Nature Notes August 2020
Date Published: 01-09-2020
August was a wet and windy month for the majority of the time with only a few dry sunny days, conditions that hindered recording.
SIGHTINGS
Birds(seen or heard): Carrion Crows, Magpies, Buzzards, Sparrowhawks, Common Gulls, Heron, Green/Great Spotted Woodpeckers, Wood Pigeons, Nuthatches, Treecreepers, Wrens, Blackbirds, Song Thrushes, Robins, Dunnocks, Siskins, ChiffChaffs, Stonechats, Goldfinches, Greenfinches, Chaffinches, Bullfinches, Coal/Blue/Great/Long-tailed Tits.
Insects: Midges, Wasps, Harvestman Spiders, Field Grasshoppers, Nursery-Web Spiders, Sheet-Web Spiders. Flies,
Buff-tailed Bees, Solitary Bees, Woodlice, Ants.
Butterflies/Moths: Silver-studded Blue, Holly Blue, Large White, Small White, Speckled Wood, Peacock, Brimstone, Small Heath.
Mammals: Grey Squirrels, Pipistrelle Bats, Hedgehogs, Foxes.
Pond Life: Pond Skaters, Whirlygig Beetles.
Reptiles: Slow worm.
Plants (in flower/berry): Holly berries, Ivy berries, Blackberry fruits, Flowing currants berries, Large white water Lily, Dwarf Summer Gorse, cut-leaved Geranium, Ling Heather, Hazel nuts.
Dragonfly/Damselfly: Emperor Dragonfly, Keeled Orthetrum, Four Spot Libellula, Broad Bodied Libellula.
The month was a quiet one for spotting birds as the majority hid away conserving their energy during the Summer feather moult.
The last of the Silver-studded- Blue Butterflies were seen at the beginning of the month.
During the first few weeks, the observer was entertained by a family of Sparrowhawks. The one juvenile which fledged was being taught the tactics of catching prey, weaving through the trees of Hazelwood West, with its parents, where the Sparrowhawk’s nest was located.
No calls from the Nightjar which may have departed by the end of the month.
NATURE FACT
The hunting methods of the Sparrowhawk rely mainly on silent observation, stealth and final explosive acceleration. It singles out its victim and approaches it at speed, chasing for quite some distance if not making a direct hit immediately.
Recorder: Christine Wilcox
SITE MANAGEMENT
The first work parties since March concentrated on trimming back invasive
vegetation from pathways, cutting back gorse and pulling pine saplings.
A further five cows were introduced to the site.
