Birds

25/01/25 At the weir pool in Area 5 a Grey Wagtail was feeding on the banks. In Area 7A at Ashridge Meadows, seen by Paul O'Neill, a Little Egret was seen feeding in Ashridge Stream , a Kestrel flew over also seen were 2 Buzzard and a pair of Stonechat . At the Skinner Drive balancing pond 2 Snipe were also seen by Paul O'Neill, a first for this site.

18/01/25 Whilst in Area 5 at Brookside a Sparrowhawk took a Wood Pigeon out of a tree and then proceeded to tear it apart on the house lawn. Photo taken with my I phone.

16/01/25 In Area 7A , a female Kingfisher was seen at Skinner Drive Balancing pond. 2 Litte Egret were at Ashridge Stream in Ashridge Meadows, one feeding in the stream the other flying along it. A male and female Stonechat were at Ashridge Meadows along with a Meadow Pipit and 30 Linnet. All sightings by Paul O'Neil.

14/01/25 In Area 10 a Great White Egret was on the Loddon near the Green Bridge seen by Trevor Guyatt.

13/01/25 2 Little Egret were seen in and around the Emm Brook in Area 5 to the rear of Morrisons by Claire Mingham-Smith.In Area 10 on the Old Golf Course 22 + Redwing were seen near the old Cafe by Alan Jackman and 5 Fieldfare were seen by Colin Holmes.

12/01/25 A Firecrest was seen South of the Green Bridge in Area 10 by Adam Wigley and 2 Mistle Thrush and a Kestrel were on the Old Golf Course, seen by Peter Scudamore.

11/01/25 In Area 10 at 06:45 opposite the Green Bridge a Tawny Owl was heard calling by Fraser Cottington.

10/01/25 With the temperature plummenting this morning to -5.9 °C at 07:00 ,I made sure that the garden feeders and water were all topped up.The Birds need fresh water for drinking and bathing all year, but it's especially important in the winter when natural water sources may freeze . This paid dividends with House Sparrow , Robin Collard Dove , Wood Pigeon , Starling , Dunnock , Blue Tit and Great Tit all visiting. A Coal Tit was singing at the entrance to the Dinton Activity Centre in Area 10 before flying off seen by Nick Kightley.

09/01/25 In Area 7A , there were 7 Lesser Redpoll in the top of an Oak tree in Old Forest Road Meadows and a Litte Egret on Ashridge Stream at Toutley Road bridge both seen by Paul O'Neil. You may have noticed that very few sightings have been coming in from Area 10 this week due to flooding. Thankfully the water levels are begining to drop so watch this space.

08/01/25 In Area 7A at Ashridge Meadows a Little Egret was perched in an Oak tree, preening over the Ashridge Stream. On the junction of Mercury Avenue and Heron Road in Area 4, feeding on the fallen fruit of a roadside Apple tree were a female Blackcap , 3 Wood Pigeon , 4 Blackbird , a Song Thrush , a Great Tit and a Robin .

05/01/25 2 Cormorrant were perched in the Oak tree at Copsewood Balancing pond in Area 7A. In Area 10 a Mistle Thrush was seen on the old Golf Course by Steve Clarke.

04/01/2025 Once again in Area 1 to south of the path past Ludgrove School, near Lucas Hospital a Little Owl was seen perched on a fallen tree. Seen and heard during todays litter pick in Area 4 were 2 drumming Great Spotted Woodpecker a calling Green Woodpecker , 10 Siskin feeding at the top of the Alder trees, a Song Thrush and a calling Nuthatch . In Area 7A at Ashridge Meadows a male and female Stonechat and a female Kestrel were seen by Paul O'Neill with a Stonechat and a Mute Swan also seen on Copsewood balancing pond.

03/01/25 In Area 1 to south of the path past Ludgrove School, near Lucas Hospital a Little Owl was seen perched on a fallen tree by Peter Kendall. In Area 10 a Barnacle Goose was by the Activity Centre beach seen by Paul Mattingly. Also on the beach was a Pied Wagtail seen by John McGovan. On the old Golf course a mixed flock of 30 + Redwing , Fieldfare , Mistle Thrush and Song Thrush all feeding in the horse field on the east side were seen by Brian Bennett.

01/01/2025 In Area 7A a Mute Swan was on Copsewood balancing pond.

Insects

25/01/25 Back from my annual pilgrimage to Norflok the moth trap was back out overnight on 24/01/25 at dusk in my Area 4 garden and emptied this morning .It produced a catch of 2 moths of 2 species.These were Dark Chestnut Phigalia pilosaria and a Pale Brindled Beauty Phigalia pilosaria . With a new moth added ,the total for 2025 is now 3 species. Following inspection and recording/photographing anything caught was released.

17/01/25 With a spell of warmer weather the moth trap was back out overnight on 16/01/25 at dusk in my Area 4 garden and emptied this morning .It produced a catch of 3 moths of 1 species.These were 3 Pale Brindled Beauty Phigalia pilosaria . With a new moth added ,the total for 2025 is now 2 species. Following inspection and recording/photographing anything caught was released.

16/01/25 Seen on the leaves of a Holly bush in Area 1 was the leaf mine of the Holly leaf miner Phytomyza ilicis . Holly leaf miner is a small fly with larvae that cause discoloured blotches by feeding inside holly leaves.Most hollies have some leaves with evidence of a leaf mining fly, part of the biodiversity the plants support, this has little impact on the plant’s growth or vigour.

06/01/25 Despite the recent spell of wet,windy and cold weather, I left the patio light on overnight on 05/01/25 , just to see what was about. On the wall in the morning were 2 moths of 1 species, these were another 2 Winter Moth Operophtera brumata . Following inspection and recording/photographing anything caught was released.

01/01/25 A new year sees the start of a new moth list. So with 235 species seen in my back garden in 2024 the moth trap was back out overnight on 31/12/24 at dusk in my Area 4 garden and emptied this morning . Not suprisingly it only produced a catch of 2 moths of 1 species.This was 2 Winter Moth Operophtera brumata . With a new moth added ,the total for 2025 is now 1 species. Following inspection and recording/photographing anything caught was released.

Plants/ Trees

At this time of year the leaves on the trees and hedgerows start to change colour from green to a yellow/gold before falling , find out why at Why do leaves change colour .

13/01/25 In Area 10 the first Loddon Lily Leucojum aestivum are just coming into flower.

11/01/25 In Morrisons car park in Area 5 are the catkins of Hazel Corylus avellana The catkins are flowers, despite appearances. The hazel does not rely on insects for pollination, and there aren’t many around this early in the year, so it has no need to attract them. Instead, the hazel relies on the wind and its flowers are designed accordingly. The catkins are the male flowers and they produce copious amounts of powdery yellow pollen. Each catkin actually consists of 240 individual flowers arranged on a dangling stem. These can be carried over a great distance on a favourable breeze Of course, wind dispersal can be a bit haphazard and a lot of the pollen will be wasted, landing on damp branches, sticking to spider webs or dusting unsuspecting birds – but the sheer volume of pollen produced helps improve the odds. The female flowers are red and tiny, so you’ll have to look a lot closer to spot them, but every hazel produces both male catkins and female flowers (but cannot pollinate itself). The female flowers are equally unusual and resemble a scaly green bud with a bundle of delicate red tendrils emerging from the top.

04/01/25 At the tops of the trees in Area 5 Mistletoe Viscum album can be seen. Its leathery green leaves offer welcome colour among bare winter branches when much else is dormant.

01/01/25 In the car park field in Area 10 was a very early Daffodil Narcissus pseudonarcissus .

Fungi

Do not eat any fungi that have not been properly identified , some are DEADLY when ingested .

25/01/25 On a dying tree in Area 5 is what I believe to be Velvet shank Flammulina velutipes fungi. It's bright orange cap was shining in the morning sunshine.

17/01/25 In Area 1 at Gorrick Plantation on a branch was Yellow Brain Tremella mesenterica . A frilly sign of a witch’s curse, yellow brain is a parasitic jelly fungus that looks a little like a brain and feeds on fungi that feed on dead wood. This fungus doesn’t have the typical structure of other woodland fungi. It looks like an orange gelatinous mass.

Fish

Mammals

17/01/25 In the fields in Area 7A at Ludgrove School were 2 female Roe Deer Capreolus capreolus .

13/01/25 Feeding in the fields in Area 7A was a female Roe Deer Capreolus capreolus .

03/01/25 On a bitterly cold day in the field to the rear of the car park field in Area 10 a Red Fox Vulpes vulpes and a Muntjac Deer Muntiacus reevesi were seen.

01/01/25 Feeding in the field to the rear of the car park field in Area 10 was a female Roe Deer Capreolus capreolus .

Molluscs