Birds
28/02/10
Following the recent =
heavy rain a 60=20
min walk along a very swollen brook today to the rear of =
Morrisons=20
(Areas 4 & 5. See Wildlife page) revealed 22 species of =
birds. These=20
included :-=20
Nuthatch, Siskin,15 =
Redwing, Blue Tit,=20
Great Tit, Magpie, Collared Dove, Wood Pigeon, Jay, Goldfinch,=20
Blackbird, Robin,Red Kite, Herring =
Gull,Greenfinch,Starling,Carrion=20
Crow,Great spotted Woodpecker, a pair of Song Thrush,House=20
Sparrow,Chaffinch.=20
On a very full Thames =
Water balancing=20
pond were 11 Mallard and a Coot. A female Blackcap=20
was again today coming to feeders in the Brooside area. =
Sighting=20
by Eddie Napper=20
21/02/10
A female=20
Blackcap was coming to feeders in a garden in the =
Brooside area=20
of Woosehill this morning. Sighting by Eddie Napper=20
17/02/10
A Little Egret flew =
low W over=20
gardens in the Woosehill Lane area. It may have , possibly =
dropped onto=20
the Thames Water balancing pond adjacent to the Emm Brook by =
Smiths=20
Walk. Sighting by Paul Bright-Thomas.=20
12/02/10
Seen in Area 4 (Woosehill) today by Paul Bright- =
Thomas=20
1Common Gull ,1 Lesser=20
Redpoll ,2 Song Thrush's and =
2 flyover=20
Canada Geese.=20
04/02/10
A mobile flock of approx 40 Redwings=20
were moving alongside the Brook this afternoon favouring =
the open=20
space behind Morrisons. Also seen were 4 Mallards & 1 Grey Heron=20
on the Brook with the Kingfisher seen=20
both morning and afternoon fishing between the two bridges to =
the rear=20
of Morrissons. A Nuthatch was also =
heard=20
calling in the same area. Sighting by Eddie Napper=20
03/02/10=20
Siskins are now =
regularly being=20
sighted along the Emm and coming to garden feeders in area's 4 =
and 5 of=20
the brook (from Smiths Walk to the Woosehill Roundabout on the =
Reading=20
Rd).=20
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Insects=20
08/02/10
The moth trap was =
put out again=20
overnight on the 7th following a milder period of weather.
A =
Pale Brindled Beauty ( Phigalia =
pilosaria)=20
was the only moth .
Fungi=20
04/02/10
This fungi Velvet Shank =
(Flammulina=20
veluptipes). is one of the few which grows in winter. =
The cap=20
is an orange-brown colour, and the gills underneath are a =
creamy-orange=20
colour. The stem is dark brown to black, and distinctly velvety =
to the=20
touch (hence the name). It is usually found in deciduous =
woodland=20
(especially on dead elm trees) between October -March. It is =
common=20
throught the UK.=20
This one was was seen in woodland in area 4 near the Thames =
Water=20
balancing pond.
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Other Wildlife
13/02/10
A Wease/Stoat was =
seen running=20
through Brambles adjacent to the Emm Brook to the rear of the =
Loddon=20
Rooms at Dinton Pastures. Unfortunately due to the very fleeting =
glimpse=20
I was not able to see the tail which is the best way to seperate =
them=20
(Stoats have a black tip to the tail). Sighting by Eddie Napper=20
Possible Otter in the Emm Brook
We have recieved this amazing account from Rob =
and=20
Lorraine Morgan
My wife and I went to Dinton Pastures with our 2 =
year old=20
daughter approx Feb 2009. We went =
to the bird=20
hide at Lavell's Lake and when returning to the car park =
(daughter=20
asleep) I noticed a movement by the bridge which leads into =
Dinton=20
(brick bridge with semi circular arches). I saw what I thought =
was an=20
Otter appear by the bridge, then it went underwater and swam =
towards the=20
foot bridge - you could track it by it's bubbles. We lost sight =
of it as=20
it went under the bridge. We waited for a few minutes and saw =
nothing.=20
We were just about to walk over the bridge when it stuck it's =
head up=20
out of the long grass at the far side of the bridge. My wife =
(who is the=20
wildlife enthusiast) clearly saw it as well - it looked at us =
for approx=20
2 seconds then ducked down and we didn't see it again. We are =
sure it=20
was an Otter as it had a whitish chest and it was quite big - =
bigger=20
than a Mink. We have seen Mink at Dinton before (even in the =
garden of=20
the caf=E9) and we are certain it was an Otter.=20
I thought that part of the river was the Lodden =
and=20
looking up on the internet did confirm that there have been =
sightings on=20
the Loddon. To cap the day we saw a Kingfisher close up on a =
perch as we=20
walked back to the car by the side of the golf course. Since =
then we've=20
been back many times but no sign - the big floods happened =
pretty soon=20
after and my guess was that it would have moved on due to the =
floods.=20
After we had spotted it we did look at where we heard some =
noises when=20
he ran away and we did find what looked like a "walkway/tunnel" =
in the=20
undergrowth on the side of the bridge nearest the car park about =
10=20
yards after crossing the bridge on the right hand side.
Otters have been seen on the Loddon since 2003. In many =
areas,=20
individual otters may need over 20 miles of river and other =
waterways in=20
order to find enough food to live on. So keep your eyes open.
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