| Birds
Click on any picture to see a larger =
image=20
27/06/11 Finally decent numbers. =
This=20
evening a party of 20 Swifts were =
seen over=20
Brookside in Area 5. Also seen was a Black =
headed=20
Gull .=20
24/06/11 Seen at 06:30 by Paul =
Bright Thomas=20
Goldcrest and a Kingfisher flying downstream towards =
Kingfisher=20
Bridge in Area 4.=20
23/06/11 Seen in Area 1 (Gorrick =
Woods ) by=20
K Creed a male Nightjar , an adult =
male &=20
female Hobby and 4 Tree Pipits .=20
20/06/11 Seen tonight at 16:30 on =
my way=20
home tonight the Kingfisher was =
sitting on=20
the pipe across the Emm downstream of Kingfisher Bridge in Area =
4.=20
18/06/11
What a day! For some reason today like Forrest =
Gump I just=20
kept going. I started in Area 5 by Woosehill Roundabout and =
walked along=20
the brook stopping in Area 2 to the rear of Tesco's and then =
walked=20
back. In Area 5 this morning highlights were Swift,=20
Lesser black backed Gull, Moorhen, Bullfinch, Chiffchaff & =
Blackcap=20
. Area 3 along Molly Millars Lane is fairly industrial =
and the=20
birds reflect this with Pied Wagtail, =
Herring Gull=20
& Jackdaw . Area 2 to the rear of Tesco's is a stark =
contrast=20
to 3. The open farmland brings with it farmland birds. Approx 75 =
Jackdaws including many juveniles were =
noisily=20
feeding in the fields with Rooks . =
10 House Martins were picking insects from =
above the=20
grass and a pair of Swallows =
gathering food=20
and then flying to the nearby nest to feed young. A pair of =
Stock Doves were also seen.=20
16/06/11 In Area 5 this morning at =
06:50 a=20
Ring necked Parakeet flew E. Later =
at 18:00 a=20
pair of Kestrel were seen hunting =
over Area 8=20
by Monkey Mates on Old Forest Road.=20
12/06/11 A bit of a wet day =
allround. This=20
mornings amble saw me sheltering under the big Oak near =
Ripplestream=20
Bridge. On the open space behind the Acorn Centre the birds were =
enjoying the softer ground conditions while foraging for food. =
They=20
included 25 Starlings ,.6 Wood Pigeons , 3 Greenfinch=20
, 1 Great spotted =
Woodpecker, 5 Blackbirds , 2 Song =
Thrush & a juvenille Mistle=20
Thrush. A Red Kite was seen =
flying=20
over.=20
10//06/11 A probable Hobby . was seen flying over Area 4 near =
Meadow Rd=20
bridge this afternoon.=20
05/06/11
Bird sightings have remained the same over the =
last few=20
days with 20 + species being seen on most days. Highlight has =
been a=20
Red Kite seen regularly over Area 5 =
and 4=20
Canada Geese seen over Area 4 by =
Paul Bright=20
Thomas.=20
03/06/11 A House Martin=20
. was seen flying over Area 4 by Paul Bright Thomas this =
morning.=20
This is only the second sighting this year. House Martin used to =
be an=20
annual breeding bird in the Meadow Rd area.=20
01/06/11 In Area 4 & 5 =
(Riverside Walk )=20
this morning only 19 species of birds were seen and heard.The =
male Bullfinch continues his daily visit to =
feeders. As=20
the female has not be seen for a few days I suspect that she is =
sitting=20
on a nest nearby. . Summer migrants are still singing including =
Chiffchaff &; Blackcap . also noted =
were Nuthatch, Blackbird, Song Thrush, Mistle =
Thrush,Wood=20
Pigeon, Collared Dove, Stock Dove, Goldfinch, Greenfinch, =
Mallard, Blut=20
Tit, Great Tit,, House Sparrow, Moorhen, Magpie, Carrion Crow, , =
&=20
Wren
|
Insects/ Spiders
Click on any picture to see a larger =
image=20
27/06/11 This afternoon Meadow Brown & Large White =
butterflies were=20
seen in the Wildflower Meadow.=20
19/06/11 Another first for =
the FOTEB moth=20
list. This micro moth Pammene aurana=20
was seen on its larval host plant Hogweed alongside =
the Emm=20
to the rear of Morrisons.This moth has only 28 records in =
Berkshire, all=20
from the western half of the county, so this is a new one for =
the=20
Wokingham area.=20
18/06/11 More Meadow=20
Brown butterflies this morning in Area's 2 & 5. Also =
seen=20
were Speckled Wood, Large Skipper, Red =
Admiral &=20
Large White
Area 8 from the =
bridge on Old=20
Forest Rd to the motorway never disappoints and tonight was no=20
exception. My fleeting visit there produced my first =
stridulating=20
Orthoptera in the shape of a Roesel's Bush =
Cricket=20
. These Crickets have a yellow stripe around the pronatal =
flaps=20
which allways reminds me of a Nike swoosh. Also seen were other =
firsts=20
for the year Marbled White & Cinnabar=20
Moth.=20
16/06/11 Walking through the long =
grass in=20
Area 8 this evening disturbed numerous male Meadow=20
Brown butterflies. My first sighting this year. Also =
disturbed=20
were the day flying moths Agapeta hamana =
&=20
Celypha lacunana
12/06/11
Whilst sheltering from this mornings rain I =
started to=20
look at the Nettle patch near Ripplestream Bridge with good =
results.=20
There was large amounts of Cukoo =
Spit, this=20
mass of froth hlolds the nymphs of Froghoppers=20
. Also quite numerous were the pupae of the Harlequin Ladybird . Being =
beetles,=20
ladybirds are holometabolic, which means that like for example=20
butterflies and moths they have four stages in their =
development: the=20
egg, from which hatch larvae, which then become pupae, within =
which the=20
adult develops, complete with wings. Not unexpectadly a Green Nettle Weevil Phyllobicus pomaceus =
was=20
also present. The day flying =
micro moth Celypha lacunana was sitting on the =
nettles .=20
Apparently the nettle supports approx 40 species of insects so =
before=20
you cut them down stop & be nice to nettles.=20
04/06/11 A maleBanded=20
Demoiselle was seen this afternoon near Dragonfly Bridge =
in Area=20
5.
03/06/11 In at least 2 =
patches of nettles=20
in Area 5 the caterpillars of the Peacock=20
butterfly can be seen. A Comma=20
butterfly was also seen on todays walk. A tiny and newly =
emerged=20
Grasshopper was seen in Area 5. ID =
to follow.=20
02/06/11 With a warm day =
forcast I decided=20
to take the afternoon off and go on a bug hunt in Area 5 with =
great=20
results. Damselflies are finally on the wing with a first for me =
a Beautiful Demoiselle , later a =
male &=20
female were seen copulating. A Common Blue =
Damselfly=20
was near Dragonfly Bridge. A male Stag Beetle=20
was seen near Dragonfly Bridge. Butterflies were =
represented by=20
Speckled Wood & Small =
Tortioshell Also a=20
first for the year Small Skipper
01/06/11 Butterflies have =
not been very=20
visible of late, but this afternoon 3 separate Small=20
Tortoiseshell's were seen in Area's 4 & 5 this =
afternoon.=20
|
Other Wildlife
Click on any picture to see a larger =
image=20
Amphibians
Coarse Fish
Mammals
18/06/11 Roe deer=20
are one of only two species that can be considered =
indigenous to=20
the British Isles, the other being the Red deer. This mother and =
kid=20
were seen in Area 2 to the rear of Tesco's. Young Roe, born =
between late=20
May and early June, are called kids . At birth, Roe kids have a =
dark=20
brown coat which is heavily spotted with two distinct lines of =
white=20
spots running from the nape of the neck either side of the =
dorsal to the=20
rump. The sides and flanks are also spotted in white. The spots =
soon=20
begin to fade and are usually gone in about 8-10 weeks. The kids =
then=20
develop their first winter coat. Rabbits =
were=20
also seen.=20
12/06/11 Family groups of Squirrels were seen runing around the oak =
trees=20
today.=20
Plants/Trees=20
14/06/11 Seen this week and =
another first=20
for me were 2 Common Spotted Orchid =
.=20
12/06/11 Galls can be seen =
on the leaves=20
of the Elm . These bladder like =
galls are=20
caused by the aphid Tetraneura ulmi =
05/06/11 Hazel nuts are just =
starting to=20
appear on trees along the brook. Brambles=20
are out in flower and providing a good nectar source =
for=20
Honey & Bumble Bees
02/06/11 Broad leaved=20
Pondweed (Potamogeton natans) can be seen in the =
Emm by=20
the pollarded Willows in Area 4.=20
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