Birds

31/08/16

This mornings Area 5 garden watch was spiced up with 2 Yellow Wagtail that flew over calling.

30/08/16

At 04:40 this morning a Tawny Owl was heard calling again in Area 5.

29/08/16

Woken up this morning by a calling Tawny Owl at 05:30 in Area 5.

27/08/16

In Area 5 a Tawny Owlwas calling at05:45.

26/08/16

Fraser Cottington was at the bottom of the area 10 car park field (off Sandford Lane) this morning and saw in the Elders adjacent to the Emm Brook Lesser Whitethroat , Whitethroat , Willow Warbler , Blackcap , Chiffchaff , and 2 Wheatear and a Whichat on the landfill.

25/08/16

Evening over Area 5 and a Sparrowhawk was the highlight of the day’s sightings

16/08/16

A Little Egret was flying over my Area 5 garden at 06:00, also seen were a Ring necked Parakeet and a Green Woodpecker was heard calling from Woosehill Meadows. In Area 2 at lunchtime another Ring necked Parakeet was seen.

12/08/16

In Area 4, Paul Bright Thomas had a Hobby fly over his garden early morning, and at dusk a Tawny Owl was heard calling near the Emm.

11/08/16

Over Area 5, approx 30 House Martin were seen heading S in the morning, and a further 2 seen drifying W in the afternoon.

09/08/16

What were probably the last Swift of the year were seen moving over Old Forest Road (Area 8) this afternoon. 8 House Martin heading S were also seen in Area 5 in the morning.

05/08/16

All a bit samey at the moment over Area 5 , with a regular, small Canada Goose flock and a Grey Heron flying over calling first thing in the morning.

01/08/16

Area 5 this morning and a Swift was seen heading S. A Grey Heron flew over calling heading for the river and a Ring necked Parakeet was also seen.

Insects

26/08/16

Horse chestnut leaf miner Cameraria ohridella was originally found on horse chestnut trees in London. The larvae of this tiny moth forms burrows within the leaf tissue, with heavy infestations resulting in leaf browning and drying and, over time, leaf death The leaf miner was first observed in Macedonia, northern Greece, in 1985 before appearing unexpectedly in Austria in 1989.Since then it has spread throughout central and Eastern Europe It was first found in Great Britain in 2002 in the London Borough of Wimbledon.Over the last few years its range has expanded north, travelling between 40 and 60 km annually; the speed of this suggesting that some moths have been carried inside vehicles

23/08/16

With the warm weather continuing, there were large numbers of Large White Pieris brassicae and several Speckled Wood Pararge aegeria on the wing.

07/08/16

In Area 5 my first Green veined White Pieris napi of the year was seen.It is often mistaken for its cousin, the Small White. The so-called green veins on the underside of the adults are, in fact, an illusion created by a subtle combination of yellow and black scales.

Other Wildlife

Mammals

23/08/16

Sitting out in the warm evening weather at least 1 Hedgehog Erinaceus europaeus was feeding in my Area 5 garden. Finally seen one this year..

22/08/16

In a slightly scary moment this morning at 05:00 a Pipistrelle Pipistrellus pipistrellus bat was flying around my lounge. It disappeared and was found again later at 20:20 roosting behind a picture.

19/08/16

In Area 5 at approx 21:00 a Pipistrelle Pipistrellus pipistrellus bat was flying low over my front garden, feeding by the hedge.

Fungi

Molluscs

Fish/ Crustacean

14/08/16

In Area 10 by the bridge to the play Area at Dinton Pastures some as yet unidentified small fish were seen.

Plant/Trees

26/08/16

In Area 2 Common Toadflax Linaria vulgaris can be seen. Common Toadflax is a common plant of waste grounds, grasslands, roadside verges and hedgerows. Its orange and yellow flowers appear in June and can be seen well into November; they look like the flowers of snapdragons (familiar garden plants), and are often densely packed. These flowers give the plant its other common name of 'Butter and Eggs'.

19/08/16

In Area 5 today alonside the Emm were Hedge bindweed Calystegia sepium with its pure white trumpet flowers, and the smaller Field bindweed Convolvulus arvensis with its distinctive pink flowers.

14/08/16

Seen today in Area 10 were Tufted Vetch Vicia cracca , and Lesser burdock Arctium minus .