The wildlife survey for June was on Friday 28th June 2019, a fine day with some high light clouds. The last rain fell two days before and the ground was still damp in the shade. Conditions have been perfect for growth in all respects, with abundant riverside vegetation, wild flowers, some new to the area, springing up and signs of many birds starting on second broods with warblers and wrens especially vocal, singing loudly from perches amongst the dense leaves of trees and shrubs overhanging the banks. Meadow Brown butterflies are everywhere skimming the grasses and bees throng the flowering brambles.
Flowering Lesser Stitchwort on the embankment
Flowering Lesser Stitchwort on the embankment
The first impression on listening was the more or less continuous background calling of young starlings, flying across in groups of about 15, following adults, foraging on grassy areas and in trees with a total of around 80 birds along the riverside. This is a good sign as starlings have been declining in numbers for years as have house sparrows. It's incredible that many areas have no house sparrows at all now, whereas here there are thriving colonies around every corner, today mostly chattering in dense low vegetation such as hawthorn hedges and bramble patches - more than 90 were present.
15 wrens were singing along the banks whilst 16 blackbirds were more easily seen,some singing, others foraging on the grass or 'sunning' out in the open, getting as hot as possible, part of their preening process. Song thrushes prefer the cool shade and damp earth, and five were singing out of a total of 8 seen. Robins were either hidden away, moulting or nesting, they can have raise three broods in a summer. Only one was heard singing a short song, the others were silent, with only seven seen in total today. Four dunnocks were seen, all low on the river banks and a single greenfinch was seen lit up by the sun in a conifer where goldcrests can usually be heard and seen, but today they were heard in riverside oaks quite a distance away (2). Two chaffinches were seen and heard in an open area with trees whilst a group (about 20) of goldfinches sang together from an old maple.
Larger birds were seen in the canopies, with 5 jackdaws, seven carrion crows, one collared dove near its nest, only 17 woodpigeons and the noisiest birds, the magpies (7) caused a row in a conifer.
Above the canopy, 8 herring gulls were seen gliding, silent today as no raptors were in the area….
except for a sharp fast- flying sparrowhawk low over a pond.
Our resident birds, the blue tits, (15), great tits (7) and long-tailed tits
(4) (were all present but keeping a low profile, with young quietly following adults or foraging together whilst adults raise second broods. They keep to dense vegetation and fly fast and erratically between one thicket and another. A green woodpecker called across the river and two great-spotted woodpeckers were seen chasing in the pine trees, disturbed by a distant mower. Further along, in the very old oaks it was good to see a large family of nuthatches, about 7 flying short distances from tree to tree, branch to branch - the young calling loudly. At several other locations, all in old trees, more nuthatches were seen and heard, making a total of 13. This is a large number, indicating successful breeding! More broods will be raised this summer.
Leaving the most interesting birds until last, it was very good to hear far more migrant warblers singing along the river than usual, with sustained song from whitethroats (5 singing), garden warblers (4 singing), chiffchaffs (2 singing) and a record number of blackcaps, mostly in the willows, (9 singing).
The song from the blackcaps was particularly loud!
Conditions have been good for them this year - on arrival in this country earlier in the spring, conditions were good, with insects plentiful along the sheltered meanders of the river allowing them to feed up after their long journeys.
Insects! and spiders too…
Hoverflies, in large numbers appeared early and since then , with the warmer weather, many summer butterflies have suddenly filled the grassland areas that have been allowed to grow, full of wild flowers attracting bees after the blossom finished.Today the most numerous butterflies were the Meadow Brown butterflies, with Painted Lady, Ringlet, Large White, Large Skipper, Small Skipper and Red Admiral, Common Blue and Speckled Wood.
Bumble bees and Honeybees were numerous too, now having switched from feeding on willow catkins to Bramble flowers, suddenly appearing in sunny patches.
It is worth noting that there are new ants nests forming in the same areas where the ground is dry - all good for the increasing diversity here.
15 wrens were singing along the banks whilst 16 blackbirds were more easily seen,some singing, others foraging on the grass or 'sunning' out in the open, getting as hot as possible, part of their preening process. Song thrushes prefer the cool shade and damp earth, and five were singing out of a total of 8 seen. Robins were either hidden away, moulting or nesting, they can have raise three broods in a summer. Only one was heard singing a short song, the others were silent, with only seven seen in total today. Four dunnocks were seen, all low on the river banks and a single greenfinch was seen lit up by the sun in a conifer where goldcrests can usually be heard and seen, but today they were heard in riverside oaks quite a distance away (2). Two chaffinches were seen and heard in an open area with trees whilst a group (about 20) of goldfinches sang together from an old maple.
Larger birds were seen in the canopies, with 5 jackdaws, seven carrion crows, one collared dove near its nest, only 17 woodpigeons and the noisiest birds, the magpies (7) caused a row in a conifer.
Above the canopy, 8 herring gulls were seen gliding, silent today as no raptors were in the area….
except for a sharp fast- flying sparrowhawk low over a pond.
Our resident birds, the blue tits, (15), great tits (7) and long-tailed tits
(4) (were all present but keeping a low profile, with young quietly following adults or foraging together whilst adults raise second broods. They keep to dense vegetation and fly fast and erratically between one thicket and another. A green woodpecker called across the river and two great-spotted woodpeckers were seen chasing in the pine trees, disturbed by a distant mower. Further along, in the very old oaks it was good to see a large family of nuthatches, about 7 flying short distances from tree to tree, branch to branch - the young calling loudly. At several other locations, all in old trees, more nuthatches were seen and heard, making a total of 13. This is a large number, indicating successful breeding! More broods will be raised this summer.
Leaving the most interesting birds until last, it was very good to hear far more migrant warblers singing along the river than usual, with sustained song from whitethroats (5 singing), garden warblers (4 singing), chiffchaffs (2 singing) and a record number of blackcaps, mostly in the willows, (9 singing).
The song from the blackcaps was particularly loud!
Conditions have been good for them this year - on arrival in this country earlier in the spring, conditions were good, with insects plentiful along the sheltered meanders of the river allowing them to feed up after their long journeys.
Insects! and spiders too…
Hoverflies, in large numbers appeared early and since then , with the warmer weather, many summer butterflies have suddenly filled the grassland areas that have been allowed to grow, full of wild flowers attracting bees after the blossom finished.Today the most numerous butterflies were the Meadow Brown butterflies, with Painted Lady, Ringlet, Large White, Large Skipper, Small Skipper and Red Admiral, Common Blue and Speckled Wood.
Bumble bees and Honeybees were numerous too, now having switched from feeding on willow catkins to Bramble flowers, suddenly appearing in sunny patches.
It is worth noting that there are new ants nests forming in the same areas where the ground is dry - all good for the increasing diversity here.
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