Good Year/Bad Year

This is just my opinion based on observation of the fauna seen in the Moat House grounds.

Good Year - Butterflies, Ducks, Song Thrushes

Butterflies - see earlier posts regarding species and quantities seen this year. I don't know whether this has been a good year generally or whether it is factors peculiar to the site. One difference this year is that the small field next to the church has not been cut. Even today (2 Oct) I saw three species just on one patch of ivy (Peacock, Red Admiral and Speckled Wood)

Ducks - there was not the quantity of mallard ducklings born this year that there was last but even so there were several broods seen on the moat. However the first brood born, who stayed on site, were a joy to watch, being both well-behaved and spending time on the lawn which seemed almost friendly. Also to have the new species of Tufted Ducks just turning up and staying was brilliant.

Song Thrushes - whereas there have been a few thrushes on site before there just seemed to be young thrushes all over the place this year and lots of singing which is the best bit with song thrushes........

Bad Year - Bees, Ladybirds, Dragonflies

Bees - there have been pieces in the press regarding problems with honey bees and diseases but I noticed a distinct lack of bumble bees this year.

Ladybirds - Very few have been seen this year.

Dragonflies - I only have two species that have in past years been definitely identified and regularly seen - the Southern Hawker and the Common Darter. However this year I have only seen Southern Hawkers on three or four days and then only one individual. No Common Darters have been seen. Being away for ten days in August and then two weeks in September may mean this is a false view of the prevalence of dragonflies. I wonder whether the glut of mallards over the last couple of years, the appearance of the kingfisher last summer and then the presence of the four tufted ducks mean that anything that moves in the moat, such as a dragonfly larva, gets eaten.

Sparrowhawk???

I found this pile of pigeon feathers in the garden close to the moat. I hope that it is a sparrowhawk's work and I have seen a sparrowhawk take a dove from the garden before. If a cat or fox was responsible I would be concerned for other birds such as the tufted ducklings.

Dryad's Saddle - back again

The Dryad's Saddle that has taken my beech trunk seat as its home has made its annual appearance. The fruiting body is growing very fast - a further photograph will be taken when it reaches full size.

Tufted Ducklings

The female duck has not been seen for the last week or so. The ducklings stick fairly closely together just as they did when under parental control. I have no idea whether this is normal and the ducklings are at the stage of being left to get on with it or whether something has happened to the parent. They certainly have grown significantly since they appeared but they are not as old as mallards that are still with mum.

Butterfly update

Over the last week there have been a few sunny days and most of the butterfly species seen this year have been out and about including Comma, Peacock, Speckled Wood, Gatekeeper, Meadow Brown, Green Veined White, at least one other species of White, a species of Blue and Red Admiral. Species seen earlier in the year but not in the last week include Ringlet, Brimstone, Orange Tip, Small Skipper (probably - see below) and Small Tortoiseshell. All in all a good year for butterflies with some large numbers of some species seen. I struggle a bit with identification of butterflies that need close examination to ID them as I don't like to even capture them for observation let alone kill them. I recently checked the sources on the Small Skipper and found that the almost indistinguishable Essex Skipper has also been found close to here as it is spreading from the South East. The main differences seem to be in the colour of the undersides of the antennae and in the angle of a marking on the male upper wing. I am now re-examining photographs to see if I can confirm which type of skipper we have or indeed if we have both.

Two new species - both welcome

The last couple of days has yielded two new species for the database - Field Mushroom and Green Dock Beetle. The Field Mushroom is welcome for obvious reasons (tonight's tea) and the Green Dock Beetle is a welcome organic dock control mechanism. I have only seen the larvae rather than the adult - they are currently stripping dock leaves at a rate of knots.

Grass snake spotted today

For only the second time I saw a grass snake swimming in the moat. I was watching the ducks around mid day when I heard a little splash and saw a snake plop into the water about two metres away. They swim brilliantly - a very sinuous movement. It was about 400mm to 500mm long and surprisingly thin. The much fatter snake that I saw part of, a while back ,must have been pretty long if the proportions stay the same.