LATE
SUMMER SEPTEMBER 2009 UPDATE
I’m
not sure the recent weather can officially be described as an
Indian Summer (I think that can only occur in October), but
certainly, after a somewhat mixed summer of dull and cloudy
spells, and a generally dry one locally, we can look back on what
has been happening during the peak season for wildlife activity.
On
the bird front, the season appears to have been a good one for
most of our commoner species. There have been encouraging reports
of young thrushes, Chaffinches, tits, Robins and
woodpeckers from
gardens, and my remaining pair of House Sparrows raised at least 2
broods this year. I suspect overall however, we still have fewer
Sparrows in the villages than about ten years ago when I last
carried out a specific survey, finding 26 colonies averaging 15
birds per group. There were also fewer Song Thrushes in evidence
this year, compared to the 52 singing males I had in the same year
as the House Sparrow survey.
Again,
I could only find House Martin nests at Odney and near Church Rd
School, unless anyone has additional information. I haven’t had
the opportunity to check the Little Owl and Tawny Owl boxes this
season, but it has been interesting following the fortunes of our
Barn Owls. The pair in our western sector seem not to have bred
this season and even worse, I found the male of the pair dead
beneath the natal site last week. Weighing the corpse, it seems
starvation is the most likely cause, as it was unmarked, and one
certainly hopes it was not the result of poison intake. The birds
in the eastern part however have been monitored by John
Lloyd-Parry and have been more active, producing at least one late
juvenile which was observed scurrying down a rabbit hole when
seeing John approach on a recent occasion. It may even have been a
second brood bird as September is quite late to see a juvenile
from the more-typical May production period.
Buzzards
again seem to have produced youngsters this year but despite the
good numbers of Kites around during the summer (61 the highest
single count), I can’t be sure whether or not they too bred
successfully here. But Hobbies may well have done so around White
Place Farm if the sound of urgent begging heard by JLP is anything
to go by. Another pair was active around Pigeon House Wood where
Margaret Harrold reported several sightings, and I too saw 2 birds
there more than once.
By
late August and into early September, the annual gathering of
geese grew to impressive numbers along Switchback, with up to 550
Canadas, 250 Greylag and about 75 Egyptian Geese. I’m not sure
however how many will have survived the subsequent shooting
season; they make big targets!
Compared
to the two previous seasons, butterflies were far more plentiful.
Following the mass invasion of UK by Painted Ladies from the
continent, our resident species did quite well. The dazzling Red
Admirals, Peacocks and Small Tortoiseshells were prominent and
once crops were well advanced, armies of Small and Large Whites
were in profusion – I counted over 2000 in one field just
outside the parish! David Fuller made a few counts of these
delightful insects during the summer, mainly in Odney where, in
addition to the above species, Green-veined White, Speckled Wood
and early Meadow Browns could be found, building to a significant
48 on one particular day. Of course, early September signals the
end of the season for many butterfly species, but Speckled Woods
were still present at Odney and Marsh Meadow by the end of
September. We had no sightings of Marbled Whites in the village
this year, as far as I am aware, and only a single Ringlet was
spotted, near Cookham Lock, and whilst I saw several Silver-washed
Fritillaries just outside the parish, we don’t perhaps have
sufficient wildflower corners or un-mown clover beds to attract
these and other species to our surroundings; perhaps a target for
local land management for the future? But keep looking – there
is still the chance of a wandering Clouded Yellow passing through.
I saw one this week just a few miles away. Moths too have had a
good season, though the most dramatic species, an Eyed Hawk
Moth,
only revealed its presence in the village by means of one of its
caterpillars handed to me by Bill Beglow from his garden in
Cookham Rise. A plump, muscle-bound larva just getting ready to
dig underground to pupate.
It
was also a good year for Damselflies and Dragonflies. We had no
formal survey work carried out in the village this year, but
certainly counts along Strand Water were excellent for some
species. The large numbers of Azures reported in the last update
will have deposited thousands
of eggs along Strand Water for next season, and both Brown and
Emperor Dragonflies
were noted egg-laying late into August. Methods of egg depositing
varies between the species, with Azure damsels placing them
carefully on vegetation just beneath the surface of static or slow
moving water such as exists at The Strand. These hatch in the same
season and the larvae take a year or two to develop. Both Brown
Hawker and Migrant Hawkers (see photo) also places eggs
methodically, but they do not hatch until the following spring,
producing larvae which then take a further 2 to 4 years to turn
into the impressive insects we can still see into October. Other
methods adopted include bulk laying of an egg mass onto the
water’s surface (Scarce Chaser), or flicking individual eggs
from mid-air (Broad-bodied Chaser).
Many
of these amazing creatures will adopt a small garden pond so an
ideal project for the winter-time would be to create one in our
own garden.
Alice
Fenton kindly carried out some plant survey work around Saches
Island and the lock and found a good range of species typical of
standard calcareous meadow. Alice found over 50 species, mainly
herbs and grasses, ranging from the enormous Cow Parsley to the
dainty Germander Speedwell.
Amongst
the various garden wildlife experiences reported this year, one of
the most incredible involved two of our most common, but somewhat
secretive creatures. Pam Knight was in her garden one day when she
espied the unmistakable profile of a large Grass Snake (see photos
below). But Pam was amazed to suddenly realise this serpent was
busy consuming her resident Toad, an enormous example of the
species, which was firmly wedged, almost out of sight, in the
snakes jaws. As it was clearly still alive, with just a little
encouragement from Pam, the snake was eventually encouraged to
regurgitate Toad before wriggling off in a huff. Such a meal would
have lasted it some time, it has to be said. Toad was wounded but
survived to tell the tale and after some treatment for wounds at
Tiggywinkles was released into the wild to slug it out with the
slimy critters of the undergrowth. The series of photos taken by
Pam reveal just a little of this epic battle.
Having
mentioned slugs, now is the time of year to see their slimy
courtship routine, whereby a pair will be seen forming a circle
amidst a lot of ooze as they go about their business. As each
individual slug is hermaphrodite with both male and female
elements, one might wonder why they bother finding a partner, but
presumably it is more fun that way! The resulting eggs are usually
laid in a couple of weeks or so and are the twenty to fifty tiny
white globes one often finds when sorting the out the compost heap
or lifting logs or bricks, and they hatch in about six weeks. Like
Rabbits they can have two clutches per year, but autumn is a key
time for them as damper weather prevents eggs drying out. Small
slugs only live a year or so, but those big, whale –looking
beasts can be up to 8 years old!
So
another autumn is upon us. Redwings have already been recorded in
nearby Bucks and most of our summer migrant birds have
disappeared, leaving just a few Swallows and House Martins
who eke
out their holiday here to end October or even early November.
Brilliant Yellow Wagtails (see photo) with their new greyer offspring have
been filtering through Cockmarsh, Widbrook and Canon Court in
small groups, never far from the hoofs of cattle or horses, which
kick up insects for the hungry travellers. Leaves have been
falling from some trees such as Aspens since late August but those
emotive sights of foliage in every shade of brown and yellow will
soon be available on a treescape near you. The change of colour of
course occurs as the trees themselves draw back all the nutrients
and chemicals contained in the leaves until they have no option
but to fall to the woodland floor and commence their next job of
rejuvenating the soils in which the next generation of plants will
flourish.
Whilst
taking a woodland walk to enjoy this annual kaleidoscope of
colour, why not also enjoy the fantastic range of fungi which
predominate at this time of year. They come in all shapes, sizes
and colours and provide another dimension for our winter
wanderings. Of course, it is important not to pick, and certainly
not to eat any of these ‘plants’
as amongst the 230 or
so
species in our region, any number of them can prove poisonous.
An excellent pocket-sized guide to the fungi of Berks,
Bucks and Oxon has just been produced by our local Wildlife Trust
(£5.95) and would be an essential aid to any fungus foray, so why
not obtain a copy and get out this autumn and winter, and record
what you see so we can assess just how many of the 230 we have in
the parish. By all means contact us for details of where to obtain
the book.
Finally,
I wonder if anyone can identify this lady-bird looking beetle
which I found in my garden recently?
“Many
thanks to Gordon Langsbury, Pam Knight and John-Lloyd Parry for
this month’s photographs.”
Brian
Clews
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