SKYLARK SUE’S REFLECTIONS OF NATURE 

July 2013

 

Due to technical reasons, this natural history blog is a month behind, so many apologies for the delay and the August one will be along shortly!

 Hot July brings cooling showers

Apricots and gillyflowers

Goldfinch

Gillyflower is a pretty name for those plants we usually refer to as carnations or pinks, and this month I’ve been pleased to see that several carnation cuttings taken from bouquets, that I had just pushed into the ground, have rooted and been flowering The clumps of old-fashioned pinks have done well this year, too. No apricots though, although we do seem to be getting an amazing apple crop!

Goldfinch -  a garden first

 

July 1^st began with the news that a red kite had been spotted flying over the town, these magnificent birds really seem to be making a comeback. I still haven’t spotted it for myself, normally over the garden we get sparrowhawks or kestrels. The 4th was a red-letter day for our garden, because we had a young goldfinch on the feeders. Although we have heard the birds around, and reports suggest that they are becoming one of the most common of the garden visitors, goldfinches had always eluded us even though we put out tempting foods such as nyjer seed. This one, though, completely ignored the nyjer, instead feasting on the fat blocks, managing to coat its bill with fat in the process. I saw my first ladybird of the year, they have been so late appearing, and a lot of noise on a nearby aerial proved to be a family of fledging magpies. Also noticed some greenfly – aphids haven’t been much in evidence so far this year.

Young bluetit

 

 

The 5^th of the month proved very hot and sunny, and we had the first collared dove of the year. Up till a couple of years ago, collared doves were regulars in the garden, but then they disappeared. Today, as well as the doves, we had the goldfinch, great tits, young blue tits, robin, a pair of blackbirds, starlings and wood pigeons, and noticed a swift overhead. There was also – another first – a jackdaw on our neighbours’ roof. A white butterfly was around, too. It seems as though the long-awaited sunshine is encouraging the insects to finally emerge from wherever they have been hiding or waiting to hatch.

Small tortoiseshell

Over the next few days the weather turned excessively hot, and on the 8^th of July I visited Hatfield Forest, where there were quite a lot of ringlets and small tortoiseshells, as well as dragonflies. The ringlets in particular were very quick moving, fluttering restlessly from flower to flower. There were also the usual coots, mallards, moorhens and geese. The ducks seem past their best, they are looking very tatty at the moment, with many of the mallard drakes losing their glossy green head feathers. There were plenty of fish to be seen in the smaller lake, too. The smaller lake is the best place to watch the dragonflies and damselflies – the sunny side, not the wooded side. There were a couple of branches in the water and the insects were landing on them, or sunning themselves on the dried mud by the lakeside.

Male Keeled skimmer

Ringlet

The garden has been host to plenty of birds over the month, including many youngsters; blackbirds, dunnocks, starlings, great tits, blue tits, robins, goldfinch, though the house sparrows disappeared for a while, gradually returning as the month progressed.

Heron on lake at Buckingham Palace

On 13^th July, during a visit to Buckingham Palace gardens I spotted a heron perched on a nest, presumably a coot’s or duck’s, in the lake. There were coots and ducks too as well as several blue butterflies. The nest day we had a comma in the garden, the following day a small tortoiseshell – the weather continued hot and sunny, and the birds and insects certainly appreciated it. On the 17^th a grey squirrel appeared. The squirrels have been absent for a while, but one, presumably the same one each time, continued to call in for peanuts and sunflower seeds for the rest of the month. It seemed much more timid than the squirrels that visited earlier in the year. We had a brief sighting of a wood mouse on the 19^th of July, when one ran behind a flowerpot in the garden. That evening I was particularly pleased to find a large frog during an evening inspection of the garden. It was sitting on the path, and, as I have mentioned in previous blogs, at one time our garden was host to dozens of the creatures but they disappeared a decade ago, and we rarely see them now.



Bee on lavender at Heacham

Hoverflies on rush at Heacham

 

The 21^st July found me at the Norfolk Lavender farm at Heacham, Norfolk, and the blooms were covered with bees and hoverflies. There were young moorhens on the river. Outside the motel in Long Sutton, Lincs, where I was staying, were at least fifty woodpigeons perched along the telegraph wires, and there were rabbits and hares in the field.

Common damselflies

The Scrape at Pensthorpe

 

The hottest day of the year so far arrived on the 22^nd July, and coincided with a visit to Pensthorpe, Norfolk. There were dragonflies of several different types in the streams and by the lakes, while butterflies were taking advantage of the wildflowers in the meadows. There were plenty of rosebay willowherbs, which many think of as a ‘weed’, but are spectacular, especially when viewed en masse across the lake, as well as herb Robert, comfrey and many other flowers. We even came across a wild raspberry bush, and tasted a berry – it was sweet and delicious.

Banded demoiselle

Young bearded tit

Turtle dove

 

The scrape was busy with ducks and geese, and a kingfisher flashed past. Also on the scrape were herons, lapwings, egrets and various waders. In the large walk-through breeding aviary were avocets, turtle doves and bearded tits. The bearded tits are beautiful but so quick that they are very difficult to photograph. Overnight, there was torrential rain and a thunderstorm, but the heat continued. The next day, driving through Hunstanton along the cliff road, we saw dozens of black-headed gulls on the grass, and spotted a marsh harrier near Snettisham nature reserve.

Broad-bodied chaser

Ruddy darter

Green-veined white and cardinal beetle

On the 24^th July, a visit to Wicken Fen near Ely, Cambs, resulted in sightings of hundreds of butterflies and dragonflies, including an enormous yellow and black dragonfly  which zoomed off before I could get a photo. I also saw a broad-bodied chaser and dozens of ruddy darters. We followed the boardwalk as at passed by meadowsweet, bryony, bindweed – so many butterfly-friendly plants.

Greenfinch

Swallow nest at Wicken Fen

 

 

Through the windows of the hide we could see the feeders very much in demand from chaffinches, various tits and vividly-coloured greenfinches. Even collared doves were hanging from the mesh and a moorhen was on the tray below, after the spilt seed. A pair of swallows had set up home actually inside the hide, building a mossy nest on a beam. A notice requested visitors to ensure that the door was left open so that the birds could fly in and out.

Comma and peacock butterflies enjoy buddleia

Back home on the 25^th to find that the buddleia was now fully out, and very popular with the butterflies – I spotted peacocks, red admiral, comma, large and small whites as well as many bumblebees.

This common darter hatched in our tiny wildlife pond

 

Mating snails

 

On the 27^th we saw a dragonfly, a female common darter, fly up from the small wildlife pool to the apple tree. Close inspection showed an empty pupae case on a reed, so it’s exciting to think that at least one dragonfly has emerged from our tiny haven. There were two snails mating on the side of the garden fountain. Buddleias everywhere seem to be awash with butterflies now, and a trip to Sutton-in-the –Isle, near Ely, showed plenty of commas and peacocks on a small bush there.

Young bluetit in the birdbath

We had rain on the 29^th July. It was heavy and welcome, cooling things down and reviving the parched plants. There was thunder and lightning as well – and later an enormous yellow slug was slithering along the garden path. It rained quite a lot the following day, too, but it didn’t deter a family of bluetits who sheltered in the apple tree and braved the feeders. On the final day of the month, July 31^st, there were still showers around, though it was warm. The big yellow slug was back on the path and there were plenty of butterflies, especially small and large whites and peacocks, on the buddleia.

Female blackbird calling

 

A blackbird was calling noisily for a long while, maybe there was a cat around. There were several sparrows in the apple tree. It was very breezy and the butterflies were being blown about. July has certainly proved to be an excellent month this year, with above average sunshine and temperatures, and more butterflies (and dragonflies) than I have seen for several years. We have also been fortunate enough to have had an abundance of young birds of various species visiting the garden feeders, so although the first few months of the year were cold and wet, it seems that a good number of youngsters were still hatched. Hopefully, with all the insects now around, the birds will thrive.

 

 

Young great tit

Young robin

Female blackbird