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Latest Sightings November 2011

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

28/11/11 A suprise frosty morning meant that
once the bird feeders were replenished a steady stream of Blue Tits, Great Tits & Greenfinches followed
by a Nuthatch were feeding on the Black
sunflower hearts. Collared Doves were soon
eating the seed in the ground feeders. The Robin
& Dunnock were picking up dropped seed from the floor. A
reminder that with winter approaching make sure that you put out food
and water for the birds.

27/11/11 The only real bird of note today
was a Grey Wagtail feeding and bathing again
in the Balancing pond channel.

20/11/11 With a misty and claggy start to
the day before the sun burnt the mist off I was reminded of how usefull
knowing bird song is. Even if you cant see them the song gives them
away. A good site for bird song can be found here . In
Area 5 a Song Thrush was singing before it
was light, accompanied by a Robin & Blackbird
. The distinctive calls of Wood Pigeon,
Collared Dove, MistleThrush & Starling were also heard. The
Grey Wagtail was seen in the Balancing Pond
again. On the brook 5 Mallard 2 male & 3
females were a bit easier to see. A Ring-necked
Parakeet was heard flying over Area 5 whilst raking up leaves in
my garden.

19/11/11 Another good day in Area's 4 &
5 today. All 4 Tits were seen with Great, Blue, Coal
and Long tailed Tit Woodpeckers were represented by Green & Great spotted Woodpecker and a Grey Wagtail was bathing in the Balancing Pond in
Area 4. Finches were very visible with Goldfinch,
Siskin, Greenfinch & Chaffinch in flocks along the Emm. The
Kingfisher was seen near Meadow Road Bridge.

18/11/11 In Area 4 seen by Paul
Bright-Thomas this morning were 3 Meadow
Pipitsand singles of Lesser Redpoll &
Linnet 2 Goldcrests and 450 Woodpigeons flying south.

13/11/11 Raptors were riding the thermals
on what could have been mistaken for a summers day. Both Common Buzzard & Red Kite were flying high in
Area 5 at midday. Herring & Black headed Gulls
were also making use of them. Early morning brought another
passage of Wood Pigeon's with al least 600
moving S over a couple of hours. The biggest flock being close to 250
birds. A fly over Skylark went S and a Grey Wagtail was in the brook by Kingfisher
Bridge. The Finch flock which now numbers more than 50 birds exploded
from the brook side Alders behind Morrissons. No sign of what scared
them however .Todays total for Area 4 & 5 was 28 species

12/11/11 With the weekend ,hopefully comes a
bit more time to stand and stare. Thankfully today was one of those
days. With 24 species seen on the 10th could I beat it?. Thrushes seen
included Robin, Blackbird, Mistle Thrush & Song
Thrush but alas no winter visitors. A Tit flock was moving
through the trees near Woosehill Roundabout including Blue Tit, Great Tit & Coal Tit . Several Golcrests were nearby picking insects from an Ivy
clad tree. In the open space by Ripplestream Bridge 2 Green Woodpeckers were fedingin the grass. Gulls
were represented with Herring & Black headed
Gulls . was still rattling from a nearby tree. Some of the rest
included Nuthatch, Dunnock, Chaffinch, Wren, Jay,
Pied Wagtail, Red Kite & Gt spotted Woodpecker . Alltogether
a total of 30 species

10/11/11 It never ceases to amaze me that
even with a limited amount of time , and at this time of year how many
species of birds can be seen along the Emm. Mid week in November with
only just over an hour to spare including the walk to work 24 species
were seen in Area 4 & 5. The day started with the usual early
risers. Robin, Blackbird & Carrion Crow
as the dawn broke the Finches started to fill the nearby Ash
tree, now minus its leaves making them easier to see. Mostly Goldfinch, Greenfinch & Sikin waiting before
hitting the feeders . Fly by's were provided by Stock Dove, Jackdaw, Song Thrush & Wood Pigeon
. The Mistle Thrush was still rattling
from a nearby tree. The usual supporting cast included Blue Tit, Great Tit, Nuthatch, Dunnock, Chaffinch, Herring
Gull, Wren, Jay, Green & Gt spotted Woodpecker . On the brook
itself were Mallard, Moorhen and allways my
favourite the Kingfisher flying downstream
from Kingfisher Bridge.

07/11/11 A Common
Buzzard was drifting across Area 4 this morning on my walk to
work. However seen by Paul Bright-Thomas were 1250 Wood Pigeon flying S, 2 Grey
Wagtails & a Snipe flying N.

06/11/11 More than 150 Wood Pigeons were seen moving S. A Kingfisher was seen flying downstream of Ripple
Stream Bridge and then again later flying over the houses on Arther Road
. A Grey Heron flew N at 07:45. In the
afternoon a Red Kite was over Area 5. In Area
4 Paul Bright-Thomas had 5 Lesser Black backed Gulls
and a Cormorrant to add to the days
list.

05/11/11 The Finch flock is still growing
with Goldfinches,Greenfinches & Chaffinches
and 35 Siskins seen in the tree tops
in Area 5. The Mistle Thrush was noisily
defending its favourite tree from allcomers. A Goldcrest was feeding in a Yew . 15 Herring Gulls flew S.

04/11/11 No birdwatching this morning due to
the heavy rain, but a Sparrowhawk was seen at
16:30, probably hoping to catch something on its way to roost.

02/11/11 At this time of the year , Wood Pigeons can be seen moving south often in huge
flocks. This morning between 07:15 - 07:45 approx 850 were seen flying
over Area 4 by Paul Bright-Thomas. The picture shows 180 that I managed
to photograph. Also seen were 8 Meadow Pipits
and 5 Crossbill all flying S. in Area
5 at 07:45 Kingfisher was perched above the
Emm before flying upstream from Dragonfly Bridge. .

01/11/11 Todays big suprise was a Swift seen flying E over Area 5 this morning. Also
seen were 5 Mistle Thrush
Magpie, Jay, Nuthatch& 15 Herring Gulls
flying S. An afternoon visit to Area 2 today produced 10 Redwings and 35 Jackdaws
perched on the electricty pylons near the brook .

Insects/ Spiders

Click on any picture to see a larger image

23/11/11 A very lethargic Bumblebee Bombus pascuorum was seen resting on the
leaves of Nettle this morning.

13/11/11 A warm & sunny day certainly
brought the Insects out. Warming themselves on the bark of the Lombardy
Poplars by Kingfisher Bridge were approx 50 flies mostly Bluebottles & Flesh-Flies . 3 species of
Hoverfly Helophilus pendulus, Syrphus vitripennis
& Eristallis pertinax were basking on Ivy leaves. A Common wasp Vespula vulgaris was also seen.

12/11/11 With the continuing mild weather
a Red Admiral butterfly was seen in Area 5
today. A Drone fly Eristallis pertinax
landed on my hand while I was walking by the Woosehill
roundabout today. Also seen were 2 7 Spot Ladybirds
and 2 Coreus marginatus a
Shieldbug.

06/11/11 A solitary Common wasp Vespula vulgaris was seen around
Ivy this morning.

01/11/11 With the recent mild evenings I
thought that it would be a good moth night. However only 1 moth was in
the trap. The appropriately named November Moth
.

Plants/Trees

19/11/11 Seen in Area 4 near Meadow Road
bridge Zigzag Clover Trifolium medium
named after the shape of its stem are a new addittion to the
FOTEB species list.

12/11/11 In Area 8 this afternoon and
still in flower were Common Toadflax Linaria
vulgaris , Smooth Hawks' Beard Crepis
capillaris ,Red Clover Trifolium
pratense and Common Ragwort Senecio
jacobaea

05/11/11 There is still some plants in
flower even at this time of the year. Hogweed
Heracleum sphondylium can be seen at several locations
along the brook. White Dead Nettle Oxyloma
pfeifferi , and floweringBlackberry
Rubus fruticosus . Another as yet unidentified Umbellifer
that looks like Cow Parsley Anthriscus
sylvestris , but the dates are a bit late was also seen (more
later). Is it coincidence that all these plants have white flowers?

The leaves are now dropping at
quite a pace, with some trees all ready completely bare.

Why do leaves change colour in the Autumn?

Find out herei Autumn
Leaves

Other Wildlife

Click on any picture to see a larger image

Fungi

23/11/11 During the pollarding of the
Willows in Area 4 last year the branches that were removed were chipped
and left near the base of the trees. This has proved a good medium for
fungi. The magnificently named Redlead Roundhead
Strophana aurantiaca and Haresfoot
Inkcap Coprinopsis lagopus can both be found there. When
newly emerged this hairy fungi does resemble a Hares foot.

19/11/11 These Shaggy
Scalycap Pholiota squarrosa were in Area 4. This common
fungi is usually found clustered at the base of broad-leaved trees.

12/11/11 The Fly
Agaric Amanita mudscaria toadstools have reappeared in
Area 5. Approx 20 would have been on view if some had not been knocked
over. A new addittion to the FOTEB fungi list is the Stinkhorn Phallus impudicus this one was
seen in Area 5 near Woosehill Rondabout.

Molluscs

06/11/11 Whilst tidying up my Area 5
garden I came across this Strawberry Snail Tricha
striolata .The somewhat flattened (low spire) shell of the
strawberry snail measures 6.5-9 mm high and 11-15 mm wide, with 6 convex
whorls. The growth ridges of this species are very prominent. The shell
is dark brown or red-brown. Light brown spots/flecks may be present.
This specis is common in gardens and can be a pest of Strawberries.

05/11/11 In the Balancing pond in Area 4
were 15+ Pfeiffer's Amber-snails Oxyloma
pfeifferi . These Succineids snail prefer permantly wet
places such as marshes. This is one of 3 very similar species that are
hard to tell apart.

Mammals

Amphibians

Coarse Fish