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Latest Sightings June 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). .

All sightings unless stated are from personal observations by Eddie Napper

Birds

Click on any picture to see a larger image

27/06/11 Finally decent numbers. This
evening a party of 20 Swifts were seen over
Brookside in Area 5. Also seen was a Black headed
Gull .

24/06/11 Seen at 06:30 by Paul Bright Thomas
Goldcrest and a Kingfisher flying downstream towards Kingfisher
Bridge in Area 4.

23/06/11 Seen in Area 1 (Gorrick Woods ) by
K Creed a male Nightjar , an adult male &
female Hobby and 4 Tree Pipits .

20/06/11 Seen tonight at 16:30 on my way
home tonight the Kingfisher was sitting on
the pipe across the Emm downstream of Kingfisher Bridge in Area 4.

18/06/11

What a day! For some reason today like Forrest Gump I just
kept going. I started in Area 5 by Woosehill Roundabout and walked along
the brook stopping in Area 2 to the rear of Tesco's and then walked
back. In Area 5 this morning highlights were Swift,
Lesser black backed Gull, Moorhen, Bullfinch, Chiffchaff & Blackcap
. Area 3 along Molly Millars Lane is fairly industrial and the
birds reflect this with Pied Wagtail, Herring Gull
& Jackdaw . Area 2 to the rear of Tesco's is a stark contrast
to 3. The open farmland brings with it farmland birds. Approx 75 Jackdaws including many juveniles were noisily
feeding in the fields with Rooks . 10 House Martins were picking insects from above the
grass and a pair of Swallows gathering food
and then flying to the nearby nest to feed young. A pair of Stock Doves were also seen.

16/06/11 In Area 5 this morning at 06:50 a
Ring necked Parakeet flew E. Later at 18:00 a
pair of Kestrel were seen hunting over Area 8
by Monkey Mates on Old Forest Road.

12/06/11 A bit of a wet day allround. This
mornings amble saw me sheltering under the big Oak near Ripplestream
Bridge. On the open space behind the Acorn Centre the birds were
enjoying the softer ground conditions while foraging for food. They
included 25 Starlings ,.6 Wood Pigeons , 3 Greenfinch
, 1 Great spotted Woodpecker, 5 Blackbirds , 2 Song
Thrush & a juvenille Mistle
Thrush. A Red Kite was seen flying
over.

10//06/11 A probable Hobby . was seen flying over Area 4 near Meadow Rd
bridge this afternoon.

05/06/11

Bird sightings have remained the same over the last few
days with 20 + species being seen on most days. Highlight has been a
Red Kite seen regularly over Area 5 and 4
Canada Geese seen over Area 4 by Paul Bright
Thomas.

03/06/11 A House Martin
. was seen flying over Area 4 by Paul Bright Thomas this morning.
This is only the second sighting this year. House Martin used to be an
annual breeding bird in the Meadow Rd area.

01/06/11 In Area 4 & 5 (Riverside Walk )
this morning only 19 species of birds were seen and heard.The male Bullfinch continues his daily visit to feeders. As
the female has not be seen for a few days I suspect that she is sitting
on a nest nearby. . Summer migrants are still singing including Chiffchaff &; Blackcap . also noted were Nuthatch, Blackbird, Song Thrush, Mistle Thrush,Wood
Pigeon, Collared Dove, Stock Dove, Goldfinch, Greenfinch, Mallard, Blut
Tit, Great Tit,, House Sparrow, Moorhen, Magpie, Carrion Crow, , &
Wren

Insects/ Spiders

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27/06/11 This afternoon Meadow Brown & Large White butterflies were
seen in the Wildflower Meadow.

19/06/11 Another first for the FOTEB moth
list. This micro moth Pammene aurana
was seen on its larval host plant Hogweed alongside the Emm
to the rear of Morrisons.This moth has only 28 records in Berkshire, all
from the western half of the county, so this is a new one for the
Wokingham area.

18/06/11 More Meadow
Brown butterflies this morning in Area's 2 & 5. Also seen
were Speckled Wood, Large Skipper, Red Admiral &
Large White

Area 8 from the bridge on Old
Forest Rd to the motorway never disappoints and tonight was no
exception. My fleeting visit there produced my first stridulating
Orthoptera in the shape of a Roesel's Bush Cricket
. These Crickets have a yellow stripe around the pronatal flaps
which allways reminds me of a Nike swoosh. Also seen were other firsts
for the year Marbled White & Cinnabar
Moth.

16/06/11 Walking through the long grass in
Area 8 this evening disturbed numerous male Meadow
Brown butterflies. My first sighting this year. Also disturbed
were the day flying moths Agapeta hamana &
Celypha lacunana

12/06/11

Whilst sheltering from this mornings rain I started to
look at the Nettle patch near Ripplestream Bridge with good results.
There was large amounts of Cukoo Spit, this
mass of froth hlolds the nymphs of Froghoppers
. Also quite numerous were the pupae of the Harlequin Ladybird . Being beetles,
ladybirds are holometabolic, which means that like for example
butterflies and moths they have four stages in their development: the
egg, from which hatch larvae, which then become pupae, within which the
adult develops, complete with wings. Not unexpectadly a Green Nettle Weevil Phyllobicus pomaceus was
also present. The day flying micro moth Celypha lacunana was sitting on the nettles .
Apparently the nettle supports approx 40 species of insects so before
you cut them down stop & be nice to nettles.

04/06/11 A maleBanded
Demoiselle was seen this afternoon near Dragonfly Bridge in Area
5.

03/06/11 In at least 2 patches of nettles
in Area 5 the caterpillars of the Peacock
butterfly can be seen. A Comma
butterfly was also seen on todays walk. A tiny and newly emerged
Grasshopper was seen in Area 5. ID to follow.

02/06/11 With a warm day forcast I decided
to take the afternoon off and go on a bug hunt in Area 5 with great
results. Damselflies are finally on the wing with a first for me a Beautiful Demoiselle , later a male &
female were seen copulating. A Common Blue Damselfly
was near Dragonfly Bridge. A male Stag Beetle
was seen near Dragonfly Bridge. Butterflies were represented by
Speckled Wood & Small Tortioshell Also a
first for the year Small Skipper

01/06/11 Butterflies have not been very
visible of late, but this afternoon 3 separate Small
Tortoiseshell's were seen in Area's 4 & 5 this afternoon.

Other Wildlife

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Amphibians

Coarse Fish

Mammals

18/06/11 Roe deer
are one of only two species that can be considered indigenous to
the British Isles, the other being the Red deer. This mother and kid
were seen in Area 2 to the rear of Tesco's. Young Roe, born between late
May and early June, are called kids . At birth, Roe kids have a dark
brown coat which is heavily spotted with two distinct lines of white
spots running from the nape of the neck either side of the dorsal to the
rump. The sides and flanks are also spotted in white. The spots soon
begin to fade and are usually gone in about 8-10 weeks. The kids then
develop their first winter coat. Rabbits were
also seen.

12/06/11 Family groups of Squirrels were seen runing around the oak trees
today.

Plants/Trees

14/06/11 Seen this week and another first
for me were 2 Common Spotted Orchid .

12/06/11 Galls can be seen on the leaves
of the Elm . These bladder like galls are
caused by the aphid Tetraneura ulmi

05/06/11 Hazel nuts are just starting to
appear on trees along the brook. Brambles
are out in flower and providing a good nectar source for
Honey & Bumble Bees

02/06/11 Broad leaved
Pondweed (Potamogeton natans) can be seen in the Emm by
the pollarded Willows in Area 4.