Nature Notes September 2019

Date Published: 07-10-2019

The weather throughout September was very mixed with a week of hot, dry days and nights but also very wet and windy periods.

SIGHTINGS
Birds (seen or heard): Carrion Crows, Magpies, Jays, Buzzards, Grey Heron, Sparrowhawk, Green/Great Spotted Woodpeckers, Wood Pigeons, Stock Doves, Nuthatch, Treecreeper, Wrens, Goldcrest, Blackbirds, Song Thrushes, Robins, Dunnocks, Greenfinches, Goldfinches, Bullfinches, Chaffinches, Chiffchaffs, Willow Warblers, Siskins, Stonechats, Coal/Blue/Great, Long-tailed Tits.
Mammals: Grey Squirrels, Fox, Pipistelle Bats, Badgers, Hedgehogs, Mole activity.
Insects/Spiders: Wood Lice, Midges, Bumble Bees, Hover Flies, Wasps, Ant species, Orb-web Spiders, Sheet-web Spiders, Grasshoppers.
Butterflies/Moths: Speckled Wood, Large White, Red Admiral, Species of day flying Moths.
Plants in flower/berries: Herb Robert, Tormentil, Geranium, Ling, Bell Heather, Blackberry, Rowan, Holly, Honeysuckle, Crocosmia and Shrimp Plant Shrub (Garden escapees), Sundews, Marsh Gentians, White Pond Lily.
Dragonfly/Damselfly: Common Darter.
Pond Life: Whirlygig Beetles, Pond Skaters.
The wet weather was beneficial to the Sundew plants, which showed in abundance on the central heath.
Chiffchaffs and Willow Warblers were noticed on the fence line of Hazel Drive, looking for food, preparing for their migration.

NATURE FACT
Sundews are insectivorous plants mostly found growing on boggy heaths and moors, producing white flowers in June – August. The leaves are reddish brown, with long stalks covered with sticky hairs that trap insects and appear as a basal rosette.

Recorder: C Wilcox

SITE MANAGEMENT
The work party focused on removing a large Willow tree that had fallen across the main drainage ditch between the rear of Hazel Drive properties and the A31 flyover. Litter was also collected. The next work party is scheduled for 10am on Tuesday 29th October.