Country Matters ~ June 2005

The grass verge along School Road and over Century Bridge is the responsibility of Rayne Parish Council to maintain.  As the flora on this stretch is exceptional the Parish only take a narrow cut early in the year and then leave it to flower before cutting the whole verge.  This year a Bee Orchid was also found on the verge but just as the verge was about to burst into flower at the beginning of June Essex County Council decided to cut the verge.  Many residents have complained including Peter Lane and Andy Goodey.

The verge along the Street that is designated as a nature Reserve is cut by the Parish Council early in the year to reduce the grass competition before the rare Lesser Calamint starts into growth.  This year the County Council sent two men with strimmers to cut it again after the Calamint had started into growth.
The Parish Council will try and get the School Road verge designated a Nature Reserve, which is meant to protect the flora and in future try and get the County to leave Rayne to look after these verges.

On our garden pond the first Moorhens nest had all the eggs taken by a fox then a second attempt at nesting led to all the eggs being taken by one of the crow family.  The empty eggshells were scattered on the lawn.  The parents have managed to rear one youngster this year. It is strange to be writing about moorhens that were so common when I was a lad they were considered a pest.  The North American Mink has completely cleared Moorhens from our river systems and many ponds and lakes within reach of these rivers.

The Stock Doves are nesting in our garden again, they usually seek a hole or crack to nest in or else in ivy.  I hope ours that are in the ivy on our old oak have a well-hidden nest, as the nest predators are very active this year.  The parents are very pugnacious and unlike the Wood Pigeons they will take on any threat however big.  The male bird struts around the garden all day often taking on the Mallards and Pheasants that are eating food he believes should be his.   He has the sense to back off if they do not give way.

A Jay was hunting round the trees and shrubs in the garden looking for nests and a Blue Tit started to mob it and then a Blackbird joined in and surprisingly the Jay took off followed by the Tit and then the Blackbird with the Stock Dove joining in.  At this time of the year birds with nests or young will often mob any raptors or predators even though they could end up as a meal for the animal or bird they are mobbing.

Syl heard a Cuckoo calling in our garden.  It remained in the garden for over an hour spending most of its time sitting and looking around.  No doubt some unfortunate bird will be rearing its offspring.  Though its egg is much larger than those of its host the colouration bears a resemblance to that of the host.  As a youngster the first nest I found with a cuckoo in it was that of a Robin.  The young Cuckoo had flattened out the nest to accommodate itself and the parents had to feed this bird with an enormous gape and which was much larger than themselves.

I brushed against a branch on a buddleia bush, which slivered off revealing the 50mm caterpillar of a Leopard Moth eating its way up the centre of the stem.  This is the first time I had seen the caterpillar and after photographing it I tied the branch back into place.  The caterpillar feeds in the wooden stem for two to three years before pupating under the bark of the host in May for 3-6 weeks then emerging as a moth.  This happened in late winter and I have since untied the buddleia branch and the caterpillar is still feeding so we will have to leave the pruning for another year.  My neighbour had a large branch about 100mm in diameter break out of the Silver Birch tree in his garden.  It had snapped off cleanly and round the break was a circular burrow just like the one made by the Leopard Moth caterpillar.  I believe this was what had caused the branch to break; the caterpillar had fed round the branch and had destroyed what had been it’s safe house.

A Heron is a regular visitor to the garden pond and farm lagoon.  It is an adult bird and is very wary unlike the juveniles that usually visit at this time of the year.  They usually feed on the Sticklebacks and I suspect any Frogs and their tadpoles.

During the nesting season we have had a Goldcrest collecting cobwebs from around our windows to line its nest. Swallows picking fluff from the flowering poplars and feathers from the moulting ducks off the lawn, while in full flight, to line theirs.  The most bizarre was the unfortunate rabbit I shot, which before I could pick it up was having its hair plucked by a Great Tit.  Nothing goes to waste in Nature.
PS, I love rabbit pie, please spread the word to all rabbits to keep away from our garden.
Roger Jiggins

Wildlife Reports for June 2005

Andy Goodey who has identified many new bird sightings in the village from their call reported towards the end of May that this was the first year he had not heard a Cuckoo since moving to Rayne.  He has found two Turtle Doves along the Flitch Way and one of the ponds had a Moorhens nest until one day he found a dead adult and vegetation near the nest disturbed.  It’s possible that the parent stayed on the nest too long when a predator visited.  Andy also reports that he has had very few Tadpoles survive in his pond this year, which is similar to our experience in our own garden pond.

Andy also found the Bee Orchid along School Road flowering on the verge (see Country Matters for its fate).  Andy noticed an unusual occurrence in his garden one evening.  Two House Martins were flying overhead and were then joined by others making a flock of 18 in total.  As the group gained height they closed ranks as a Hobby scythed its way through the flock before continuing on its way.  The Hobby did not return and the Martins dispersed.  It is possible that this was an instinctive reaction of the Martins to what they perceived to be a predator.

A neighbour of Mrs. Delderfield, Capel Road cut down some Leylandii trees in their garden.  A Blackbird’s nest with two half grown young was found in one of them.  Mrs. Delderfield put the nest inside a hanging basket and hung it from an apple tree in her garden.  The parents started to feed the young in their new nest site.  She then became concerned that a cat could now reach the young so the hanging basket plus nest was moved yet again and hung from a basketball ring.  The parents took all this in their stride and still fed the young.  Then one day Mrs. Delderfield found one of the young under the nest the other having disappeared so she put it back in the nest.  The fledgling had decided it was time to leave its mobile home and hopped out again.  Both youngsters continued to be fed by the parents on the lawn for some time.

Keith Brunning Duckend Green has had a fox marking it’s territory with its pungent smell on a post in his garden.  A Sparrow hawk killed a Blue tit by their downstairs window.
Harold Giles saw a badger crossing Shalford Road by the allotments and Sylvia Jiggins saw one on the same road using the well worn crossing by Green Acres.  Both were seen while it was still light.

Ellie Gilder-Bittle had five Blue tits fledge from a nest box she had made at Rayne School in her garden at Duckend Green.  I would have considered this a much more useful occupation than having lessons when I was at primary school.  I hope it remains on the curriculum but the designer needs to have a removable lid on it so that it can be cleaned out each year.

Mr. John Taylor, School Road, had a Queen Hornet looking in cracks and crevices obviously seeking a nesting site on 27th May.  This is rather late in the year and is probably due to the very cold weather we have been having.

Roger Jiggins r.jiggins@btconnect.com   01376 324 311