Nature Notes Extra
Welcome
Welcome to the companion to the Basinga Nature Notes section. This section will be updated from time to time with additional information referred to from articles in the magazine. You can contact me at naturenotes@basinga.org.uk.
Heron At Eastdrop
Terry McAnish writes
Two regular visitors to Eastrop Park. Grey Heron and Little Egret.
Coal Tit
Terry McAnish writes
"Attached is a wonderful picture of a Coal Tit that took a fancy to my nut feeder. I would urge all residents to shake up their feeders and replace nut feeders as the nuts which can go damp and rotten during winter. I haven't seen Green Woodpeckers lately perhaps the mild weather is confusing the birds at the moment."
December Daffs
Rick writes:
"This mild Autumn has played tricks on our plants in the shape of a daffodil in full flower in Belle Vue road. The proud owners of house number 82 regularly claim the first bloom of the year but perhaps would not have expected to claim it twice in 2011! The picture below was taken in early December. "
Terry's Bird Feeders
Terry McAnish writes:
"We had I believe a
Willow Tit, Blue Tits, Great Tits, Coal Tits, Goldfinches,
Chaffinch, Robin, Wren, Pied Wagtail, Treecreeper twice in woods
behind me, Long Tailed Tits and Greater Spotted Woodpeckers heard
but not seen.
Having brought a Niger feeder and filled it with Rick's Niger seeds
I am now getting Goldfinches every day and coupled with all the
other birds arriving it looks like it is going to be a wonderful
winter. Hopefully in spring there will a patter of tiny feet,
probably Bluetits and another grandchild for me in May."
Hawks 1- Woodpidgeons 0
Irene Allaway writes:
"This is from my Son's father in law: Caught in the very early hours this morning in my back garden! Sorry about the quality of the image but it was only half light and I was only half awake. I am thinking of giving the Sparrowhawk (any other specie suggestions?) a contract as we do have a problem with the flying s**t machines!"
Flurry at the Fat Balls
Tony Hall writes:
"A blue tit hangs tough against a gang of long-tailed tits...and wins the day."
Merlin
Vicky Reeks from Linden Avenue writes:
"Whilst washing up in my kitchen yesterday I noticed a bird land in the garden. Immediately I grabbed my binoculars to take another look as this was no sparrow or pigeon, this bird was a raptor! It was extremely small with a brown back and a speckled chest. I spent ages trawling through the Internet searching for kites/ sparrowhawks with no luck. This evening my mother phoned me to tell me she had managed to identify the bird after watching springwatch on the tv. It was a merlin!!!! Have checked myself and am 99% sure it definitely was either a young male or a female. What surprised me was that during the time it was in the garden, no sparrows could be seen although a big fat wood pigeon skimmed over it's head and landed on the bird table. The raptor did nothing but continued looking around. What a magical thing to see although I am kicking myself now for not taking a picture!!"
Birds
Terry MaCanish writes:
"Quite a morning for birds. First an
Owl in the woods behind me before light making quite a racket. Not
sure what it was. Then the attached Green Woodpecker having a great
time hunting for ants whilst digging my garden up. Then a Blue Tit
arrived on my fat balls, the first I have seen for a little while.
If it gets really cold next week then I am sure alot more birds will
arrive.
Spotted this very
posh Pheasant on my neighbours shed and possible a Harlequin
Ladybird."
Rockin' Robin
Doug and Linda Stewart write:
"He introduced himself during the summer.
He just came along and sat on my shoe whilst we were relaxing in the
garden.
We gave him the name rockin robin. He had absolutely no hair on his
head.
He shared our snacks on a daily basis and was soon taking them directly
from the palms of our hands and our grandchildren’s hands as well, but
that was only the beginning of a summer long friendship with him waiting
outside our kitchen window at dawn whilst we made our early
morning cup of tea and taking a tit bit from our hands through the
window. The biggest shock was yet to come.
One day I was alone in the house. All but the French windows were open,
a mere couple of inches. I needed to use the computer in our back
bedroom. To my absolute amazement my attention was drawn to a
fluttering sound and rockin robin was there, sitting next to me,
watching me work or more likely waiting for food. Absolutely no sign of
panic.
A series of little droppings marked his route through the lounge, up the
stairs and into the bedroom.
Panic set in, not his, mine. How on earth do I get him back outside.
Bedroom windows were flung wide open, the nets were taken down and he
casually flew back into the garden.
During the course of the summer he slowly regained his head of hair. We
no longer see him. Perhaps he has found a mate. We do wonder though if
he was brought up as a fledgling by others in our village."
Sleeping Rough
Phil Males writes:
"Earlier this year
using plans from the internet, I made a covered wooden
hedgehog feeder to stop cats, foxes and pigeons from stealing the
hedgehog's
food. It also keeps the food dry. This evening when I went to clean
it out
and refill the food bowl I was surprised to find a hedgehog fast
asleep
actually in the bowl. I suppose it was one way of stopping other
hedgehogs
getting the food but bizarre to say the least."
Gimme Shelter
Phil Males writes:
"As my wife went to
go into the garage around 6pm this evening she spotted
this handsome chap sheltering under our porch by the front door. He
or she
had obviously been disturbed by the heavy rain today so was looking
for a
dry place to sit it out. It was a large hog and in fantastic
condition. It
was breathing normally without snuffles so we just gave it some
proprietary
hedgehog food and peanut nibs. It ate one helping voraciously
straight off
whilst we watched and then half the second helping -see last photo.
Then it
tootled off into my flower border. Hopefully feeling more upbeat
than when
we found it. The images are chronologically 2869 to 2871. Not sure
why our
milkman from Hook gives us crates from Tewkesbury though!? We do
have cows
in Hampshire. Perhaps I ought to write to the Telegraph?"
.JPG)
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More Dragonflies
Phil Males writes:
"This guy should have
checked the overnight weather forecast. Tempted out of
the water by yesterday's high temperatures he got caught in the
early
morning downpours. Fortunately, he was fairly well hidden and in the
late
afternoon sunshine he managed to dry out and I was privileged to see
him
come all of a quiver and then take his first flight downwind over
the fence
into the garden next door. So far we have had at least five Southern
Hawker
dragonflies emerge this year from the pond."
Juvenile Robin
Terry Mcanish writes:
"I am fairly certain this is a juvenile Robin and another welcome visitor to my garden. Was not that welcome by an adult Robin sitting on the same fence which eyed the juvenile closely."
Rick replies:
You're right it is. Scruffy blighters aren't they, but in 4-5 months he'll look like the others
Blue Tits, Curious Robin and Juvenile Woodpecker
Terry McAnish writes:
"I wondered just
how close I could get to my feeders as most of the Blue Tits were
juveniles and fearless. This shot was taken about 5 feet away. The
Robin probably wondered what the human was doing. I am sure I could
have got closer.
And this very noisy but wonderful juvenile
Green Woodpecker seems to have taken over the Close. I am not sure
whether it is intending to dig up the path, although I think it should
learn quickly."
First 2011 Dragonflies
Phil Males writes:
"These are the first
Southern Hawker Dragonflies to emerge from my pond this
year. I am not sure the weather is that favourable for their
survival.They
will probably be sparrow bait! However, let's hope not. If you look
closely
at Img2852 (the middle one) you can see it
is at the stage where the lavae's metamorhpic
shell has split and the dragonfly's head and eyes are just
visible. Both
these guys should fly in the morning soon after dawn all being well."
Large Slug
Terry McAnish writes:
"I hope you can see the detail on this slug shot last evening. I had to look twice at it to make sure it was a slug. It was between 5 and 6 inches long with the dotted markings along its back. I have never seen anything like it."
Rick replies:
Not the most attractive creature one would find Terry but it is a Great Grey Slug. They like all other slugs eat decaying fungi/vegetation and are of course very happy in warm wet weather! They can grow to 20cm long!
Swallows on a Cultural Visit
Phil Males writes:
"Whilst on holiday
last week in Beynac on the Dordogne, Bron and I came
across these three swallows - a hen and two young chicks still being
fed.
Perhaps they were on a cultural visit to the Chateau just as we were
or
maybe they had been frightened by Johnny Depp during the filming of
Chocolat!!! A rare moment either way."
Carnage!
Mike & Barbara Sales write:
"Good evening Richard We have just witnessed as the attached photographs. Please could you confirm the type of hawk. These pictures were taken at approximately 8.00pm on 27th June"
Rick says that the bird in question is a Hen Sparrowhawk.
This is Cosy
Terry McAnish writes
"This juvenile Starling wasn't daft and decided to shelter in my bird table during heavy rain. "
Greater Spotted Woodpecker
Terry McAnish writes
"I have finally caught this elusive Greater Spotted Woodpecker on camera. Not a great photo but pleasing non the less."
My Blue Tit Family
Gillian Chapman writes
"In
2010 my husband bought me a nestbox with a camera for my birthday.
Unfortunately as it was April it was too late for any prospective
nesters to think it was suitable for that year’s bijou residence.
Imagine my delight when this year in February we noticed birds
visiting our nestbox. Well long story short, a blue tit decided that
it was suitable. It is situated near my feeders and is attached to
my garage wall. We watched her building her nest and then she left
it for a while. I read on the internet that she will start thinking
about laying once the male feeds her in the nest. We were lucky
enough to see this happen and on the 20 April she laid her first 3
eggs. Over the next 2-3 days she laid another 6 eggs. We were
surprised to see that she left the eggs from time to time as I had
always thought that they sat on them permanently until they hatched.
I also understand from the internet that they choose when it is
suitable to start incubating the eggs. Well about a week later she
started to sit. The male would come in and feed her and as I said
before she would occasionally leave. But as it got nearer to the
hatching she sat more and more. On Saturday a week or so later lo
and behold 3 chicks hatched. The following two days the rest hatched
bar one. So we had 8 chicks and lots of mouths to feed. They seemed
to be good parents but one chick died early on and then there were
seven. They continued to grow but we did notice that some of them
were missing out on food.
We watched them getting their feathers, stretching their wings and
one wet morning in the middle of May I noticed that a head was
peeping out of the nest box. I rushed to view the camera and
unfortunately two chicks had died overnight. 5 chicks fledged, one
coming back into the nest box for a while with the parents feeding
it. Eventually it too left and the nest was left with the 3 dead
babies. We didn’t see them for a few days after that but I am
pleased to say that we do have 5 blue tits in the garden, one of
which I believe is Mum as she is still feeding them. So I think out
of our brood of 9 we managed to raise 4. Not sure if that is very
good odds but I was privileged to see something that I had never
seen before.
I have attached some photos – unfortunately they are not very sharp
as they were taken with my iPhone of the TV which was showing the
feed from the camera."
Trusting Blue Tits
Terry McAnish writes
"Something amazing happened today (Thursday 12 May) concerning Blue Tits nesting in my bird box. We have a number of juveniles in the nest box which should fledge in about 10 day’s time. They completely trust me and fly very close to me backwards and forwards to the nest box. However, we have possibly at least two Magpies in our gardens which alarm the Blue Tits and my neighbours who also have young. Today I went into the garden wearing a white shirt and the Blue Tits flew away from me in alarm and possibly the female adopted a begging posture that the juveniles use to beg for food after fledging. Rather confused at this sudden lack of trust I thought it might be my white shirt, which I changed for a black shirt. The trust returned. My guess is that the Blue Tits thought I might be a giant Magpie. I would be interested to know from your readers whether they have seen the same reaction from nesting Blue Tits and people wearing white shirts or jumpers. "
Spring has Sprung
Phil Males writes:
"I had a click with the camera around the front and back garden today to try and capture the essence of the marvellous spring weather we are having. Here is a selection of the shots taken. The iris is Iris Lazica which comes from the Black sea area, the Epimedium is x perralchicum "Frohleiten",then there is common primrose, a snake's head fritillaria which grows at the side of the pond, a mongrel hellebore which seeded, and a wild dog violet which also seeded itself. I am sure others will have similar fine shots too. "
Holy Pheasant
Kirstie Stevens writes:
"We have a new visitor to our garden, a male pheasant. He's just arrived for the second time today, which has prompted my email. I saw him wandering around the churchyard on Saturday, then yesterday he ventured into our garden and has found a ready supply of seeds from the feeders. He's been back and forth numerous times in the past couple of days, only time will tell if he's going to be a regular visitor or is just passing."
More Waxwings
Tony Hall writes:
"I was very interested to see the report in the Nature Notes for March about the flock of waxwings in the Old Basing/Lychpit area. They visited Broadhurst Grove on the 23rd and 24th of February. I have attached two photos. One shows the flock, numbering 75+, congregated in a horse chestnut outside our house from where they raided the red berries in the bushes below. The second taken the following day (24th) when the weather was much sunnier, shows one of these pretty little birds feeding on the berries."
Frogwatch 2011
Phil Males writes:
"This afternoon our frogs
have laid their first two clumps of spawn. There are about 50 frogs in
the pond today. Last night in the rain there were several male frogs
lying in wait in the back garden flower beds and on the lawn and my wife
to her surprise even found one male looking a bit lost on our front
doorstep!!!
Below is how this year's date compares with previous dates:-
2011 - 26 February
2010 - 20 March
2009 – 27 February
2008 – 23 February
2007 – 19 February
2006 – 12 March
Much earlier than last year but more typical.
A protracted spawning this year due to the drop
in temperature over the last
few days. So far 22 clumps of spawn have been produced but there is more
evident in the tummies of the resident females. The smooth newts are
also
quite active but are difficult to photograph during the day as they are
more
nocturnal than frogs. I am sending records of the spawning (No of
clumps,
their size and first emergence of tadpoles) to a student in Fareham who
is
doing a project on frog spawnings in Hampshire.
No waxwings unfortunately."
Waxwings
Tony Tuck writes:
"I took one picture in the garden this morning which I thought was 8 sparrows but on close examination they are 8 Waxwings which I understand are very rare in this part of the country."
Pheasants 2
Dave Whitby writes
After seeing the various piccies and references to birds in gardens around Basing, thought you might like to see the snaps I took of this nide of pheasants in my back garden in Cavalier Road at the end of last summer.
Buzzard in Old Basing
Kevin took the following picture of a bird of prey in his garden just after Christmas feeding on what could have been a female blackbird. The picture was taken from the sitting room through the sitting room and conservatory windows. He wondered if it was a sparrow hawk or maybe a red kite, as it had a large wingspan when it flew off with it's prey.
Rick says:
"Im pretty certain it’s a Buzzard actually. The female sparrowhawk has similar markings (although I couldn’t see the front of this bird) but the beak and eye colour, plus its slightly bulky shape tells me it’s a Buzzard. Quite unusual to get them landing in gardens but yours is quite big and of course birds of prey are still hungry. We've lost a lot over the past few weeks particularly owls so hopefully that is it as far as really cold weather is concerned."
White Pheasant
Mike Burrows spotted this white pheasant in his back garden on Boxing day 2010.
Rick writes:
"I've had several photos and reports about this albino hen pheasant so she is very popular around the gardens of Cavalier Road, Close and Fraser Close. Obviously feels safe from the guns. "
Pheasants on the Doorstep
Phil Miles writes:
"As I came out of my
front door this afternoon, I spotted this female
pheasant pecking around in my flower beds so I quickly grabbed the
camera
and took these shots as it strolled off nonchalantly down Norton
Ride in the
sunshine. It is the first pheasant I have seen in this part of
Lychpit since
the winter of 1980/81."
Rick says:
Nice shots as usual. I herd shooting on Saturday so I expect she was
happy to get somewhere quieter, and safer!
Pheasants do just turn up in gardens and roads for some reason,
apparently without much fear, but as you say Lychpit isn't often blessed
with such. Very nice when it happens.
Natural Selection - Portraits of Wildlife
John Dodds writes to tell us about his Wildlife Photography Exhibition (click here for more details) that starts in October for 3 months:
"There are going to
be 25-30 framed A3 pictures - mostly of birds but some mammals and a
few butterflies. There are even a couple taken in Old Basing
including a Redwing taken last winter opposite the Spar!
I'm not sure if you've ever been there but Titchfield Haven is a
good day out by the seaside as the reserve has a visitor centre and
the all important tea room - in fact the Wigeon Room gets used for
seating when the main tea room is full. The exhibition is free.
Permits around the reserve and the 6 hides cost £3.80 for adults,
the walk takes 2-3 hours and is really nice on a fine day. A couple
said to me the other day that it was the best £3.80 they had ever
spent! The Osbourne View pub is just up the road which does good
food and ale (definitely recommend the Thai curry).
I'm originally from Fareham so "The Haven" was and still is a very
important and special place for me.
Anyway, thought that you and your readers might be interested."
Gold crest and ducks
Sue Tompkins writes:
Just to add to the Village collection of ducks, I am sending pictures of the mallards that lived with us for a month. After the female had presumably laid eggs elsewhere, the drake didn't reappear but she did every evening for a quick feed and rest before returning to her nest. She stopped visiting, presumably after the ducklings hatched. I rescued the Goldcrest in from one of our cats, and after a rest released it, seemingly none the worse for its experience!
Red Kite
John Watson writes:
"Attached
a photo you might be interested in. In the garden a few days ago we
suddenly noticed an absence of birdsong, looked up - and there's a
red kite, cruising with the sun shining from behind it..."
Damsel Fly
Phil Males writes:
We had the doors of the conservatory open this afternoon and this
chap joined us for afternoon tea. Pictured on our dragon tree palm. He
managed to fly out on his own before our venus fly traps
lured him in!
Hooky the Blackbird
Hooky
is an adult Blackbird with a badly deformed beak, so much so that one
has to marvel how she has survived not only the difficulty in feeding
through a harsh winter, but also from the undoubted grief she receives
from other birds. Hooky finds sanctuary in the garden of Lynne Plant and
family who feed, water and generally look out for her.
Woodpecker
Phil Males has been after some shots of the Woodpecker that visits his garden. He writes:
The Great Spotted Woodpecker finally obliged
today. Again the shots are
even more paparazzi than the Fieldfare due to being through glass and
some
45 feet away and hand held. At least three visits seen today to the
coconut
fat feeder near the back fence. Very shy though.
Fieldfare
Anyone who saw Snow Watch on TV recently on BBC2 will know that because of the wintery weather conditions we are receiving unusual visitors into our gardens. And we have has more bird sightings from Phil Males, he writes:
Another new visitor today. A lone Fieldfare.
Again not my best shots as they
were through the house windows and grainy. This chap was very hungry and
consumed a couple of apples all by himself. Still trying to catch some
shots
of the Great Spotted Woodpecker and Nuthatch.
Redwing
Barbara Sales writes:
Mike and I have been watching 4-6 redwings eating the pyracantha berries and I have managed to photograph 3 of them. They are in our garden in Cavalier Road.
Black Cap
Phil Males writes:
I
have a pair of blackcaps in the garden this winter. The male is less shy
and is a regular visitor to the fat but also appears to like
grapes as the photo shows. The shot is a bit
grainy as it was taken from the upstairs
window through the glass. I also have a great spotted woodpecker coming
most days but try as I might a picture of him
eludes me at the moment. He is very timid. I
will keep trying.
Rick replies:
Nice one Phil. Im really going to have to get me a zoom camera
because there have been so many good opportunities this week. Like you,
blackcaps, goldies and tits, all close up. Today, 6 redwings on a red
berry hedge gorging themselves. They are so well marked theyd make a
great photo.
Thanks for yours, cracking bird that!
Boxing Day Walk
Michele from Lychpit writes
I
thought it would be nice to record bird sightings on Loddon seen
during the return leg of Boxing Day walk as
mentioned in Basinga.
1) Did anyone else see what we believe to be a water rail that day?
Had to come home to the guide to identify, definitely not a coot or
moorhen and just standing on the reed beds around 2pm that day.
2)Kingfisher also obliged, as he/she has done many times recently while
we looking down the Loddon from the bridge to the favourite perch
positions.
Image attached of Kingfisher in usual spot.
Rick replies:
Well done you for that shot Michele, beautiful. Yes it is
possible you saw a Rail, they are there but quite secretive. The cold
drew it out I expect. Sven has a bittern in the reed bed in his huge
garden. Now that IS rare!
How was the walk anyway? For the first time ever I think I didn't make
it and hadnt heard from anyone that did go.
Heron
John Watson from Cavalier Road writes "I thought you might be interested in this photo of a heron, perched on the willow tree at the back of my garden, taken on 8 November (I was trying out a new camera - a Lumix TZ7 - on full zoom). "
Mutant Egg!
Jayne from Fairthorne Rise writes "Our chickens are regular as clockwork laying a nutritious large egg every day without fail, however, what a shock we have had... we opened the nesting box the other day to find the biggest chicken egg we have ever seen! It makes our eyes water every time we look at it (let alone the poor girl who laid it!). The dimensions are; Length 8cm Width 6cm Have a look at these pictures.. "
Late Summer Butterflies
Phil Males writes "The
best butterfly year for some considerable time. Here are some of my
recent fly-ins here in Lychpit. The ivy has been a
particular magnet for
them this year."
Rick identifies them as Painted lady, Red Admiral, Speckled Wood (very nice, don't see many of these) and Comma.
Sparrow Hawk II
Claire Mitchell writes "Have
just taken this photo through the window onto the back
lawn
about 40 feet away. Three of us were having our first coffee of the
day when I saw the sparrowhawk come down and grab "our" blackbird.
I wanted to chase it off and the other two (men) said "leave it, the
poor b.....s just got his breakfast!". In the end I left it and got
the camera and video going for about five minutes before the other
blackbird started bombing the sparrowhawk and it flew off with its
meal. Am just waiting to see which blackbirds come back - have seen
a Mum and Dad but are they the right ones? Was it a baby who
succombed? We've had a jackdaw with a broken wing galloping round
the garden for the last ten days and he is regularly bombed by the
blackbirds but he must have been lurking under the hedge when the
sparrowhawk came. The sparrowhawk is a regularly visitor going by
the heaps of feathers we find on the lawn, and this is rather a
shame as I have lots of feeders and a table for all our feathered
visitors which give us a lot of pleasure."
Frogs and Mice
Phil Males writes with an update on this years Frog Watch. "Some final pictures of the 2009 spawning which is almost complete now. Similar amounts to last year but positively no casualties or red leg yet which is excellent news. Whilst I was watching the antics in the pond this afternoon, I spotted this wood mouse darting about under my ground feeder and managed a couple of shots through the conservatory window. He looks very well fed. Perhaps the Lychpit tawnies will pay us another visit soon seeing there are plump pickings to be had now?"
Frog Watch 2009
Phil Males writes "Spawning is starting to gather pace with over 60 frogs in the pond. About half a dozen clumps of spawn so far. Smaller clumps than last year but perhaps the larger and wiser females are waiting for it being a touch warmer. The male frogs are darker brown almost black this year. The females are a reddish brown. I must invest in a polarising filter to take out the reflections and improve the depth of the shots. They are very flat as they stand. The gadget floating in the pond is a Canadian frog saver which helps keeps the pond ice free and without poisonous fumes when it freezes as it did this year. Seems to have worked."
Mistletoe and Berries
Tony Tuck writes "We seem to have a abundance of mistletoe in the village and lots of red berries for the birds to feed, does this mean a bad winter?"
Rick replies "I don’t personally think that anything in nature actually points to a bad winter but that isn't to say it wont be. Mistletoe has been increasing around the village for a few years. It was very rare at one time and much sought after but something seems to have happened. I thought it was restricted to certain trees but actually is growing in numerous types, apple, lime and beech etc. Perhaps because its losing its commercial value its propagating better? Berries are indeed prominent too but that backs up the fruit crop. There has been a right good apple crop for example so the mild damp spring conditions probably helped everything set. For certain they will be targeted by the birds if we get some cold snaps and I expect by Xmas a lot of it will be gone. Its cold on the continent so we are getting lots of migrant blackbirds, thrushes and hopefully waxwings invading us. They’ll land on the east coast and move across the country to find food, so the further west one goes the longer the berries will last!".
October Snow
Phil Males writes "I took these as a record of the October 2008 snowfall. Unprecedented in my nearly 62 years."
A Rare Sight
David and Jayne Richardson sent us the following email when they solved a the mystery of a garden visitor. Jayne writes....
Amateur bird watching in Fairthorne Rise…
Being keen animal and wildlife enthusiasts and keen readers of the Basinga and in particular ‘Nature notes’ we have been making a real effort to study and look after our garden friends.
Like many amateurs we have started by watching and feeding our garden visitors and along the way have become quite familiar with our frequent visitors.
However, we have for some weeks been keeping a record and scratching our heads wondering what sort of bird can eat the vast amount of bird feed and nuts we are making available, maybe it’s a hungry bird migrating? We have obviously been missing this incredible bird that is feeding during dusk and dawn?
Well today, we have experienced, photographed and confidently identified this ‘said’ creature.
Take a look at this.
Nuts – readily available
WOW – here she swoops!!
And in again – as graceful as ever!
What do you think Richard, worth a publication?
Kind regards
Jayne and Dave, oh and of course Lola.
Saxon Way
Lesley Catchpole has sent in the following pictures she took of the visitors she has had to her garden recently. Thanks Lesley.
Florida Wildlife
Tony Tuck has just returned from a vacation in Florida and took these pictures while he was there.
Rick has identified them as follows:
First is a Swallowtail Butterfly although I think it’s a slight morph on the usual. Distribution is Europe and N. America but it lacks an orange spot on each wing near the tail and wing pattern isn't quite as per the book. Nice though.
Second is an armadillo.
Not sure if the next one is a terrapin or snapping turtle. Either way, don’t get it
cross, they can bite. Bird is an Osprey. Fish Eagle is a different thing and the
yanks/Canadians put lots of nesting platforms up along the roads etc. Finally, I am not sure if the USA has grass snakes but that’s what it looks
like, a young one at least. (dark skin and yellow bars behind the head).
Not that Id pick it up until I knew for sure! Phil Males writes "The improved weather last weekend brought
this Comma butterfly to the ivy at the bottom of the garden. It got
quite intoxicated on the nectar and feasted for over 20 minutes. Hence
the close-ups. I guess it was as pleased to see the sun as we all were.
The bright white area below the Comma was a white bird's feather."
Kevin Curtis sent in the following 2 pictures of a
rather large caterpillar he writes
After a little more research we came to the
conclusion that it may well be an Elephant Hawkmoth after all.
These come in two colours, green and brown, and simply love fuchsia's.
John Dodds of Park Avenue writes "I've been a very keen birdwatcher for over 40 years but my interests
have expanded into butterflies, moths, dragonflies etc. I've always
tried to take photo's of natural history subjects but always found this
difficult particularly in the UK. However, about 3 years ago I went over
to a digital SLR setup and suddenly this opened up a new world. Most of
my spare time now seems to be spent trying to photograph
something with a natural history bias.
I've just got back from a week on Shetland and I attach a couple of
my photos for your interest which I hope you will enjoy." If you think you know what these birds are please
send your answers to
naturenotes@basinga.org.uk
Kate Norman of Milkingpen Lane
writes
Phil Males sent in the following pictures, he
writes "I came in from work this evening to find
these three chaps preparing for their first flights. Hopefully the birds
will not spot them before they are ready to take-off. I am not sure if
it will be a formation take-off. However, they fed up well on this years
tadpoles which are now down to under 100 in number as the birds, newts
and dragonfly larva have taken their fill."
"The Southern Hawkers are struggling to
get going with the colder nights. This one was hanging tough
for two days before it took its first
flight on to my adjacent Silver Comet Pampas Grass.
It was still quite torpid hence being able to get the close
up." Jill Findlay writes. My son Tom has taken these photo's whilst at the allotment.
I thought you would like them for your nature
notes site. Great Balls of Ice!
Icy Tendrils
Robin at Allotment
Judy Kerr writes. This is a "des res" that a colony of wasps
constructed in our loft last summer. We've just cleared it out, and it
measured 26" wide by 15" deep by 17" inches high. We were
wondering if this was some sort of record. We left them alone and they
weren't much trouble, apart from the occasional stray that found its way
into the bathroom via the airing cupboard.
By the end of November they had all died off, and it was quite simple
to remove the nest by hand. Alec
and Ann
Jackson write. "Following on from Octobers magazine
article about female deer. She can also still be seen in residence on the lawns of some of the
Daneshill Drive houses, sunning herself during the day.
We’ve also heard the eerie cry of a Muntjac deer some morning at
around 3 to 4 a.m. but not yet seen the culprit(s)
Update from Rick Bourne 13th July 2007
A privet hawkmoth was found on Pete Gentrys shop
is now safely installed in a Rick Bournes privet hedge.
Update from Phil Males on 10th April 2007 The first marsh marigold opened today in the warm sunshine as the
tadpoles devour the blanket weed and rapidly gain in size. A lone frog
maintains sentry or perhaps is trying to get a tan?
Phil Males writes:
You may recall that in the December issue of Nature Notes I reported
about the Harlequin Ladybirds and the threat they are to our own
indigenous varieties. There have been several sightings in the
parish, and they should be reported to the Ladybird Survey (see
http://www.ladybird-survey.org). We have reproduced the
chart here, along with a copy of the Ladybird reporting form. Please click on one of the thumbnail
images below to see a larger version of
that photo. Each one will pop up in a
new window. All images copyright the
owner.
Newly-emerged 7-spot
7-spot
7-spot pupa
7-spot parasitzed by
Dinocampus cocinellae
Eyed ladybird
Unusual form of eyed
ladybird
Harlequin ladybird (unusual
variety)
Harlequin ladybirds on a London
railing
Orange ladybirds on a post
Pine ladybirds mating
Orange ladybird
5-spot ladybird
7-spot ladybird
7-spots mating
Harlequin (succinea) ladybird
Cluster of 7-spots
7-spot in a spider's web
Striped ladybird
Harlequin (succinea)
ladybird
Group of harlequin (succinea)
ladybirds
If you wish to report a sighting, you can either do this online at
www.ladybird-survey.org/recording.htm or complete the form
here
and post it to the address at the bottom of the form.
Comma Butterfly
Bluemorph Butterfly
We
have received this intriguing photo of a large and glorious
butterfly found in a conservatory in Lychpit. Ray Guyver was contacted
about it and obtained a photo of what appears to be a bluemorph
butterfly. This means effectively it is of an unidentifiable
species and so becomes categorised as a morph. It is absolutely stunning
so quite a shame that we cant expect to see any others like it.Elephant Hawkmoth
"Carol was moving some pots around on the patio yesterday and we uncovered this little fella under/near a fuchsia pot. When I say little, for a caterpillar/grub he was actually quite large. He sort of looks like a cuddly toy or draught excluder. Any ideas what it might be? Probably nothing very exciting.
"
Rick suggested that it was caterpillar of one the of the Hawkmoth variety, probably Privet Hawkmoth. The moth is 90-120mm so you can see why its larvae is so big. The marking isn't quite right (more brown/white lines on the Privet type than black as on yours) so I couldn't be 100%. Might be a Poplar Hawkmoth type as caterpillars are found this time of year on 'low shrubs'.
Hornets Nest?
'Stay
away from anything you see like this!' This was
the advice from Rick when he received this picture from Pat Brace in
Cavalier Road. We think it is a hornets nest. Pat has been
watching the inhabitants come and go over the last few weeks.
"They certainly seem bigger than the average wasp so I think it might be
a hornets nest." He also added "I don't intend to disturb it."Shetland Birds
Sparrow Hawk
"Having
heard a thud from the direction of the front door, I went to
investigate and was surprised to see this. A sparrow hawk (I think)
had chased down the poor turtledove and at a guess, I would say it
had flown into the glass door. There was evidence of the collision
left on the door. Anyway, however it came about, the hunter hunted
and the hunted was caught."
Dragonflies
Winter
Wasp Nest
Deer Sightings/span>
There has been a female deer and two fawns resident in the abandoned
Daneshill Court Nursing Home gardens during most of the summer (until
the recent arson attack). Some of the time they have been seen in and
around the rest of Daneshill Woods, and wandering down Daneshill Drive.
The female has been in our garden. She is well tame. Have been within 6
feet of her in full daylight.
We also have heard barn owl/screech owl in the woods and a
tawny owl (tu-whit to-whoo), but again have yet to see them."
Hawkmoth Rescue
Lychpit Frogwatch
"Thought this shot might amuse you. Spawning continues unabated day
and night thanks to the sustained warm and wet weather.
Only the sight of next door but one's cat seems to bring things to a
temporary halt".
Ladybird Sightings
Gallery
Rick Bourne: