Walking around Flora field we saw 6 wheatears (2 in above photo), plus a lapwing in big meadow (see below) and a busy blackbird.
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Month: April 2017
Bird activity 21 April
Good variety of birds seen on an afternoon walk. Most spotted on the Pads from the canal. Wrens, a thrush, chaffinches, great tits,sparrows, crows, blackbirds, a robin, all seen going down to the orchard, plus a good display by two lapwings over the arable field. A large flock of goldfinches seen just before the orchard.
Hoverflies in the Orchard
Lovely sunny day so visited the Orchard this afternoon (23.04.2017) to enjoy the wildlife. So much buzzing about! I like the top path – the path is mown but the vegetation around is allowed to grow. Lots of interesting flies, bees and wasps make use of this. Lots of Speckled Wood butterflies and male Orange-tip Butterflies. Saw over a dozen of the latter but no females with their black tipped wings.
Spent some time watching which insects were visiting the apple blossom. Most numerous were the honey bees, these being followed by several species of hoverflies and other flies, with finally just a few solitary bees. There are many factors influencing numbers such as time of day, weather and, not least, the influence of the observer (me). Social and solitary bees are fairly tolerant of human proximity but flies are much more ready to fly or stay away at any sign of human movement.
Hoverflies are called the gardener’s friend because not only are they valuable pollinators but in their larval stage (the caterpillar stage) many are voracious aphid carnivores. I took a photo of two species of hoverfly on the apple blossom – a Syrphus (black and yellow wasp-mimic) and a Platycheirus albimanus. It is just possible to see that the Syrphus is a male (the eyes meet at the top of the head) and the P. albimanus is a female (the eyes are separated at the top of the head).
Two hoverflies
Fly of the Day – Platycheirus albimanus
A widespread and familiar hoverfly that likes woodland margins, hedgerows and gardens and that is especially conspicuous in May. The larval stages are predaceous on aphids on various plants and bushes including on apple trees so they, and other hoverfly larvae, will be important contributors to Orchard health.
Platycheirus albimanus
New Calf
Another new calf, born either yesterday or this morning. Both mother and calf well and judging by the size of mother’s udder the calf should thrive! Also a brown hare in Pony Wood, two Lapwings and one Oyster catcher in FLORA field.
Lapwing over Flora Field
A lapwing was swooping and diving over Flora Field between 4 and 4.30 this afternoon. It occasionally landed and then was off again. I first observed it whilst walking on the Pads footpath and it was still in evidence as I walked back along the canal.
Birds seen in Fairfield this afternoon
Walking around Fairfield this afternoon we saw a meadow pipit in the Alder tree, plus this wheatear in the arable field (centre of picture)
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Wheatear numbers are down, so far, this year because the weather conditions are making it difficult for birds to cross the Channel.
We also saw a kestrel quartering the arable field and a song thrush in the field.
New Calf born on Good Friday
Photo shows calf about 3 hours after birth.
The proud mum!
Song Thrush
A song thrush is singing in the rain on the border of Lower Sowerholme and Aldcliffe Rd gardens.
Hares
Two brown hares observed at the gate between the Fauna path and the eastern gate into the Grammar School Field. They disappeared under the hedge and possibly across the Hay Meadow before I could follow them.
Butterfly
Orange tip butterflies observed in the Orchard and Paddock whilst we were volunteering yesterday