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Latest Sightings April 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

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29/04/12 Another very wet and windy day.
The river was in full flow through Area 5 following allmost 24hrs of
rain. In Area 10 Sandford Lane was closed as the Emm had come over the
banks and flooded the road. The Balancing pond was also doing what it
should and was as full as I had ever seen it. But still the birds were
singing, collecting food and some gathering nesting material. Mallards were taking the safe option by paddling on
the calmer waters of puddles and the balancing pond,which also held a
Coot . A striking male Bullfinch was calling from a nearby Hawthorn bush.
The softer ground suits the Thrushes with Blackbirds,Mistle Thrush, Song Thrush & Robins
all seen foraging for worms along the Brook.

27/04/12 This week has been a mixture of sun
& showers. Today was no execption a relatively bright start to the
morning produced 2 Common Tern heading south
calling over my Area 5 garden at 06:15. On the walk to work 2 Greylag Geese were heading west calling. On my
afternoon return 2 Red Kite were enjoying the
afternoon thermals and several male Blackcaps
were singing from trees in their terrotries. This brings this
years FOTEB birds list to 62 species

24/04/12 A bit of a brighter walk to work
this morning through Areas 4 & 5. In the area of scrub behind
Dragonfly Bridge the first Garden Warbler of
the year was heard and then seen. These fairly nondescript birds have a
song very similar to the male Blackcap that
was also singing in the scrub. Click on this link to hear their song and
many others. Bird ID 2
Canada Geese were also seen flying NW calling

22/04/12 A pair of Nuthatch were seen in Area 5 today by Jon Buckley.
They were in the Oak tree by Dragonfly Bridge to the rear of Morrisons
and may be using the nestbox.

19/04/12 A calling Cuckoo was in the tree by the Green Bridge just
before the Emm joins the Loddon in Area 10.

16/04/12 A Redstart
was seen in Area 10 in the Lavells Lake car park field on
Sandford Lane by Fraser Cottington. In Area 8 these Mallard were seen on the Emm with 3 ducklings. In
Area 3 a female Grey Wagtail was seen by the
side of the Brook adjacent to Lidl's car park by Jean Vaughan.

15/04/12 In Area 7 (Emm brook Walk) a Kestrel was seen hovering near Toutley Road.

14/04/12 In Area 4 by the Balancing Pond
Blackcap,Chiffchaff & Willow Warbler were
all heard singing.

09/04/12 The highlight of a damp walk this
morning was a singing Willow Warbler in the
Sallow by Dragonfly Bridge to the rear of Morrissons.

07/04/12 The dawn chorus is now in full
swing with the usual singers Robin,Blackbird &
Song Thrush singing from 06:00. A Grey Heron
was seen in Area 5 this morning viewing back garden ponds. 3
Canada Geese flew over heading N. There was
proof of early breeding season for some with this juvenile Stock Dove in Area 5 near Dragonfly Bridge and a
juvenile Blackbird in the Area 4 garden of
Paul Bright Thomas.

06/04/12 In the trees around the Area 4
Balancing pond a Willow Warbler was heard and
seen by Paul Bright Thomas.

04/04/12 The first Swallow of the year was seen in Area 4 today by
Paul Bright Thomas.

01/04/12 A total of 26 species seen today in
Area's 4 &5 , Highlights were Grey Heron,
Bullfinch and a singing male Blackcap
& numerous singing Chiffchaffs

Insects/ Spiders

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27/04/12 On my walk home from work today a
brief spell of sunshine meant that several Butterflies were on the wing.
In Area 4 a Green veined White was feeding on
Dandelion flowers and a Holly Blue was seen
in Area 5. This brings the FOTEB year list to 7 species.

01/04/12 In Area 1 (Gorrick Woods) Wood Ants Formica rufa can be seen. You
might barely notice it at your feet, but the wood ant is important. It
is an “indicator species”, that is, their presence indicates healthy
woodland. They like open woodland where their nest can benefit from the
sun in the first warm days of spring (about now). They also like a
south-facing site to make the most of the warmth A wood ant nest is
instantly recognisable – it looks like a roughly dome-shaped, untidy
heap of leaves and twigs – and you will see trails of ants between the
nest and their feeding trees. Sometimes trails connect separate nests to
make super colonies. It’s better not to get too close or let your dog
sniff – the worker ants are fairly aggressive and squirt formic acid if
disturbed. It smells like very powerful salt and vinegar crisps. Their
main food source is honeydew, a sugary substance produced by aphids,
hence the trails to their favoured trees. They also scavenge and will
eat small invertebrates

01/04/12 A warmer day and a new month
produced a new Butterfly for the year list. A Red
Admiral was seen in Area 5 by Dragonfly Bridge . A pair of Peacock's and a Comma
were also seen. A hoverfly Eupeuodes luniger
was seen on Ivy in Area 5.

Plants/Trees

24/04//12 The Wildflower Meadow seems to be
mostly yellow at the moment with Dandelion &
Celandines in flower. These Cowslips
have also just appeared.

07/04//12 Blackthorn
( Prunus spinosa ) is now in full flower. all along the
Emm. There is sometimes confusion telling the difference between
Hawthorn and Blackthorn bushes. Both are members of the same plant
family the Rose family or Rosaceae. However at this time of the year its
a bit easier as Blackthorn flowers much earlier, typically in March to
May, whilst Hawthorn waits until May to June. So an easy way to remember
is Blackthorn has flowers before leaves and Hawthorn has leaves
before flowers .

01/04//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.

Other Wildlife

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Fungi

Mammals

21/04/12 A calling Red
Fox was heard in the early hours in Area 5.

14/04/12 Although not seen yet, there is
evidence that the Hedgehog has been in my
Area 5 garden as Hedgehog poo has been found in several places.

Amphibians

01/04/12 In the Balancing pond channel in
Area 4 a lot of the frogspawn is now in Tadpole stage. .