Message from Chairman John (following Working Party 11th August)

Dear All

 

Thanks to all who helped this morning.  Your splendid effort achieved more than any Chairman is entitled to expect and will delight all who use and enjoy the Boardwalk.  Less noticeably (at least to the non-cognoscenti) but equally valuable is the effect of 4 years battle with the Himalayan Balsam which I think we now certainly have on the back foot. I say, "Bravo and Hurrah" to all of you.

 

Regards from John

Hot at last

Now we have finally had some hot weather the insect life on the common has sprung into life. There are more butterflies around at last; mainly ringlets and meadow browns, with the occasional comma. The grasshoppers are singing away like crazy. I've seen a couple of dragonflies at Scouts' Pond, one being a ruddy darter, but the most noticeable species there is the common blue damselfly, which this year is present in large numbers.

I rather like this sinister view, with the strong sunlight casting a shadow from the insect on the back of a leaf:

And after numerous attempts, I was finally pleased to get a reasonable shot of one in flight:

Further on along the boardwalk were a couple of juvenile reed buntings, evidence of at least one successful breeding. The rotten weather this year has probably had a bad effect on breeding success, but at least one brood of one of our signature species has survived.

Damsels, not dragons

On a quick spin across the common this afternoon I wondered if there might be any dragonflies about, especially at Scouts' Pond. The answer was a resounding NO, although there were large numbers of those common blue damselflies you find everywhere. There was a dragonfly in the garden later on though, so they must be about.

The birdsong is starting to fade away now; a few desultory chiffchaffs and a couple of half-hearted blackcaps, and one reed warbler still going strong, was about the extent of it.

Mole, out of hole

I found this quite sizeable, but dead, mole on the way into the recently cut School Meadow. Apart from a slight mark on its back there was no obvious sign of why it died, but I assume an owl or fox are the prime suspects.

A bit further on, at Scouts' Pond the flag irises are now in flower, and I'm quite pleased with this picture of a bee just leaving one of them. Nothing much else to report there at the moment; certainly no dragonflies yet.

On the common itself there were at least two reed buntings singing, and still one reed warbler. Took loads of pictures of a bunting near Warren Road, but none of them turned out particularly well.

I am however not too displeased with this whitethroat, which was in the field above Pit Common.

Three juvenile moorhens on the Pit, expressing some alarm about a cat that was prowling around. Let's hope the moggy went hungry!

Flowers etc

Good to see in this morning's sunshine that the ragged robin, orchids and cotton grass is coming into flower.

Still very few butterflies - there were a couple of white ones about, and some speckled woods in Warren Woods, but otherwise not much else.

On the birds front, good to hear the reed warbler still going strong, and I heard a whitethroat for the first time this year (on the common, that is). Lots of blackcaps (I counted 6) and several chiffchaffs, but sadly still no willow warbler. This species has gone into a steep decline, and I fear we won't be hearing its lazy summer song on the common this year. And no cuckoos either.

At least there are still at least two young moorhens on the Pit. And I'm seeing more house martins than I have done for a couple of years (one of the wildlife survey species don't forget).

Deer seem to be proliferating; I had a good view of a muntjac on School Common this morning, and took this

last week at Scouts' Pond. Other people are reporting more frequent sightings of Chinese water deer and Roe deer.

Moorhens up trees and on the water

Last Saturday was a day for moorhens. The first one I found was at Scouts' Pond: nothing very remarkable in that, except I only found it because I heard a lot of crashing around about 10 feet up a spindly alder tree. The crashing was caused by a moorhen climbing where I didn't realise moorhens climb. I got the impression it was feeding, rather than just hiding unsuccessfully. It was hiding enough however to prevent its picture from being taken.

No such shyness on the Pit, where one adult was looking after 5 young chicks. I suppose some at least will be flattened by passing traffic as happens every year, but let's hope some survive.

At last there are some more records coming in of swifts and swallows. No house martins on the common yet, but I did have one fly over my house today. No cuckoo for the common, but one was heard behind Warren Woods the other day. We're getting a smattering of butterfly records, including our first peacock of the year. If only it would warm up, we might get some more!

Reedbed birds at last, and some butterflies

I took advantage of the long weekend to get up early today and take in the dawn chorus. It was not bad (how could it be?), but it was cold, and the sky was overcast so light remained poor for photography. School Common was loud with wren, chiffchaff, blackcap, blackbird and of course, wood pigeons. Nonetheless I confess to feeling a little let down. However, on reaching the reedbed I realised that I could at last hear a reed warbler, and more faintly, a reed bunting.

Carrying on toward the Pit, I discovered a swallow sitting on the cables above Pit Street. In view of the light, this is hardly the best shot ever published of a swallow, but it's just nice to see them back in such a cold, wet spring.

Yesterday I took my usual tour of the common, taking my monthly record shots at 16 locations. It was fund to find the School's deer made from willow. Apparently it's still a work in progress, which the children are loving doing. I was very taken with it, and it made up for a) losing my pencil and b) being menaced by a Weimeraner, who seemed to be all bluster, thankfully.

I wasn't impressed to discover a pile of grass clippings that some kind soul had dumped in School Common. Let's hope it's a one-off.

The other good thing about Saturday was finding my first speckled wood butterfly of the year (one for the survey), and also at least one orange tip. No sign of any peacocks though, and only one report of a brimstone.