Latest Sightings June 2015

Click on the link to send in your sightings info@foteb.org.uk

For previous months sightings see Archive

The "Area Seen" refers to the 10 sections that the Brook has been split into for monitoring purposes (see Wildlife page under Monitoring ).

All sightings unless stated are from personal observations by Eddie Napper

Click on any picture to see a larger image

Birds

30/06/15

In Area 8 this afternoonin Blistering heat a pair of Whitethroat were in and out of a Bramble bush. A male Blackcap was singing by the riverand a Chiffchaff was calling nearby.

27/06/15

Barn Owl In Area 5 this morning I was standing on Ripplestream bridge when the Kingfisher flew upstream along the Emm into Area 4. Fraser Cottington was out and about in Area 10, early this morning and saw a sleeping Barn Owl in the box in Lavells Lake field.

25/06/15

This morning in Area 5 at 07:00, 2 Ring necked Parakeets flew over my garden calling.

21/06/15

Great spotted Woodpecker This mornings walk around Areas 4 & 5 showed results of a good breeding season so far, on and around the Emm Brook. Seen were juvenilles of Blue Tit, Great Tit & Long tailed Tit also seen were juvenilles of Robin, Blackbird, Blackcap & Song Thrush . A pair of Mistle Thrush , and several Great spotted Woodpeckers were also seen.

20/06/15

This morning Swift numbers had swelled to 14 over Area 5. They were feeding and screaming high over my garden.

17/06/15

Swifts were back over Area 5 at lunchtime

16/06/15

During a quick lunchtime visit ,Fraser Cottington saw a Kestrel hovering over the landfill to the rear of the car park field in Area 10

13/06/15

In Area 5 this morning a pair of Great spotted Woodpecker were seen on a telegraph pole in Brookside .

12/06/15

Over Area 5 this morning in overcast skies at least 8 Swift were seen. In Area10 (Dinton Pastures)over the car park field 3 Red Kite were circling on the thermals, a Little Egret and Grey Heron .

09/06/15

Juvenille Whitethroat In Area 8 at lunchtime a family of Whitethroats were moving through the bushes calling.

08/06/15

A lunch time walk around the footpaths in Area 2 (To the rear of Tesco’s) produced the expected farmland birds with Rook, numerous Jackdaws, Magpies, a Green Woodpecker, a large flock of Starlings, a solitary Swallow and a pair of Linnetts.

06/06/15

Pheasant In Area 5 to the rear of Morrisons this morning was a female Pheasant running for cover.

05/06/15

Coot A visit to Area 1 and Heath Lake produced the following on the Lake, a pair of Mute Swan, Moorhen, Coot with young a Great crested Grebe,2male and a female Pochard, Canada Goose and Mallards of varying descriptions.

04/06/15

In Area 1 a pair of Lapwing was engaging in a pre-mating display. This usually consists of, amazing aerobatic displays comprising zigzagging flight, rolls and dives.

03/06/15

A fairly quick lunchtime visit to Area 9 and Blackberry Gardens produced a calling Chiffchaff a family of Long tailed Tits and a pair of Collared Dove

01/06/15

Canada Goose Swift In Area 10 this afternoon a male and female Bullfinch were flying across the car park field , a male Blackcap seemed to be feeding a family of atleast 4 and 2 Oystercatcher flew over the Emm noisly calling. By the Multi Activity Centre beach a family party of Canada Goose were strolling about, whilst at least a 100 + Swift were over Black Swan Lake and the Emm Brook in the wind.

Insects

28/06/15

Amblyteles armatorius In Area 4 was a Ichneumon wasp.The insects are all parasitoids and most attack caterpillars of butterflies and moths. Amblyteles armatorius Is one of the larger and more attractively marked Ichneumonidae, approximately 15 mm in length, excluding antennae. A parasitic wasp, it does not possess a sting and is therefore harmless to humans.

18/06/15

Meadow Brown Peacock With a couple of hours to spare I decided to wander through the Area 5 Wildflower Meadow in the afternoon sunshine.Seen were the first Meadow Brown Maniola jurtina Butterfly of the year a Silver Y Autographa gamma moth and several Chrysoteuchia culmella, this is one of our commonest 'grass moths' and is easily distinguished with its one or two angled cross-lines and metallic golden fringe to the forewings. By day it rests head-down on grass stalks, and is easily disturbed. Also seen and heard stridulating were a lot of Meadow Grasshopper Chorthippus parallelus and a small Roesel's Bush-cricket Metrioptera roeselii was resting on a blade of grass.

16/06/15

Small Magpie Peacock For the first time for a long time the moth trap was put out overnight for 5 hours. It produced a not particularly spectacular catch of 15 moths including Treble Brown Spot Idaea trigeminata, , Small Magpie Anania hortulata,, Clouded Border Lomaspilis marginata, Rufous Minor Oligia versicolor and 3 Caddis fly species including the common Mystacides longicornisThis caddisfly is easy to identify due to its patterned wings. It has very long antennae and red eyes. The typical form has a striking pattern of brown and yellow shaded bars

06/06/15

Common Blue Damselfly Dark bush Cricket In Area 10 this morning in vegetation from the Sandford Lane car park field to the Emm , was a nymph of the Dark bush-cricket Pholidoptera griseoaptera a first for the year , numerous male and female Common Blue Damselflies Enallagma cyathigerum at varying stages of maturity, the bug Corizus hyoscyami a ball of spiderlings of the Garden Spider Araneus diadematusGarden Spider and the stretch spider Tetragnatha extensa. All the Tetragnatha species are stretch spiders and they adopt the habit of stretching their legs out in front and behind to produce a stick like effect and can be very difficult to detect on vegetation. Even when exposed on the web they can look just like vegetative litter.

05/06/15

Seen in Mike Saynor’s Area 6 garden on both the 5th and 6th of June was a Painted Lady Cynthia (Vanessa) cardul butterfly another first for the FOTEB list.

03/06/15

For a bit of variety I decided to visit Area 9 (Blackberry Gardens) at lunchtime today , seen were the day flying moth Burnet Companion Euclidia glyphica the solider beetle Cantharis figurata the Dock Leaf Bug Coreus marginatus a Small Copper Lycaena phlaeas butterfly, a Nursery web Spider Pisaura mirabilisand a nymph of the Roesel's Bush Cricket Metrioptera roeselii.Angle Shades Metrioptera roeselii moths were seen in Area 6 and also 2 dead female Stag Beetles Metrioptera roeselii both by Mike Saynor

01/06/15

Blue-tailed Damselfly Immature Red-eyed Damselfly In a very good afternoon in Area 10 the following were seen around the bridge over the Emm from the car park field, mostly on the nettle patch just after the bridge a Nettle tap moth Anthophila fabriciana and the solider beetle Cantharis figurata . In the car park field on the Meadow Buttercup were new for the year the Damselflies Blue -tailed Damselfly Cantharis figurata and an Immature Red -eyed Damselfly Erythromma najas also seen were the Hover Fly Helophilus pendulus and the very distinctive Red- and- black Froghopper Cercopis vulneratathe Hoverfly Helophilus pendulus was also seen.

Plant/Trees

08/06/15

Ragged Robin In Area 1 the delicate flowers of Ragged-Robin Lychnis flos-cuculi can be seen. The flowers are about one inch across (2.5cm). The petals are divided into two or three lobes giving the flower a ragged appearance, hence it's common name.

06/06/15

Foxglove In Area 1 in Gorrick Woods the bell shaped flowers on the Common Foxglove Digitalis purpurea were being enjoyed by numerous Bumble Bees.

05/06/15

In Area 4 near Kingfisher Bridge one of the Willows has been felled (presumably diseased) and another one has been pollarded.

01/06/15

Birds-eye Speedwell Hedge Woundwort In the roadside verge near the entrance into the car park field in Area 10 was Hedge Woundwort Stachys sylvestica the carpark field held Meadow Buttercup Ranunculus acris and the very dainty Birds-eye Speedwell Veronica chamaedrys and Common Vetch Vicia sativa .Nettle Rust Fungus However the strangest thing that I have seen for a while was the Nettle Rust Fungus Puccinia urticata Puccinia urticata is a rust fungus which develops on the stems and leaves of Common (Stinging) Nettle or Small (Annual) Nettle. It often starts as small orange blisters or swellings. Close examination may reveal the pinhead-like fruiting bodies of the fungus

Other Wildlife

Mammals

09/06/15

In Area 8 a Roe Deer Cupreolus capreobus was seen on the embankment of the A329M.

08/06/15

Mole In Area 5 during the replanting of the pond a unfortunately dead Mole Taipa europaea was found.

02/06/15

A Wood Mouse Apodemus sylvaticus was seen scurrying across a path in Area 5.

Fungi

Amphibians

Molluscs

Fish/ Crustacean

27/06/15

Fish Standing on Ripplestream Bridge this morning In Area 5 at least 50 small fish were milling about in the Emm. They are as yet unidentified.

For a review of the sightings along the Emm for the first 8 months of 2014 click here May - August 2014 Sightings

January - April 2014 Sightings