Nature Notes May 2023
Date Published: 05-06-2023
The first two weeks of the month were mostly wet and windy followed by a fortnight of sunny and warm weather with a north east breeze.
SIGHTINGS
Birds (seen or heard): Carrion Crows, Magpies, Jays, Buzzards, Tawny Owls, Sparrowhawk, Green/Great Spotted Woodpeckers, Wood Pigeons, Stock Doves, Collared Doves, Stonechates, Tree Pipits, Siskins, Nuthatches, Treecreeper, Wrens, Robins, Blackbirds, Goldcrest, Dunnocks, Greenfinches, Chaffinches, Golfinches, Bullfinches, Blackcaps, Chiffchaffs.
Mammals: Grey Squirrels, Fox, Hedgehogs, Badger, Wood Mice, Mole activity, Roe Deer, Pipistrelle Bat, Soprano Pipistrelle Bat.
Plants (in flower or berry): Celandine, Dandelions, Bog Myrtle, Common Gorse, Catkin, Cut-leaved Geranium, Sundews, Buttercups, Ivy, Arum Lily.
Buttterflies/Moths: Brimstone, Large White , Peacocks, Speckled Wood, Orange Tip, Holly Blue.
Dragonfly/Damselfly: Small Red, Common Blue, Beautiful Demoiselle, Broad Bodied.
Pond Life: Pond Skaters, Whirlygig Beetles, Sticklebacks, Common Newts.
Insects: Solitary Bees, Hornets, Buff tailed Bee, Mason Bee, Black Garden Ant, Wood Lice, Centipede, Midges, Bee Flies, Tachinid Fly.
Reptiles: Common Frog, Grass Snake, Adder, Slow Worm,
Many species of birds had young fledging during the month.
The Tawny Owls had three Owlets fledge.
Tree Pipits arrived in May.
NATURE FACT
The Tawny Owl is most in evidence during the hours of darkness, when exceptional hearing and sensitive vision make it a particularly effective hunter. They breed from mid-March onwards, with 28-30 days passing before the eggs hatch. Owlets fledge after 5 weeks and they hide themselves away as much as possible. Owls can be seen during daylight hours, perched , close up to a trunk of a tree, which makes them very hard to spot.
Recorders: C. Wilcox K. Wilcox
SITE MANAGEMENT
There wasn’t a work party but volunteers relaid worn areas of the chicken wire on the boardwalk.
Tawney Owl Image by K Wilcox
