Wildlife Reports for May 2006

Phil Monk saw a Little Egret in a field between the A120 and the old road as one leaves the village.  He also had six Siskins feeding in the garden on a seed mix, fat ball and a nut feeder and a pair of Stock Doves have also returned.
Andy Goodey has seen the Treecreeper in the Hazlemere Bridge area of the Flitch Way and hopes it is one of a pair that will breed this year.  At the beginning of the month he was worried that the House Martins had not yet returned, they eventually arrived over two weeks later than the Swallows.  As I write this a few are already gathering mud from our lagoon.  Singing from the riverside vegetation along Pods Brook he heard Sedge Warbler and Reed Bunting.  By the end of April along the Flitch Andy had 3 singing Willow Warblers, 3-4 Lesser Whitethroats and a similar number of Common Whitethroats and Blackcaps.  Along Pods Lane a pair of Yellow Wagtails flew over and we have one on our lagoon.   Andy has also seen a Buzzard along Shalford Road.  He has seen several Brimstone Butterflies in the village and I have just been watching a female laying eggs on a newly planted Alder Buckthorn which is only 18ins high.  In May he had a single Garden Warbler in the field opposite the south end of Pods Lane and my favourite bird a Spotted Flycatcher at the entrance to Moores Farm track and hopefully a different one by the Cock Pub.  The minnows in his garden pond, The Street were getting very nervy the cause was revealed when their dog chased after a heron that was departing from the garden.  He also has or had, several Newt species?
Keith Brunning and his wife watched a Mallard Duck with a Goldfish in its beak by their garden pond.  Keith chased after it but it disappeared still clutching the large fish.  Keith suspects the fish was ill or had just died.  I have never known Mallards to take large fish that they could not swallow.
Jim Gepp saw the Red Kite by the sewage works; a pair appear to be staying for the summer.  He also reports a large nest on the electric light pole by Hazlemere Bridge.  Could someone confirm if the occupants are the same as last year?

Mark Giles reported 20 plus Fallow Deer by Rumney Wood and a stag and two hinds by Pound Farmhouse early one morning.
Lynette Stacey also saw seven deer on Old Hall farm one afternoon and her father Dick continues to have Long Tailed Tits on his bird table.  He also puts out on the bird table any dead mice he catches as a titbit for the Rooks.
Ken Turner phoned one evening and said he had a very obliging Blackbird with a nest of young and that he could sit watching the parents feed the young only a metre away.  I was invited to come and take some photographs and was about to do just that next day when the message came that the young had disappeared.  Who was the culprit, I list in order of culpability; Magpie, Squirrel, Jay, Crow and Rook.
John Taylor, Station Road had a queen Hornet in the glasshouse, John has had visits for several years from Hornets.  He also thought he had found a Harlequin ladybird in the garden but luckily it turned out to be a 7 Spot.  Syl and I found very large numbers of Harlequins in Woodbridge last autumn so it is only a matter of time for this introduced predator to reach this part of Essex and start to eat our Ladybirds.
Peter Lane, Brunwin Road has had several visits from a pair of Linnets, a first for his garden and he also saw a pair of Large Red Damselflies mating in his garden this is a first for the Parish.  This damselfly is the first to emerge in the spring and though it is found in nearby parishes this is the first record I have for Rayne.
Mrs. Digby, The Maltings, reported a Slow Worm in her garden, this legless lizard does appear to be increasing within the parish and despite its name I have never seen a slow one.

Mike Banthorpe walking near Pods Brook saw a group of five hares on the land by the airstrip.  Three of the hares were on their back feet boxing and two were onlookers.  This is a sight I have rarely seen in my life and is one the most amazing sights to see in our countryside.  Mike then saw a sixth Hare further along the river.  I have done a night survey over the last two years on a 100acre block and have not recorded a single Hare.  In the 1950’s and 60’s Hares were still shot as crop pests and I remember in the early 1970’s a gun standing on a bridge over the river shot 28 Hares in one drive, the next year the bag of Hares was even higher.  This will be one of the topics I will expand upon in the future.
Mark Giles was walking in the old Mill area of Pods Brook when he saw a dark looking animal with a long tail.  The next day his father Harold was walking his dog towards the Mill area and a Muntjac appeared and was running down the track from Pound Farmhouse.  It suddenly saw a similar black animal ahead and the Muntjac veered off and fled.  Harold said the animal when compared with the Muntjac was about the size of a fox and had a long tail.  Harold, like me, claims to be a sceptic of mysterious cat reports but in this sighting he had another animal that he was able to compare size with, it was also too early for Mark to have been to the pub.  I imagine I will remain unconvinced until the animal ends up in someone’s freezer.  I have to admit there are convincing reports of two Pumas shot in Essex and also a domestic cat cross with Lynx-like ears and weighing over 28 lb.  Unfortunately the people who shoot these animals do not want the publicity and will not produce the evidence.  This animal has been seen by at least one other person.  A pint to the person who brings me the animal but please don’t present me with your neighbour’s dead black cat.

One night recently Robert Bucknall saw an Osprey roosting in a tree by Old Hall Farm.  The bird was subsequently seen by Ernest Sexton and his daughter Jennifer.  In the past Ernest has seen an Osprey catch a fish on the moat surrounding his house.  Robert was in his farmyard standing near his house when a juvenile Muntjac still with its stripes and spots came running between the stable and dog kennel and then disappeared under a parked vehicle.  Robert waited for the Muntjac to reappear and when it did not he went to peer under the vehicle, then out popped the deer, and ran 6-8 metres and jumped through the back door of the house.  Robert now became concerned as getting a Muntjac out of a house without it wrecking the place was not something even Robert had experienced.  Luckily Robert need not have worried as the Muntjac decided that the house was not suitable cover for a deer and it bounded out of the house nearly hitting Robert before disappearing into the grain store and out the other side.  At least the Muntjac will have a tale to tell.
Phil and Judy Monk, Smithsfield had a hedgehog house in their garden against their neighbour’s garage.  This was covered with heavy logs.  They have frequently had hedgehogs using it but one day they found all the logs had been scattered and the house ripped apart with a hole under where the house had been.  The only evidence was a hedgehog skin with prickles but all the flesh and bones had gone.  Phil said the skin appeared as if it had been scraped with a knife.  I did not see the evidence but this was almost certainly a Badger.  The only other likely culprit is a fox but they do not have the strength and power to scatter heavy logs and tear the house apart.  Claw marks usually reveal which of the culprits is responsible.  This is sad news as we used to have a lot of hedgehogs at Goulds but as badger numbers increased they disappeared not only in our garden but also round the outskirts of Rayne.  This year there have been increasing reports of badgers in the centre of Rayne so this safe refuge for hedgehogs will also disappear.  Before Badger supporters start phoning me up I accept this is the normal cycle of all species populations, as some increase in numbers others will decline.  The only species that has managed to delay this cycle is the human one but a virus such as bird flu or some other catastrophe will eventually put that to rights.  In the meantime success to the Badgers and bad luck Hedgehogs.

Roger Jiggins 01376 324 311