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Latest Sightings March 2012

Click on the link to send in your sightings [email-masked]

For previous months sightings see Archive

The "Area Seen" refers to the 10
sections that the Brook has been split into for monitoring purposes (see
Wildlife page under Monitoring ). .

All sightings unless stated are from personal observations by Eddie Napper

Birds

Click on any picture to see a larger image

29/03/12 After a few recent unsuccesfull
attempts I finally managed to get a shot of the pair of Buzzard & Red Kite enjoying the thermals over
Area 5 (Riverside Walk) this afternoon.

27/03/12 A late staying Redwing was seen bathing in the Emm by Kingfisher
Bridge before drying itself in a nearby tree. A Blue
Tit was seen taking nesting material into nestbox 43 in Area 4.
Great spotted Woodpeckers were calling loudly
in Area 4, 2 males were showing an interest in a displaying female on a
dead elm.

25/03/12 A Fieldfare
was seen by the brook in Area 4 by Paul Bright Thomas.

24/03/12 This afternoon a pair of Nuthatch were seen gathering beak fulls of mud by
Ripple Stream Bridge in Area 5. The Nuthatch is a tree nester that will
narrow the opening of a treehole by plastering it with mud, this ensures
larger birds are unable to get nto the nest. It often uses old Great
spotted Woodpecker nest holes.

25/03/12 This Great
Tit has wasted no time in "springing forward". Beaks full of
nesting material were seen going into this FOTEB nest box in Area 5
before emerging to start again. This morning Chiffchaff were again singing everwhere in Area's 4
& 5 with their almost metronomic call..

spotted Woodpecker nest holes. i

21/03/12 I wonder if these Mallard are practicing walking in preparation for
the drought. At least 4 male Chiffchaff were
singing in Area's 4 & 5. As the day warmed up a Common Buzzard was being mobbed by 11 Herring Gull and a pair of RedKite was seen with a male Sparrowhawk .

18/03/12 Whilst many birds can be seen
pairing up, carrying nest material etc. Some have obviously been there
and done that as this discarded Wood Pigeon
egg shows. A singing male Blackcap was
in the hedge by Woosehill roundabout .A first for the year, that brings
this years total to 55 species. Several singing Chiffchaff were also heard . I was drawn to the
strange callings of 7 Jays sitting in a tree
in Area 5. They were obviously in some sort of courtship display but it
was something that I had not witnessed before. Searching the Internet
leads me to believe that it was a "Crow marriage". Jays are monogamous
and breed once a year in the spring. However at the beginning of spring,
usually in March and April, unpaired birds spontaneously form gatherings
where they choose their mates. In these gatherings, birds pair up and
display to each other. They use a wide range of vocalizations, one of
which are named the “flight appeal” and are an invitation to fly. Males
display more than females and they also chase them. Mating gatherings
appear random and may be started by already paired birds chasing and
displaying to each other, which excites nearby unpaired birds and
encourages them to join in. The gatherings may be as small as three or
four birds, but are often as large as thirty or more.

17/03/12 Despite the mornings rain I
visited Area 8 at Old Forest Road. Several Chiffchaff were singing and foraging along the
hedgerows with Long tailed Tits. A Kingfisher was up and down the Brook and a pair of
Wrens were gathering nest material from the
banks. In Area 4 Lesser Black backed Gull ,
Black headed Gull and a Common Gull were all seen by Paul Bright Thomas.

16/03/12 In Area 4 by the balancing pond
near Smiths Walk the first male Chiffchaff of
the year was heard and seen singing from the bushes at 08:20. A second
one was seen in Area 2 near Gipsy Lane railway footbridge later. The
Kingfisher was seen flying upstream towards
Kingfisher Bridge in Area 4. In Area 2 a pair of Jackdaw appeared to be collecting beaks full of
plastic, presumabably for nesting material. Area 1 had a single . Egyptian Goose , 3 Lapwing
and 30 Redwing.

15/03/12 In Area 10 today in the Car park
field at Lavells Lake adjacent to the Emm on Sanford lane a male Bullfinch , Great spotted
Woodpecker and a Ring necked Parakeet
were seen by Richard Marsh.

14/03/12 Having thought that they had all
gone a male Siskin in Area 5 was a pleasant
suprise, a single Grey Heron was seen flying
NE across Area 5 at 06:45 and 13:00 today.

12/03/12 On the walk to work this morning in
the fog through Area 4 a pair of Bullfinches
were seen near Meadow Walk. In the afternoon once the sun had
burnt off the fog in Area 5 a pair of Common Buzzard
were seen soaring in the thermals with a pair of Red Kite, a single Sparrowhawk
was also seen hunting the area.

11/03/12 A noisy start to the day with
drumming Great spotted Woodpeckers yaffling
Green Woodpeckers and 17 Carrion Crows calling from a nearby tree. A honking
flyover Canada Goose was a first for the
year. By Dragonfly Bridge a pair of Grey Wagtail were feeding in the Emm. A Sparrowhawk was seen near Ripple Stream Bridge
being harrased by Blue Tits.

08/03/12 2 male and 1 female Lesser Redpolls were seen in Area 1 by Patrick
Crowley. Todays raptor was a Red Kite which
was seen in Area 4 this afternoon.

07/03/12 A Common
Buzzard was seen out early in Area 5 being mobbed by Carrion Crows at 07:30 this morning.

03/03/12 It allways pays to start early so a
Sparrowhawk over my area 5 garden this
morning at 06:30 was just reward. Redwing
numbers are still high with 40+ seen near Ripple stream bridge. A
female Bullfich was also seen eating the
emerging tree buds in a nearby garden. In the afternoon sun a Red Kite was hunting over the Emm. With the nesting
season fast approaching things are starting to move. Magpies can be seen carrying twigs in their beaks
and birds seem to be pairing up. The single Nuthatch
at the feeders now seems to bring a friend and courtship displays
can be seen. A Blue Tit has also been seen
invetigating one of the Area 5 nest boxes. On the RSPB walk this morning
in Area 10 (Dinton Pastures) a Kingfisher was
seen on the Emm.

02/03/12 With Spring migrants not arriving
for a few weeks today's fare was average in Area's 4 & 5. A Little Egret was sitting on top of the tree
upstream of Kingfisher Bridge. Redwings were
feeding near the play area to the rear of Morrisons. Chaffinch, Greenfinch, Siskin & Goldfinch were
in the trees near Dragonfly Bridge. A total of 20 species were seen
during a walk in the fog this morning.

Insects/ Spiders

Click on any picture to see a larger image

28/03/12 In Area 2 just off Luckley Road a
male Orange Tip Butterfly was seen on the
wing. This brings the FOTEB year list to 4 species.

21/03/12 Sunshine and Sallow catkins(Pussy
Willow) are allways good for pulling in Insects at this time of year.
With half a dozen bushes in the Area 4 Balancing Pond by Smiths Walk an
early Butterfly is usually guarenteed to this early source of nectar. In
the afternoon sun a Comma was feasting on the
catkins. On the grass a Small Tortoiseshell
was soaking up the sun, and a Peacock
fluttered through before deciding to fight with the Comma. A
second Comma also appeared and proceded to
tussle with the first. Male butterflies often set up territories and
defend them against rival males. Butterfly fights typically consist of
two or more males flying straight up into the air while spiralling
around each other. No harm ever appears to come to either of the
battlers , but they seem to decide a winner. The Sallow also held a
Bee Fly, a queen Common
Wasp and several Buff tailed
Bumblebee. In the morning a queen Red tailed
Bumble Bee Bombus lapidariuswas seen looking for suitable
nest sites.

10/03/12 The moth trap was put out
overnight and a reasonable haul of 27 moths of 8 species were caught
these consisted of 17 Common Quaker ,2 Small Quaker , 3 Hebrew
Charecter , and singles of Dotted Border
, Early Grey , Yellow Horned and the micro moth Amblyptilia acanthodactyla . .

03/03/12 A bit of sun allways works wonders.
A Buff tailed Bumblebee Bombus terrestris
and 7 spot Ladybird Coccinella 7-punctata
were seen in Area 5 in the afternoon.

Plants/Trees

30/03/12 Lady's Smock
Cardamine pratensis can now be seen in the Balancing pond
in Area 4. Lady's Smock has very pale pink flowers, that appear almost
white. It is also called Cuckoo Flower as it is flowering at the first
sound of the cuckoo. Its Latin name comes from the Greek 'kardia'
(heart) and 'damao' (to subdue) because of the belief that it was useful
for heart conditions.

27/03/12 Wood Anemone
can now be seen along the brook. These were in Area 4 near
Kingfisher Bridge

11/03/12 Sallow
Salix caprea also known as Pussy Willow , can be seen
flowering in Area 5. Salix caprea has buds that open in spring before
the plant’s leaves make an appearance. These furry buds, in the picture
are the male catkins the ‘pussies’ in the name pussy willow. All willows
are dioecious, meaning that male and female flowers occur on separate
plants. The female tree bears longer more silky green catkins.

01/03/12 Members of FOTEB today planted
Ox eye dasies in the Wild flower meadow in
Area 5 near Ripple stream Bridge.

Other Wildlife

Click on any picture to see a larger image

Fungi

16/03/12 Although not technically Fungi,
the slime mould Reticularia lycoperdon a new
addition to the FOTEB list is absoloutly fascinating. More information
to follow. These were found in Area 2.

Mammals

17/03/12 In Area 8 near Monkey Mates on
Old Forest Road 4 Roe Deer were seenby the
Emm including an antlered male.

11/03/12 At 18:15 at least 4 Pipistrelle Bats were feeding on the Emm by Ripple
Stream Bridge and around the adjacent trees.

03/03/12 A late sighting from 29th February
by Christine Jutson who was walking home down Smith's Walk between
Woosehill Lane and Jupiter Way at 18:30, when a Roe
Deer walked out of the undergrowth a few metres in front of her.
Rustling was still coming from the bushes so there was possibly more
hiding.

Amphibians

21/03/12 In the Balancing pond channel in
Area 4 some of the frogspawn now looks like miniature eels, clearly
visible on top of the jelly. This is the next stage of their
transformation to frogs.

02/03/ 12 Common Frogs were seen.

Coarse Fish

.