The 28th July - the day of the survey was partially cloudy, brightening after dark clouds moved off. A westerly wind meant that traffic was now audible - we are missing the somewhat strange silence of previous weeks. Recent rainfall was very welcome, with fruits ripening. Bramble bushes were covered in red berries, not yet ripe, with bees on thistles waiting for the sun to appear every few minutes. Butterflies were poised for action too, waiting low down on grass stalks and vegetation, most reappearing within a second of the sun shining.
Butterflies seen were Ringlets:
Ringlet perching on willow leaf July 2020.
They can be active even in cloudy damp weather when other butterflies would not appear.
Others seen today were:
Large White, Small White, Green-veined White, Holly Blue, Gatekeeper, Meadow Brown, Small Copper, and Comma.
The ground was well soaked and the scents of the wild flowers, grasses and shrubs magnified. Clear water flowed well in the rivers. A Bank Vole was seen running to safe cover under brambles.
Few birds alerted others to their presence, remaining silent when moulting - but nevertheless some gave away their presence. About 60 house sparrows were present in various hedges and bramble patches and amongst Blackthorn and a total of 34 wood pigeons were counted some feeding on the grass and others calling from possible nest sites.
It was interesting to find some blue tits eating fruits from the trees where they usually forage for insects (25). Great tits were more elusive (11) along the banks. An amazing sight today, seeing birds in such small numbers, was a troupe of 25 long-tailed tits following each other flying from west to east over to our side of the river where there are more mature trees. Some were perching on Willows halfway across
the river and one started out from a willow then turned back, perching on a dead branch, waiting until another came and both flew across together. They were mostly juveniles, led by several adults. In the same area with young Willows were two blackcaps, a juvenile and an adult male, moving around slowly in comparison the the long-tails, with no desire to join the crowd.
Blackbirds (7) remained very alert, frequently giving alarm calls when disturbed by other birds. Song thrushes, always alert to new possibilities, were investigating recently disturbed ground left by fallen branches and at least two still had nests low down in the undergrowth where they were feeding young (5). One on a steep bank
gave a very short song. Wrens were remaining well hidden all along the river and the sound of the wind in the Poplars drowned out any attempts to sing. (6). Robins (4), usually everywhere along the river were silent, moulting, with only one heard - giving an alarm call.
Seven carrion crows , a magpie and a single jackdaw were seen and just one starling - the juvenile starlings having all left to join other young starlings ranging along the south coast. They cause quite a stir when they have just fledged and are still reliant on adults - being noisy, very hungry and demanding the best perches from which to survey the landscape or dry off after bathing. A great-spotted woodpecker called from a river-bank Ash whilst another was calling loudly from an oak further downstream. Nearby a sparrowhawk made quick dash across the bridge. On the opposite bank a nuthatch called out, perhaps a warning to a group of mostly juvenile goldfinches. More were seen upstream calling quietly (21).
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