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Latest Sightings February 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

23/02/12 A warm afternoon over Area 5 behind
Morrssons brought another Buzzard .

20/02/12 In Area 5 this morning at 08:00 the
Little Egret was seen sitting in the trees by
Woosehill Roundabout

19/02/12 In Area 4 today with warmer weather
Paul Bright Thomas had 5 circling Buzzards on
the thermals with a flyover Grey Heron . Also
seen were Long tailed Tits, Redwings and
Herring Gulls .

18/02/12 Out a bit later to top up the
feeders today but the female Brambling was
still coming to the feeders. 2 Red Kite were
seen soaring over Area 5.

17/02/12 The recent cold weather seems to
have drawn large numbers of Redwing into the
area. In Area 5 a minimum of 108 were seen feeding near the play area to
the rear of Morrisons and in Area 10 off Sandford Lane another 70 were
seen with 10 Fieldfare . 2 Great spotted Woodpeckers were drumming against
each other either side of the Emm in Area 5 to establish territories. A
male Bullfich was in the balancing pond in
amongst a flock of Chaffinches . On Emmbrook
Walk 7 Magpies were very noisely moving from
tree to tree.

16/02/12 In Area 4 this morning Paul Bright
Thomas was in his garden and saw a flyover Canada
Goose heading North , and Egyptian
Goose flying South. In Area 10 a Green
Woodpecker and Great spotted
Woodpecker were seen in the Car Park field on Sandford Lane
adjacent to the Emm Brook.

14/02/12 In Area 10 the pair of Pintails that were on Lea Farm Gravel Pit were seen
to fly onto the Emm Brook by Richard Marsh.

12/02/12 In Area 10 a male Pintail that was on Lea Farm Gravel Pit flew onto
the Emm Brook by the Green Bridge near its confluence with the Loddon
seen by Richard Marsh.

11/02/12 The cold spell contines with the
thermometer registering -8.6C this morning. Winter Thrushes were very
much in evidence Redwings appeared to be in
every bush and Fieldfare numbers were well
and truly up with a flock of 200 seen by Paul Bright-Thomas flying over
Area 4. Great spotted \\woodpeckers were
drumming in Area 5 and at least 5 Dunnocks
were seen beneath the feeders with Robins
. A Coal Tit was feeding on the
peanuts.

08/02/12 Paul Bright-Thomas was out and
about in Area's 4 & 5 this morning. A male Bullfinch was seen by Kingfisher bridge, and
several Robins were down in the channel of
the brook. Jays were moving along the
brookside treelines in an organised sweep, and a few Redwings were zipping about, with the “chack-chack”
of a Fieldfare somewhere nearby. At the
feeders a Long-tailed Tit ,Greenfinches
,Chaffinches and a female Brambling
were seen. 3 Mallards. were in the brook .At
the balancing pond a male Siskin was looking
pretty smart as he gave a fairly full-on song in the cold. The drainage
-channel through the balancing pond didn’t yield any cold-weather
refugees, but Goldfinch, Greenfinch and Redwing
were all coming to drink. Finally, a Wren
was in amongst the tree bases above the ice, making a living, but
barely.

05/02/12 In Area 4 today a Lapwing was seen flying SE by Paul Bright Thomas.

04/02/12 With the temperature even lower
this morning I could have been forgiven for staying in bed, however
fourtune favours the brave. The female Brambling
was again hanging around the feeding station in Area 5 along with
all the usual suspects. In last years cold snap Snipe unable to feed on their nearby frozen lakes
turned up on the Balancing pond channel. This year proved the same as
this one was feeding at 08:30. A female Bullfinch
was seen drinking fom the brook by Kingfisher Bridge in Area 4 .
In all a total of 25 species of birds were seen in about an hour.

03/02/12 A brisk walk to work this morning
through Areas 5 & 4 with the thermometer registering -6.4 C. A
female Brambling was gratefully feeding on
the Black Sunflower seeds at the feeding station before I refilled them.
3 Dunnocks were foraging on the spilt seed on
the floor and the Great spotted Woodpecker
was again on the fat feeders. A Nuthatch was calling from a nearby tree before
visiting the bird table. A party of 10 Herring
Gulls flew over calling heading S. Mistle
Thrush, Song Thrush & Redwing were all looking for food in
the softer areas close to the bottom of the hedges. At the balancing
pond by Smiths Walk several birds were drinking and bathing in the
concrete channel that runs through the middle. On cold days such as this
it is always flowing and this provides a frost free supply of water.

02/02/12 A chilly start to the month in Area
5 did not deter the birds this morning. At the feeders Blue Tit, Great Tit & Long tailed Tit were all
busily feeding. A Green Woodpecker was
yaffling in the distance and a male Great spotted
Woodpecker was drumming away on a nearby tree. In Area 10 a Little Egret was seen by Paul Bright Thomas flying
over Lavells Lake an then dropped into the Emm Brook

01/02/12 At the roost this morning near the
feeders in Area 5 at 07:30 approx 30 Redwing
flew off in all directions.

Insects/ Spiders

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27/02/12 At the front door light in Area 5
this evening a Dotted Border was resting on
the wall.

26/02/12 As the afternoon warmed up the
Insects appeared with the Hoverly Episyrphus
balteatus , Caccinella 7 -punctata the
7 Spot Ladybird and the Bumblebee Bombus terrestris all putting an appearance in Area
5.

18/02/12 Attracted to the kitchen window
light overnight in my Area 5 garden was a Pale
brindled Beauty

17/02/12 The moth trap was put out
overnight in my Area 5 garden using the 25w Acitinic UV lamp. The only
moth caught was this Spring Usher .

Plants/Trees

01/02/12 A memorial tree was today planted
in Riverside Walk. This tree a Crimean Lime Tilia
x euchlora is in memory of Grace Nicholson .

Other Wildlife

Click on any picture to see a larger image

Fungi

Mammals

02/02/ 12 As I walked along the Brook this
morning I could not fail to notice the Squirrels that were chasing each other around one
of the brook side Oaks. Squirrels do not hibernate and their breeding
season can start as early as January. These courtship chases are fast
and furious. The female develops an irresistible perfume which attracts
the male . It is the female that leads the chase. Whist males can mate
all year females are only able to mate in Spring and Autumn.

Amphibians

26/02/ 12 In 2 of the usual 3 ponds Frogs & Frogs Spawn were seen in Area's 4 &
5 this morning.

Coarse Fish

03/02/ 12 In Area 6 Paul Goulbourne caught
a 14oz Roach and a 2lb 8ozChub. .