 |
raynevillage.info |  |
 |
| HOME | < LAST MONTH | NEXT MONTH > | RETURN TO WILDLIFE | FEEDBACK |
Wildlife Reports for May 2004
Phil Monk saw a pair of Yellow Hammers along Pods Lane on 11/4. A pair has nested here for several years the male is usually seen calling from the overhead wires or from the top of a bush. He also had a male Brambling in the garden at Smithsfield for a day. On the 25/4 he reports that there were 3 parrots flying around similar to last years reports. A male blackcap arrived in the garden followed by a sighting of a pair. He also had a surprise sighting of a male Gargany at Great Notley lake.I have had several reports of Sparrow Hawks hunting in gardens. Colin Flemming the Street had one remove a large number of feathers from a Collared Dove, which then made a lucky escape. Harold and Mark Giles, Duckend Green, had one that nearly decapitated them while flying at speed down the side of their house before killing a collared dove on the other side of the road. These reports will become more numerous as the birds have to hunt all day to feed their young. When feeding just themselves they can often make a kill before many people are up to observe them.
Andy Goodey reports Bramblings on two occasions and states that the birds were probably on their way to their breeding sites. It is a rare breeder in the UK but can be fairly common when migrating from its breeding sites in northern Europe and Asia and the wintering sites in the UK and southern Europe. Two Siskins on 11/4 along Shalford Road and up to 20 Linnets by Kings tree nursery. We have had similar numbers of Linnets at Goulds but are now down to a pair. A kingfisher, Cuckoo, two singing male yellowhammers and a pair of Kestrels near Pods Brook. A pair of Kestrels nested most years in a tall Scots Pine in this area. One year when the weather was foul I put out carrion for the birds to feed their young. On one occasion the load was too large and the poor Kestrel flew only feet off the ground back to its nest, making several rest stops on the way. I hope they reared a good brood that year as the number fledged depends on the available food supply. The Kestrels by Broadfields Farm will not be rearing young this year as I found the male dead in the road. He did much of his hunting from the wires along Pods Lane. Andy also reports Palmate newts in his garden pond, this is the first confirmed sighting for Rayne. He has seen less frogs and their spawn this year and our pond at Goulds also had considerably less spawn than usual. At Little Leighs where they help the toads over the road they caught a record 200 plus this year as they made their way to the spawning lake. When walking the footpath from Rumley Wood towards Rayne he had a Spotted Redshank calling as it circled Old Hall Farm reservoir. There was also a Little Owl and Wheatear at the same location. Other sightings were a cuckoo along Pods Brook and a Reed Warbler by David MacGregors pond next to the churchyard. He has seen several of the large yellow Brimstone butterflies, Holly Blues and Speckled Woods. The last named was once only found in woods but it has so expanded its range that it often turns up in gardens and in small clumps of trees, Andy had a pair opposite the Cock pub. Unfortunately most butterfly species have declining populations. Andy had an unidentified damselfly on his garden pond 30/4. The earliest damsel fly is usually the Large Red (which isn’t large) but that is usually found on large water bodies not garden ponds.
At Goulds Farm for the second year running we have had a Ruddy Shelduck, which has an orange brown body, black rump and flight feathers with white forewings. It is usually seen perching, un-duck-like on the ridge of one of the farm buildings giving an unpleasant, to the human ear, raucous call. As it breeds in eastern Europe and beyond it must be an escape. Syl had a Yellow wagtail on the pond near where she was weeding the garden, the Stock Dove has fledged at least one youngster and up to two Herons are feeding on tadpoles and Sticklebacks in the pond. The Bluetits and Great tits are now all sitting on eggs in their boxes. This was a stop go season for them as several made nests and even started to lay eggs before the bad weather stopped them. The pair by our kitchen window had three eggs that were covered over and left till better weather returned and they then started laying again. They always try to coincide the hatching of the eggs with the main hatch of suitable food, mostly caterpillars.
I have left the most exiting report to last, Mrs Digby, Shalford Road had a Grass Snake sunning itself one morning under a gooseberry bush in the garden. She had not seen one for nearly 50 years. There are a lot of frogs in the garden and this would be an attraction for any snake. This sighting is near to that of David MacGregor’s last year of two Grass Snakes and may indicate that we may now have a breeding group in the area.
Roger Jiggins 01376 324 311 or r.jiggins@btconnect.com
To Top of Page
For corrections or changes, please email :-