is taking place at a low level in undergrowth on the banks, in hedgerows and roots, loud calls from above distract the observer. A carrion crow calling loudly from a tree top made me look up, as the calls were too strange to be just crows. It was a common buzzard, very close, flying up from the tree over the river, chased by aggressive crows. It has possibly flown too close to a crows nest, but it retreated. Further down the river a different buzzard war also being mobbed by crows circling in the sky. Later a buzzard was seen flying very low over a drainage basin - again followed by a crow (two or maybe three individuals). As for the carrion crows, a total of 8 were seen and a single jackdaw.
A grey heron was seen to fly up out of the river in a stretch with high banks where it had been fishing or catching frogs and 4 Herring gulls were seen flying across whilst a single male mallard paddled upstream.
The star of the river today was a fine grey wagtail which shot along the river, skimming the surface near it's nest site, very low down.
High calls alerted me to a single goldcrest near some conifers, with two more seen close by (3)
Back at tree level, 4 chaffinches and a single greenfinch were seen in the branches amongst dense leaves. 20 goldfinches were heard and then seen in a thicket, with some anonymous-looking juveniles amongst the group. A family group of 7 long-tailed tits flew forging along the willows, where a blackcap was singing. Elsewhere along the river, more blackcaps were seen and heard, 12 in total, some very quietly sub-singing, but one or two were in full voice.
Chiffchaffs (15) were singing in most places along the riverside trees and seen easily too. Others were contact-calling, probably juveniles.The singing of these migrant warblers was enhanced by two garden warblers in different places and nesting common whitethroats (11) in more open scrub, now only giving short songs.
Finally at the end of the survey, a fine pair of Bullfinches were seen in a thicket on the river, very close to each other. These are resident birds which remain in pairs all the year round, seldom separated by more than a few meters.
Last but not least, insects are the key to our survival - especially bees of which there were large numbers today, thronging the newly opening Bramble flowers and Rosa canina in special places warmed by the sun. Bumblebees, Honeybees, White-tailed, Buff-tailed and Red-tailed bees to name a few.
Butterflies present were Speckled Wood, Green-veined White, Red Admiral, Orange-tip and Holly Blue accompanied by many Hoverflies.
