The patch: 6 June

My first visit to the patch for a long time, concentrating on the east side of Staines Moor today. Between my ecological consultancy course, building the new REGUA website and other commitments, I haven't had very much time for birding at all this spring.

Staines Moor produced 1 very elusive Grasshopper Warbler in the thistles and sedges in the SE corner that showed fairly well briefly mid morning though was wasn't particularly vocal, 3 Redshank (1 off from the Colne NE and a very territorial pair beside the Colne, possibly with chicks nearby but I couldn't see any), 1m Lapwing with them that was also behaving a little territorially, 2+ Common Tern (fishing along the Colne and overhead), 1+ Little Egret, 1 Kingfisher and a single Coot all along the Colne, and 1m Tufted Duck flew W from the Colne early morning.

Also a flock of c250 mixed adult and juvenile Common Starling around the livestock, 1 Cetti's Warbler in the NE corner along Bonehead Ditch showed briefly, 3 Sedge Warbler, 5+ Linnet, 6 (5m) Reed Bunting, 1f Sparrowhawk, 2+ Kestrel (including 1 first yr m harassing a female), 2H Reed Warbler, lots of Meadow Pipit (several carrying food) and Skylark, 2 (1ad, 1 imm) Grey Heron, 4H Blackcap, 4H Chiffchaff, a flock of fledged Long-tailed Tits, and 2 (1m, 1f) Common Pheasant in the SE corner.

Logged overhead at Staines Moor were 2 (1m, 1f) Shelduck NNW, 2+ Hobby briefly, 3 Red Kite, 3+ Common Buzzard (including presumably the same pale individual), 2 (1m, 1f) Tufted Duck, 4 Barn Swallow, 9+ House Martin, several Common Swift and 2 Egyptian Geese low S.

Redshank are down to just a single pair this year from a peak of 23 adults and three young on Jun 12th 1999. Re-wetting the moor and encouraging winter flooding would almost certainly improve their numbers.

I didn't spent much time looking for bugs today, but a Cinnabar moth was my first this year, and several Banded Demoiselle and Common Blue Damselflies and lots of Downlooker Snipe-flies Rhagio scolopacea were noted amongst the irises.

Botany-wise, Staines Moor has turned yellow with Meadow Buttercups Ranunculus acris and Yellow iris Iris pseudacorus, with patches of Marsh Stitchwort Stellaria palustris, and along Bonehead Ditch lots of Water Forget-me-not Myosotis scorpioides. Just a single Cuckooflower Cardamine pratensis seen in flower today.

A fair amount of Marsh Stitchwort Stellaria palustris in flower today. This species requires areas where there is standing water in winter
and has declined considerably in southern and eastern England due to the drainage of wetlands and eutrophication from agriculture.
Now classified as Vulnerable on the Vascular Plant Red Data List for Great Britain and a UK BAP priority vascular plant species.

Stanwell Moor added 3(2H) Common Whitethroat, a pair of Canada Geese with two young and 4-5 Shelduck SE.

Moth dip at Thursley: 23 May

Made a late afternoon/early evening trip to Thursley Common to try and attract an Emperor Moth using pheromones (many thanks to Keith Kerr for the loan). No Emperor Moth (too cold maybe?) but some nice lowland heathland inverts, plants and birds.

Freshly emerged Four-spotted Chaser

Mangora acalypha - a small orb spider found locally on heaths mainly in south-east England

Pleurota bicostella - a common heathland specialist preferring damp areas. The larvae feed on heather. LOTS of these around today

Brassy Tortrix Eulia ministrana - prefers woodland but we found this one on the open heath

Plenty of Bogbean Menyanthes trifoliata flowering on the mire at the moment - an aquatic species of acid bogs, widespread but
scarce in south-east England now that many of the regions wetlands have been drained

Birds noted include 1m Dartford Warbler, 1 Woodlark, 2(1H) Tree Pipit, 3(1H) Common Cuckoo, 1m Stonechat, 1 Curlew, 2m Reed Bunting, 1 Skylark and 4 (2m, 2f) Tufted Duck. Also a few Common Lizard were seen on the boardwalks.

Hazel Dormice: 17 May

I've now started working towards obtaining my dormouse handling licence. Carried out two nest box surveys today - one at Sheepleas and another nearby at Green Dene - an area of ancient semi-natural woodland on the North Downs in Surrey comprised largely of hazel, beech and yew. Found five Hazel Dormice - an active male and three torpid females at Sheepleas (including two females together in a nest in the same box) and a single torpid female at Green Dene. Absolutely fantastic mammals and surely strong contenders for the cutest animal on Earth?

Female Hazel Dormouse in torpor, Sheepleas

Female Hazel Dormouse, Sheepleas - cuteness at the highest level!

Female Hazel Dormouse, Green Dene

Also noted today were 2 Roe Deer and a Roman Snail Helix pomatia at Sheepleas.

Roman Snail Helix pomatia, Sheepleas

Migration still slow: 24 April

Light SE winds produced a few more migrants at the patch today, though numbers of most are still very low.

At Staines Moor 1m Whinchat, 2 Cuckoo (1 NE corner, 1 over high W), 1 Garden Warbler, 1m Lesser Whitethtroat (NE corner), 2(H) Reed Warbler are all site year firsts. 5 Yellow Wagtail (inc. 4 (2m, 2f) around the livestock), 1+ Hobby, a 1st summer m Northern Wheatear, 1 House Martin and 5 Barn Swallow were also logged and 4 Common Whitethroat, 5(3H) Sedge Warbler and 4 Common Tern are all increases.

One of four Yellow Wagtail around the livestock today

Male Northern Wheatear today

Also noted at Staines Moor were 3+ Red Kite (including one landing beside the Colne briefly), 2+ Common Buzzard, 2(1m, 1f) Eurasian Sparrowhawk, 1+ Kestrel, 9 Greylag Goose (circled moor then off SW), 3+ Little Egret (Colne), 1 Pied Wagtail, 16-25 Linnet (a good count for this time of year), 2 Redshank, 3+ Northern Lapwing (inc. a territorial pair), 10(8m) Reed Bunting, 7 Skylark, 24 Meadow Pipit, 9(3H) Blackcap, 10(8H) Chiffchaff (inc. a pair nest building) and 3(H) Cetti's Warbler and a Mistle Thrush.

One of at least three Red Kite over Staines Moor today, this bird in heavy moult

My first Common Swift of the year flew over Stanwell Moor Village first thing, as well as a Red Kite, and Stanwell Moor added another Lesser Whitethroat (H), 1 Common Whitethroat, 3(2H) Sedge Warbler, 2(H) Cetti's Warbler (inc. new territory along Colne Valley Way near Stanwell Moor Village), 4(1H) Blackcap and 5(4H) Chiffchaff.

Thursley NNR: 22 April

A really pleasant day at Thursley Common in Surrey today (I couldn't face the prospect of seeing bugger all at the patch). My main aim was to look for reptiles and early dragonflies, but a cold fresh NE from mid-morning wind was far from ideal and I only managed one species of each - lots of Common Lizards Zootoca vivipara on the wooden boardwalks (both adults and young), and just a single female Large Red Damselfly Pyrrhosoma nymphula.

Common Lizard Zootoca vivipara - the boardwalks at Thursley Common are a great place to see them

Common Lizard Zootoca vivipara - note how this one has flattened its body to maximise surface area facing the sun

Today's female Large Red Damselfly Pyrrhosoma nymphula. The black legs help separate from Small Red Damselfly Ceriagrion
tenellum. Note the pterostigma is yellowish and not blackish - perhaps because newly emerged?

Some good birds seen today. Summer visitors noted were 2+ Hobby (hunting insects overhead), 2 Eurasian Curlew (presumably a pair on the peat bog), 1(H) Common Whitethroat (bog), 1m Common Redstart (singing around the Moat), 1 Tree Pipit (singing) and 1m Common Cuckoo. 5 Barn Swallow (mainly NW) constituted the only vis mig overhead.

Other species logged were 2 Woodlark (pair, with a male watched singing, in display flight and feeding on the fire breaks), 1m Yellowhammer (bog), 4(3m) Stonechat, Red Kite E, 2 Common Buzzard, several Linnet (a couple seen but mainly heard), 2 Tufted Duck (pair on the bog), 2+ Kestrel, 1(H) Dartford Warbler, 1(H) Siskin, Coal Tit (H), 2 Greylag Goose N, 1 Grey Heron (Moat) and a Canada/Barnacle Goose hybrid with a Canada Goose on the Moat pond.

Also, lots of Devil's Matchstick Cladonia floerkeana lichen growing on the sandy soil amongst the heather.

Devil's Matchstick Cladonia floerkeana

Catching up with spring at the patch: 21 April

A few underwhelming hours at the patch today - my first visit in over month after being chained to a computer and missing out on some good local spring migration. Unlike last week when I was away on a course, the weather conditions today were shite for migration or any falls, with a cool NE wind and clear sky.

Vis mig over Staines Moor amounted to, wait for it, 2 Sand Martin N (my first of the year - that's how much I've managed to get out birding this spring) and 2 Barn Swallow N. Staines Moor also produced 1 Hobby (hunting), 1+ Common Tern (fishing along the Colne), 1 Common Whitethroat, 2(2H) Sedge Warbler (mainly NE corner), 1m Blackcap, 4(3H) Chiffchaff, 2 Redshank (Colne) and 2 Northern Lapwing.

Also noted were 10+ Linnet, 3 Red Kite (presumably local wanderers), 1+ Common Buzzard (local bird), 1 Little Egret (Colne), 5(2m) Reed Bunting, 2 Pied Wagtail (Colne), 1 Eurasian Sparrowhawk, 2+ Kestrel, 9+ Meadow Pipit (several displaying) and 2 Egyptian Goose E.

One of the Long-tailed Tits nests found last month now has chicks, given away by the adults regularly bringing in flying insects and caterpillars and removing faecal sacks. One bird, presumably the female, would also occasionally spend a few minutes incubating between foraging.

Incubating Long-tailed Tit today

Lots of Cuckoo Flower Cardamine pratensis and some Marsh Marigold Caltha palustris are now in flower, and butterflies were out in force with many Holly Blue, Orange-tip, Green-veined White, Peacock, and a couple of Brimstone and Small Tortoiseshell seen.

Stanwell Moor produced 1H Cuckoo, 6(3m, 1f, 2H) Blackcap, 1H Sedge Warbler and 6(2H) Chiffchaff, 2(1m) Reed Bunting, 2(H) Cetti's Warbler, and at Stanwell Moor Village 4+ House Martin, 1 Barn Swallow and 1-2 Red Kite were noted.

A beaver on the Otter: 16 April

In Devon this week staying with good friends Jaffa and Helen in Budleigh Salterton while on a ecological consultancy course run by Acorn Ecology. The course has been excellent - I've learn't loads and met some really nice people.

After three failed attempts earlier in the week, this evening Jaffa and I finally connected with one of the Eurasian Beavers Castor fiber that have been introduced on the River Otter in Devon at his local patch. There are apparently nine animals - two pairs and five immatures. Defra agency APHA caught five of them to test for diseases such at bovine TB and Tularaemia and to ascertain the species, and after huge public pressure, re-released them back on the Otter once they we found to be disease free.

Jaffa has become obsessed with the beavers, visiting most evenings and observing their behaviour (check out his blog). In fact, he has become so obsessed with them that he has even named the pair on his patch - Gordon (a male with green ear tags) and Patricia (a female with pink ear tags). Helen and I are more than a little concerned about the amount of time he is spending with them, and wouldn't be at all surprised if he started swimming around and eating willow himself soon.

Female Eurasian Beaver Castor fiber on the River Otter this evening, doing what beavers do - swim about and eat willow

Pat, complete with huge pink earrings

Also notable during the week were a Slow Worm Anguis fragilis and a Grass Snake Natrix natrix at the Westpoint Centre near Clyst St Mary on 14 April (with the Grass Snake again on 15th).

Slow Worm Anguis fragilis, Westpoint Centre, Devon, 14 April - the dark sides indicate this is a female