FRIDAY
JULY 15 - 2011
BROOK
MEADOW
Ash
key galls
The Ash tree on the
railway embankment which overhangs the north path of
Brook Meadow still has the key galls from last year's
infection. Most galls are caused by insects, but these
are caused by an eriophyid mite called Eriophyes
Fraxinivorus, one of the arachnid family. These tiny
mites feed on the male flower clusters of the ash tree
in the early spring season and in doing so transform
them into irregular, fringed masses. These masses
persist for up to two years and become more noticeable
when the leaves drop in the fall. The masses will be
green early in the season when they are newly formed,
but will turn black as they dry. There are also some
key galls on an Ash tree on the Westbourne Open Space
wayside.
Plant
news
I came across several
newly flowering plants. The first Marsh Woundwort
spikes are in flower at the north end of the
Bramble path. What beautiful flowers they are, as good
as any orchid.
Purple Loosestrife
is in full flower on the east bank about 20 metres
south of the north bridge. It has been out for some
while in the garden of Gooseberry Cottage, which is
where, I suspect, our plants originated.
The first Wild
Angelica is flowering on the Lumley area with its
rounded flower head covered in red Soldier (bonking)
Beetles.
Meanwhile, Lesser
Stitchwort is still in flower on the cross path at the
north end of the south meadow as are the Harebells by
the Southern Marsh Orchids. Stone Parsley is also
flowering as usual on the Seagull Lane patch and along
Lumley Road. But, there is no sign of the Blue Water
Speedwell that I usually find on the west bank of the
Lumley Stream. It is out and flowering on the
Westbrook Stream on Bridge Road Wayside.
Square-stalked St John's-wort is out on the orchid
area.
Trees
The fallen Crack
Willow witnessed by Pam Phillips this morning has been
removed from the main river path, but it was a huge
tree and its branches are all over the river below the
S-bend. There are no cherries on the tree on the
causeway this year, though I am sure there was
blossom. However, there are sweet cherries on a
similar tree on the east side of the Lumley Stream on
the edge of Lumley Road.
Butterflies
Meadow Browns,
Gatekeepers, Commas and various whites are common on
the meadow, but little else.
Hedgehog
I was surprised to
come across an adult Hedgehog, breathing and alive
near the Lumley Stream. I did not disturb it, but it
shuffled off as I passed by. This was the first
Hedgehog I have seen on Brook Meadow since 2005.
Brown
Rat
Pam Phillips thought
she saw a Water Vole this morning, but as it ran along
the bank she realised it was a Brown Rat. It was just
south of the culvert above the north bridge where Pam
has seen Water Voles in the past.
PETER
POND NEWS
Trevor Carter saw a
Reed Warbler feeding at least 2 young in the
reeds to the north of Peter Pond. The males have been
singing like mad this spring on Peter Pond, and it is
good to hear that they have bred successfully.
Hopefully they or their offspring will be back next
year.
Trevor also watched 2
birds on the edge of one of David Gattrell's nest
boxes on Peter Pond, about the size of a Greenfinch,
but dull brown down their back and head, cream/off
white underneath with a very thin pale eye stripe,
they also had the beginning of a brown showing from
the shoulder to the chest, like a waistcoat for want
of a better description. My guess is that they were
young Reed Buntings which we do occasionally see in
the Peter Pond reedbeds.
INSECT
SURVEY OF WAYSIDES
Entomologist, Bryan
Pinchen came to Emsworth on Wednesday July 13 to carry
out an insect survey of four of the Emsworth waysides.
Jane Brook and I accompanied Bryan during the day and
were amazed by the sheer number of insects that live
in the waysides. Every time Bryan swept his net
through the vegetation he came up with hundreds, maybe
thousands, of insects, mostly tiny insignificant
little creatures that one would never normally see,
but which are all a vital part of the life and ecology
of the sites.
He recorded several
varieties of bumblebees, bees, wasps, grasshoppers,
ladybirds, bugs, flies and spiders. He also had a look
at the many ant hills which are springing up on the
waysides, finding both black and red ants. Insects
which stood out for us were the male and female
Roesel's Bush-crickets, with female having a strongly
curved ovipositor, lots of very attractive Forest
Shield Bugs with its square shoulders and distinctive
orange spot on its back, the familiar Marmalade Hover
Fly which migrates in swarms across the sea from the
Continent and its larvae eats aphids.
My report on the day
with a selection of photos is on the Emsworth waysides
web site at . . .
http://www.emsworthwaysides.hampshire.org.uk/few-NEWS.htm
THURSDAY
JULY 14 - 2011
BRIDGE
ROAD WAYSIDE
I found two more
plants to add to this year's list on the Bridge Road
wayside, one new for the site, the other not seen for
a couple of years.
Sulphur
Cinquefoil
The first was a
buttercup-type flower with whorls of sharply toothed
leaflets up the stem. The flowers with slightly
notched petals and the leaves reminded me of
Cinquefoil, but unlike any other I had seen before.
This one was erect with a firm stem, not like the
regular Creeping Cinquefoil. The whole plant was very
hairy and I think it must be Sulphur Cinquefoil. An
alien garden escape. The plant is about three paces
north of the waysides conservation sign on the
southern verge.
From The New Atlas:
"A perennial herb,
originating from gardens or as a contaminant of grass
seed and naturalised on waste ground, roadside banks
and grassy places; rarely occurring as a casual.
Lowland.
Neophyte (change
+0.99). P. recta was introduced into Britain by 1648,
and was known from the wild by 1858 (Middlesex). It
seems to have become more frequent since the 1962
Atlas, but this may be an artefact of better
recording. A European Boreo-temperate species,
naturalised in Scandinavia north of its native range,
and in N. America."
It is described as
rare in The Hants Flora.
Blue
Water Speedwell (hybrid)
What must be Blue
Water Speedwell has suddenly appeared on a small area
of silt on the eastern side of the Westbrook Stream
just south of the central shrubbery. I have been
looking for it regularly this year. I first saw it
here in 2008 and then again in 2009, but I did not
find it last year. I feared it may have been removed
by the Environment Agency in their clearance of the
stream following the floods in February of this year.
I got down into the
low water stream to have a good look at it. There are
two small plants which are growing on a very thin
layer of silt no more than a cm in depth above the
solid concrete floor of the stream. To give them a
better chance I scooped up the two plants and
repositioned them on a more solid base of silt close
to the Bulrushes further down stream, where they will
also get more protection when the level of the stream
rises.
The flowering spikes
are not yet fully developed, but it looks like the
hybrid between Blue Water Speedwell and Pink Water
Speedwell - Veronica x Lackschewitzii which we have
had in previous years. I shall need to check the
number of flowers on the racemes when it develops. The
Plant Crib 1998 (p. 263) gives a mean of 25 flowers
(range 15-40) for the pure form and a mean of 60
(range 30-90 for the hybrid. The flowers are only just
starting on the plant in the Westbrook Stream, so I
have not been able to check the number of flowers on
the racemes to establish if it is the
hybrid.
RAGWORT
Anyone who is in any
doubt that horses do not eat Common Ragwort should
have a look at the animals feeding in a field full of
the stuff to the west of Emsworth Recreation Ground.
They are nibbling away at the very sparse grass on the
ground, while completely ignoring the lush leaves of
the ragwort plants all around them. They are not daft!
TUESDAY
JULY 12 - 2011
EMSWORTH
NEWS
Swifts
Swifts are back.
Between 15 and 20 were flying around the houses in
Bridge Road this morning, the most I have seen in this
area this year. Some were flying around the area for
much of the day.
Musk
Mallow
Musk Mallow is
flowering, as in previous years, on the edge of the
reedbeds on the west side of Peter Pond, right beside
Gooseberry Cottage. This is a perennial plant with
distinctive pale pink flowers and deeply cut leaves.
There are many more flowers than I recall having seen
here before. Common Mallow is flowering further along
the path towards the main road for comparison. I first
saw these plants here on 11-Jul-07 and they have
flowered every year since then. This is the only place
I am aware for Musk Mallow in the Emsworth area.
Oraches
I had a look at the
orches on the Emsworth east beach near the steps to
The Fisherman's. What looked like Spear-leaved Orache
with triangular lower leaves was prominent along with
Grass-leaved Orache. However, there was some smaller
plants with triangular leaves which looked rather like
the Babbington's Orache that I saw on the Northney
shore on Sunday.
Possible
Babbington's Orache on Emsworth east beach
Other
plant news
Hoary Ragwort
is just starting to flower for the first time this
year on Brook Meadow above the causeway.
Purple
Loosestrife is in full flower around the pond in
the garden of Gooseberry Cottage, but I have yet to
see any on the river bank on Brook Meadow.
Wild Carrot
seedheads are covered with red Soldier Beetles, on
the path to the west of Peter Pond. Also on this path
are the round seed heads of Goat's-beard.
Gipsywort and
Giant Fescue are growing together on the west bank of
the river immediately below and to the south of the
south bridge. Gipsywort is also growing on the west
bank north of the south bridge.
Maidenhair
Spleenwort fern is looking very good on the wall
of the Waterside Church in Bath Road.
Ladies Bedstraw
is flowering well on the millpond grass verge of
Bath Road. Also Bird's-foot Trefoil and Common
Stork's-bill are out further south along the verge.
Flax is flowering on the millpond seawall near
the Slipper Sailing Club. The first time I recall
seeing it here.
The large yellow
daisies of Perennial Sow-thistle are showing up
very well in various areas of the town. They are
particularly striking on the A259 embankment wayside
near the Emsworth Surgery.
NORE
BARN MEETING
This evening I
attended the outdoor meeting of the Havant
Conservation Forum in Nore Barn Woods. This included a
tour of the site by members of the conservation group.
Roy Ewing explained the conservation work in the
woodland, mainly clearing Hawthorn undergrowth to
allow more flowers to flourish. They have also been
pollarding some of the Hawthorns to encourage growth
and to prevent them falling.
Another member of the
group explained the attempts that have been made to
obtain funding for the reinforcement of the gap in the
seawall south of the woods. Martin Hampton questioned
the need for this work, in that the natural forces of
the sea had created an interesting and varied habitat
along the shore, exposing layers of geology and
providing areas for insects. To reinforce this area
would inevitably destroy this habitat. This is a valid
point, which the Nore Barn conservation group need to
take into consideration.
Wildlife
observations
My first juvenile
Black-headed Gull of the year was in the stream. A
Bullfinch was calling in the woods. Roy said
there had been no reports of Sparrowhawk
nesting in the woods this year.
There is a fine
display of flowering Selfheal in the woods. I
had my first Sea Aster flowers of the year on
the saltmarshes west of the stream. I found yet more
Phleum grasses with very small inflorescences, which
might be Smaller Cat's-tail. I am finding this
everywhere at present.
NORTHNEY
PLANT SURVEY
On Sunday July 10, I
accompanied John Norton and his colleague Debbie in a
survey of plants in the Northney (1k square 7204) area
as part of the BSBI Plant Atlas tetrad SU70. I say
'accompanied', for as a non-botanist I was not able to
contribute much to the survey, but I did learn a good
deal and was shown some new plants for me. We walked
along the Northney shore towards the hotel and onto
the chalky mound by the sailing club.
Here are the plants I
noted of interest. John will be sending the complete
list.
Babbington's
Orache ?
There was a mass of
low growing Oraches on the shingle beach to the west
of the first lay-by. They were rather like
Spear-leaved Orache but fleshier and prostrate. John
thought they might be Babbington's Orache, which is
only found on sea shores. We found the leaves snapped
as indicated by the Poland vegetative book, though
later we found that Spear-leaved Orache leaves also
snapped, so maybe this is not reliable indicator of
Babbington's Orache.
Wild
Celery
Wild Celery in flower
in the southern roadside ditch. This is new for 1k
square 7204, but not for the SU70 tetrad. It is also
recorded in three more 1k squares to the south of
where we were and the Tournerbury area.
John
and Debbie at the site of the Wild Celery
Hound's-tongue
Hound's-tongue is a
rare plant we found growing on the chalky bank to the
east of the main saltmarshes at Grid Ref: SU 72560432.
John says it also occurs at Sandy Point and Francis
Rose recorded it at Sinah. This record will be the
first localised record for SU70 (there is a historical
record for the Havant area).
Other
plants
Strawberry
Clover in flower on roadside. Perennial Glasswort
on the muddy shore. False Fox Sedge and Spiked Sedge
in the roadside ditch towards the hotel. Divided
Sedge on the south roadside mostly without the
usual bract over the inflorescence. Short-styled
Field Rose - on the chalky bank to the east of the
saltmarshes near to the sailing club.
On top of bank:
Yellow-wort, Common Centaury, Pyramidal Orchids (Grid
Ref: SU 7255 0425) and Hoary Willowherb mostly with
closed up leaves.
Birds
A Whimbrel flew over
calling
MONDAY
JULY 11 - 2011
WAYSIDES
SURVEYS
Jane Brook and I
continued our regular weekly plant surveys of the
Emsworth waysides. Today we concentrated on those in
North Emsworth.
We spent most time on
the wayside alongside Southleigh Road (west) which is
now burgeoning with plants and insects. Of interest
were Biting Stonecrop on the Horndean Road traffic
island and Smaller Cat's-tail and Rough Chervil on the
main verge. We decided to include the uncut verge to
the west of the farm entrance as part of the wayside
site. The overall total for this wayside is now 103,
making it the first wayside to pass the 100 mark apart
from Bridge Road.
The fenced area of
grassland adjacent the Spencer's Field estate is
looking very good and has the advantage of not being a
through route so people would not normally walk on it.
We added Meadow Vetchling to the list, though not in
flower.
There is a fine
display of flowering Bird's-foot Trefoil on the
Greville Green (west) site. Jane located the seed
heads of the solitary Common Spotted Orchid which we
hope will spread to produce more plants in the coming
years.
The full report is on
the waysides web site . . . http://www.emsworthwaysides.hampshire.org.uk/few-NEWS.htm
BLACK
DARTER
Ralph Hollins
commented on Heather's Vagrant Darter dragonfly at
Iping Common on Saturday.
"I am always a bit
dubious about going for a rare species when there are
commoner ones that might fit the bill and I have
searched the British Dragonfly Soc webpages for
reports of Vagrant Darter back to the beginning of
June but found none. Thinking of likely heathland
species Black Darter came to mind and does match your
photo in three significant aspects. First is the all
black legs, second is the boldness of the four
pterostigmas at the wing tips (in Black Darter they
too are black), and third is the marking on the side
of the thorax - your picture shows at least two yellow
spots (should be three) in the black stripe. He refers
to the photo on the dragonfly web site which shows the
all black legs in both sexes, the wing tip
pterostigmas in the male picture (they are the same in
the female), and the yellow dots in the black thoracic
stripe in the female."
http://www.british-dragonflies.org.uk/species/black-darter
The Black Darter
identification is also supported by John Bogle who
says, "Going by the markings on the tip of the tail I
would say it is a Black Darter which I have seen
before at Iping this time of year."
ADDERS
John Bogle reported
sightings of Adders on a walk around Queen Elisabeth
Country Park on Sunday (July 10).
"On exploring some of
the corrugated iron sheets used for reptile monitoring
on the park I managed to finally get myself some
Hampshire Adders! First sheet resulted in my first
Adder, second a slow worm, third a mass of about 20
slow worms, then I managed to find an adder basking on
an exposed log. A little further on I found what I
thought would be an excellent spot and found a sheet
of iron with two adders underneath and there were
another 3 basking in the open. A bit of an adder
hotspot! One has what appears to be orange paint on
it. I am guessing the park rangers must be marking
some of them to monitor their movements?"
CAUTION
- Reptile research in Queen Elizabeth Country Park
Steve Peach, the
Conservation Ranger for the Queen Elizabeth Country
Park, contacted me to express his concern about this
report that corrugated iron sheets on the park have
been lifted to reveal Adders and Slow-worms. Steve
asked me to make clear to our readers who might go
into the park that these tins are part of a research
project and by lifting and inspecting them it can
compromise that research and damage the reptiles.
During the last two weeks they have found a number of
dead reptiles under the tins, their deaths being
caused by people lifting the tins and not replacing
them properly leading to the reptiles being crushed.
So, if you do walk
round the Queen Elizabeth Country Park and see any
sheets of corrugated iron, please, please, do not
disturb them. The welfare of wildlife is always our
top priority, not seeing or photographing them. Steve
says they run regular guided walks showing people the
tins and are happy to talk to individuals about the
Reptile Project and our research.
SUNDAY
JULY 10 - 2011
BROOK
MEADOW
Plants
There is a new growth
of Stone Parsley and flowering just inside the Seagull
Lane gate. Wild Carrot flowering for first time on the
meadow this year on the east path through the north
meadow. The Harebells are still in flower near to
where the Southern Marsh Orchids have now gone to
seed. There appears to be one plant with about 10
flowers. Timothy is now flowering well on the
east side of the north meadow.
Timothy
in flower
Sharp-flowered
Rush is standing tall and flowering well on the
west side of the Lumley area Square-stalked St
John's-wort is out on the east side of the Lumley
area. Creeping Bent-grass is widespread on the south
eastern corner patch.
Sharp-flowered
Rush
There is a good patch
of Gipsywort on the western river bank beneath
and to the south of the south bridge. Giant
Fescue is growing well on both banks of the river
south of the south bridge. Another tuft of Giant
Fescue on the path through Palmer's Road Copse south
of the large leaning Crack Willow. This is in addition
to the tufts on the centre path to the car park.
Giant
Fescue below the south bridge with Gipsywort
Mammals
Some creature has made
a hole in one of the new scrapings on the embankment
in the south eastern corner of the south meadow.
OTHER
NEWS
A Blue-tailed
Damselfly was a first for the Bridge Road Wayside
this morning.
Colin Vanner got an
excellent photo of a beautiful Green Lacewing
(possibly Chrysoperia carnea) in his garden today.
IPING
COMMON
Heather Mills sent
some photos from yesterday's walk by the Havant
Wildlife Group on Iping and Stedham Commons.
Heather
saw this Purple Hairstreak in an Ash tree in the car
park
Heather
also got this fine image of a Silver-studded
Blue
Heather
thought this might be a Vagrant Darter
However,
Vagrant Darter is a rare migrant to Britain and is not
easy to separate from Common Darter.
The full report is on
a separate page. Go to . . . Saturday
walks - reports
SATURDAY
JULY 9 - 2011
STANSTED
FOREST
Jean and I walked
through the main avenue of Stansted Forest this
afternoon from the main car park to Rowlands Castle
and back along the Ornamental Way. The main Avenue was
literally bristling with grasses of many species. The
very delicate Bent-grasses, in particular, were
prominent and gave a pink sheen to the area.
I checked the
identification of several of the Bents and, with short
rounded ligules, they appeared to be Common
Bent-grass. Some tall Bents growing in tufts were
probably Black Bent-grass. I also found Smaller
Cat's-tail, which is similar to Timothy, but has
much shorter inflorescences. Thousands of grasshoppers
were hopping around in the grasses. The large round
seedheads of Goat's-beard and the white umbels of Wild
Carrot stood out on the grassland.
Silver-washed
Fritillaries were everywhere on the edge of the
woodland paths close to Rowlands Castle, more than I
have ever seen at one time and place before. They were
highly active and not easy to photograph, but I
managed to capture one. Some of them looked tatty.
OTHER
NEWS
Sand
Spurrey Confirmed
The mystery
sea-spurrey that I first found on a path at Sinah
Common on July 1st, which I thought at first was Rock
Sea-spurrey, then possibly Lesser Sea-spurrey, has
been confirmed by Martin Rand as Sand Spurrey
(Spergularia rubra). Martin has examined the sample I
sent him and says the seeds are all about 0.5mm, and
the stipules are silvery and have clearly never been
fused for much of their length, a key feature.
My
thanks to Peter Millinets-Raby for one last look at
the Sand Spurrey. Nice to have met you!
The Hants Flora
describes Sand Spurrey as 'locally common' and Map 82
shows it to be present all along the south coast of
Portsea and Hayling Island. Sadly, it is not as rare
as Rock Sea-spurrey.
My
only encounter with Rock Sea-spurrey was on the cliffs
at Gwbert near Cardigan in Wales in August 2008. I
shall look for it again when we return to this idyllic
spot later this month.
Holly
Blue
We had a Holly Blue
flying in the garden today, the first of the summer
brood. Holly Blue have two broods, one in the spring
and one in summer. It lays its eggs on Holly in the
spring and Ivy in the summer. Interestingly, we get
them in both spring and summer, though we only have
Ivy in the garden and no Holly. The Holly Blue
overwinters as a chrysalis in a crevice or on the
ground.
Old
Lady Moths
Mike Wells discovered
four Old Lady moths in a dark corner of his ivy-clad,
wooden shed/summerhouse conversion in Cowplain. Mike
says this solved a long-standing mystery as to what
large green droppings were that had appeared on a
daily basis at the base of the ivy. His ID book states
that this moth will roost in sheds, and also that the
caterpillars feed on ivy.
Kingfishers
We have had several
sightings of early returning Kingfishers in the Brook
Meadow area over the past couple of weeks. On his
regular early morning walk around the meadow Maurice
Lillie spotted another one, sitting on a branch near
the tunnel mouth under the railway in the northeast
corner. It flew into the tunnel as Maurice approached.
Kingfishers do not breed on the meadow, but probably
further up stream. They do however, tend to move down
to the coast after breeding and particularly as winter
approaches.
Silver-washed
Fritillary
Richard Somerscocks
saw a Silver-washed Fritillary at Nore Barn Woods this
afternoon. It was a bit damaged but probably as a
result of all the wet and windy weather over the last
few days. I noticed that some of those in Stansted
Forest this afternoon were also badly damaged. This
was probably a first for Nore Barn Woods? Are they
more numerous than usual this year?
FRIDAY
JULY 8 - 2011
NORTHNEY
I had a brief walk
between the showers this morning on the saltmarshes on
the north shore at Northney. There is a superb swathe
of Common Sea-lavender, the best I have seen
anywhere locally, but no sign of any Lax-flowered
Sea-lavender. I also saw some good patches of
Saltmarsh Rush and Soft Rush along with Sea Plantain
and Golden Samphire in flower and a bit of Sea
Arrowgrass. I was intending to go onto North Common
but the heavens opened and I made my way home.
SEA-SPURREY
ON SINAH COMMON
It
is not Rock Sea-spurrey
Ralph Hollins now
thinks the Sea-spurrey that I found on Sinah Common on
July 1 was unlikely to be Rock Sea-spurrey as the
flowers are much too small, and is more likely to be
Lesser Sea-spurrey. The flowers should be at least 8mm
across for Rock Sea-spurrey, but all were, in fact,
less than 4mm across when I measured them on July 6,
more the size expected in Lesser Sea-spurrey. On the
basis of these facts, Martin Rand is inclined to
agree, though has yet to see the samples I sent to
him.
John Norton has also
looked at my photos of the Sinah Common Sea-spurrey
and points out the fact that it is growing as a mat on
the ground pretty much rules out Rock Sea-spurrey,
which normally grows in larger cushions on rocks and
walls by the sea.
But
maybe Sand Spurrey?
John suggested a third
possible identification of the Sinah Common plants,
which I had not considered before - Sand Spurrey
(Spergula rubra). Sand Spurrey has prominent silvery
stipules and the right sized flowers. it also occurs
on dry heathy grassland and trampled paths, which is
exactly the habitat of the Sinah Common plants. The
flowers are also pink and small like Lesser
Sea-spurrey.
The
plants on Sinah Common - 1 July 2011
Comparing my own
photos of the Sinah Common plants with those of Sand
Spurrey on the internet shows a remarkable similarity
in the sprawling nature of the plants and their
flowers. I await Martin Rand's view with interest.
Sand
Spurrey photo from the internet
BULLFINCHES
Patrick Murphy was
very lucky today to have visit by both male and female
Bullfinches to his garden. Only a fleeting visit but
long enough to get a couple of snaps.
WEDNESDAY
JULY 6 - 2011
NORE
BARN
Lesser
Sea-spurrey
I went to Nore Barn to
the west of Emsworth this morning mainly to have a
look at the Lesser Sea-spurrey (Spergularia marina)
which grows in some abundance on the saltmarshes to
the west of the stream. I wanted to compare it with
the possible Rock Sea-spurrey that I found on Sinah
Common yesterday.
There were not many
flowers on the Lesser Sea-spurrey plants, but the ones
that were there were certainly small, with petals less
than 4mm long, and shorter than the sepals. They
looked much the same size as those of the Sea-spurrey
on Sinah Common. However, the samples I collected to
examine in the microscope at home did not have the
extensive glandular hairs of the Sinah Common plants.
In fact, I had a job finding any hairs on them at all.
Maybe, Lesser Sea-spurrey does not always have hairs?
Other
plants
The Lax-flowered
Sea-lavender was in flower on the saltmarshes to
the east of the stream. Common Sea-lavender was
flowering on the saltmarshes on the west of the
stream, but no Lax-flowered that I could see.
Many Golden
Samphire flowers are now opening on the concrete
seawall south of the woods. I did not expect to see a
single plant of Lax-flowered Sea-lavender on western
end of the concrete seawall and it was in flower. I do
not recall having seen this plant here before.
On the way to Nore
Barn I heard a Chaffinch singing in Warblington
Road.
COLLARED
DOVES IN DECLINE?
The most recent BTO
Garden BirdWatch magazine (Summer 2011) highlights an
unexpected decline of the Collared Dove as a garden
bird over the past 7 years. The mean garden weekly
reporting rate of Collared Doves was relatively stable
from 1995 to 2004, after which a small but steady
decline has occurred. Figures for the winter quarter
January-March 2011 indicate Collared Dove is now found
in only 64% of gardens, the average rate over the past
15 years being 74%.
The Common Bird Censis
and the Breeding Birds Survey show a similar trend
with an increase in Collared Dove sightings up to
about 2005 followed by a steady decline. Just what has
caused this decline is a mystery. Or maybe it is just
a temporary blip.
Figures from my own
garden show a steady increase in mean weekly counts
from 1997 to 2008 followed by a dramatic fall since
then. The mean weekly count rose from 1.9 in 1997
(when I first moved in) to 8.2 in 2008 and then
plumetted in the last two years to 3.4 in 2009 and 3.3
in 2010. This was despite a maximum of 33 in one week
in January 2009 and 16 in February 2010. This year's
figures seem to continue this trend.
The initial spread of
Collared Doves across the United Kingdom was very
rapid. From the first breeding report (in Norfolk in
1955) the species was subsequently reported breeding
in Kent and Lincolnshire in 1957, with birds seen as
far north as Scotland at this stage. Two years later
Ireland was colonised and by 1970 there may have been
as many as 25,000 pairs in Britain and Ireland. The
BTO Common Birds Census revealed a five-fold increase
in their population between 1972 and 1996.
We
had 28 Collared Doves in the garden in December 2008.
The record is 46 in 2004.
TUESDAY
JULY 5 - 2011
HAYLING
ISLAND
Bladder
Senna
Following Ralph
Hollins tip off, Jean and I went to have a look at a
Bladder Senna bush (Coletea arborescens) at The
Kench. We found the bush easily following Ralph's
precise directions about 2/3rds of the way along the
the path from Ferry Road to the harbour shore. It is a
large bush with bright pea-like flowers and
bladder-like pinkish-green oval seed pods, from which
it gets its name.
Bladder Senna was
introduced from S Europe, but is now naturalised in
waste, often grassy places, especially river banks
near London. It is listed as 'rare' in The Hants
Flora. Interestingly, there is only one Bladder Senna
recorded on the whole of the Isle of Wight.
Rock
Sea-spurrey?
From the Kench we
walked a little way east along Ferry Road taking the
first path on the right onto Sinah Common. We located
the possible Rock Sea-spurrey about 20 metres along
the path at Grid Ref: SZ696995. There was a good patch
of plants growing flat on the left hand side of the
gravel path close to where the bushes have been burnt.
I picked another sample to bring home with me, which
was much the same as the first sample which I still
have from last Friday's visit.
Features which seem
to support the Rock Sea-spurrey identification:
1. Woody lower stem
(Stace). 2. Sepals about as long as petals (Stace). 3.
Stems and leaves densely stickily-hairy (Rose). 4.
Stipules somewhat silvery (Blamey). 5. Habitat? Near
the sea, but not close enough for Lesser Sea-spurrey
which is the best alternative identification. I could
not find any seeds.
For comparison here is
Lesser Sea-spurrey on the Dolphin Creek Wayside
yesterday. Quite a different looking plant.
Ralph Hollins provides
the following arguments in support of the Rock
Sea-spurrey identification:
"One reason why Rock
Sea-spurrey might have appeared in the area of Sinah
north of the gravel pit is that it has been totally
overgrown with Gorse for many years and only in the
last few years has there been significant clearance of
the Gorse to allow the smaller plants to re-generate.
"Another reason why
the Rock form might be there is that this is a very
stony place with lots of gravel coming to the surface
and your saying that the sample you collected has a
'woody base' makes it all the more likely.
"Another good reason
for your find being a different species from the
Lesser is that I do not recall ever seeing Lesser
anywhere that it cannot be occasionally splashed with
salt from the sea - I imagine Lesser can be found
around the edges of The Kench but not where you found
it (at least 300 yards from the nearest corner of The
Kench)".
As recommended by
Ralph I shall need to consult Martin Rand about this
plant.
WAYSIDES
NEWS
Warblington
Underpass
Selfheal is flowering
well. Smaller Cat's-tail with short panicles on the
western end of the wayside verge. Sun Spurge is
flowering on the central verge. The small Goosefoot
plants on the western end of the central verge which I
previously called Spear-leaved Orache are probably Fat
Hen. I added four plants to take the list to 94. A
Robin was singing which I have not heard for a while.
Havant
Road verge (top Valetta Park)
Tall Bent-grasses at
the western verge with spikelets clusters at the end
of the brances and short ligules look like Black
Bent-grass. Good flowering of Common Knapweed on the
central verge with some unmistakable Timothy with long
panicles. Common Couch is a new grass on the central
verge. Yarrow is flowering well on the eastern verge
with a patch of tall Spear Thistles, not yet in
flower. The Smaller Cat's-tail has spread all
over the eastern verge with its short panicles showing
very well. Today's survey takes this year's total to
62 species and the overall total to 66.
Lillywhite's
path
Stone Parsley is a new
plant for this site. Some misguided person has trodden
down the only Common Ragwort plant on this wayside. I
trust this is not repeated on the Bridge Road wayside
as happened last year. However, a single stem remains
on which a Cinnabar caterpillar is feasting. Good luck
to it. Dark Mullein and Wild Carrot are now both in
flower. The list now stands at a very impressive 82
species.
BROOK
MEADOW
There is an abundance
of Water Forget-me-not on the river bank north
of the south bridge.
MONDAY
JULY 4 - 2011
WAYSIDES
NEWS
Emsworth
Recreation Ground
The area of grassland
to the south of the bowling club has been recently cut
for the first time along with the mound near the skate
park. This is not such a bad thing as the area
attracts a lot of litle being close to the skate park.
I shall not mention it to the Council. The rest of the
wayside has not been touched.
There was no sign of
any vehicle tracks, damage or litter from the
travellers who invaded the area last Friday. It was
good that they were evicted quickly.
I had a look at the
grasses that I previously identified as Smaller
Cat's-tail in the northern area of the wayside
near the fence. The panicles have not grown any larger
and are in fact flowering, so I am fairly confident
that is what they are and not Timothy.
Dolphin
Creek
A couple of plants for
this year's list were Common Saltmarsh Grass
which is just starting to come through on the side of
the path and Lesser Sea-spurrey which is in
flower on the gravel path in front of the seat.
A female Common Blue
butterfly, with brown upper wings and pale spotted
underwings, settled briefly before it flew off over
the creek. Even better was my first Gatekeeper
of the year which did perched for a photo.
BROOK
MEADOW
The conservation group
cut a fresh pathway through the tangled vegetation on
the Seagull Lane patch during their work session
yesterday. This provides easy access to this
interesting area. I had a walk up there this morning
and was rewarded with a nice view of the underwing of
a Ringlet. This reminded me how rarely they
were seen on the meadow until the last few years. Our
first ever Ringlet sighting on Brook Meadow was in
2004 and since then they have become progressively
more common over the years.
Stone Parsley
still flourishes at the far end of the patch near
the large Hawthorn bush.
Pepper-saxifrage
leaves are now showing well on the east side of the
Lumley area, but still some way from flowering. The
Marsh Foxtail around the "Lumley puddle" is now
flowering.
PURPLE
EMPEROR IN STANSTED
Keith and Mary
Marriott, who live in Westbourne, were in Stansted
yesterday (July 3). After a visit to the tea rooms
they walked through the Dutch Garden into the chapel
grounds where they spotted what they were sure was a
Purple Emperor butterfly on the ground. They did not
have a camera but did get a good photo on their mobile
phone to check the identification.
Interestingly, we also
had a Purple Emperor report at this time last year
(July 23) on a wheelie bin in Southbourne. Ralph
Hollins said of that one, "It seems that, once mated,
females will travel long distances in search of
suitable places to lay their eggs and this may account
for odd and unexpected sightings". This may also
explain the sighting in Stansted.
While in Stansted,
Keith and Mary also saw a pair of Spotted
Flycatchers on the wires near the Iron Gate
Cottages. It is good to know they are back, since that
was always a reliable place to see these now quite
rare birds. They also saw Woodlarks in Stansted
East Park.
OTHER
NEWS
I watched a male
Emperor Dragonfly, with deep blue abdomen and
green thorax, patrolling imperiously over the small
channel between the reeds at the northern end of Peter
Pond. What a cracker!
Some of the Golden
Samphire flowers are now fully open on the
Hermitage Bridge overlooking Slipper Millpond. Lots
more to come.
We had a
Hummingbird Hawkmoth hovering around the tall
Verbena flowers in our garden, but it did not settle
for a photo.
At least 20
Swifts were feeding over the Bridge Road houses at
9pm this evening, the most I have seen all the summer.
They are probably composed of family parties. This is
much better!
SUNDAY
JULY 3 - 2011
BROOK
MEADOW
Birds
The only birds singing
on the meadow this week were Blackcaps, Chiffchaff,
Whitethroat, Song Thrush, Blackbird, Wren, Woodpigeon,
Collared Dove and Greenfinch. The rest will be silent
for a while during their annual post-breeding moult.
Plants
Prominent flowering
plants on the meadow include Meadowsweet (also with
heady aroma), the large yellow daisies of Perennial
Sow-thistle on the Lumley area, Creeping Thistle on
the west side of the north meadow with some seedheads
already formed and the ever reliable Broad-leaved
Everlasting-pea pushing through the Brambles on
the Seagull Lane patch.
Hairy
Buttercups are coming up all along the path round
the east side of the Lumley area on Brook Meadow. All
are low growing with turned back sepals, but the key
feature is the ring of warts on the achenes (fruits).
Alder Buckthorn trees below the causeway and
the Rowan plantation on the north meadow are covered
in red berries. Less noticeable are the small flowers
of Enchanter's Nightshade on the path just outside the
south gate to Brook Meadow.
Gatekeepers
Richard Somerscocks
went to Brook Meadow in late afternoon today and saw
our first Gatekeeper of the year, no doubt the first
of many. Caroline French had what I think was the
first local Gatekeeper in her garden yesterday.
Water
Voles
Local wildlife
photographer, Jeff Fleming, set up his hide again on
the river bank near the gasholder on Brook Meadow last
week, and had better luck this time than he did on the
last occasion. He saw some Water Voles as well as Eels
and a 2 foot long Pike in the river with the added
bonus of an early Kingfisher. We look forward to his
photos.
OTHER
NEWS
House
Martins in Westbourne
With the complete
absence of House Martins in Emsworth over the past 10
years or so, it was heatening news to hear that
Caroline and Ray French discovered what appears to be
a healthy population of them in Westbourne. They found
at least 15 flying at one time, but they did not do a
systematic survey. However, just by walking around
they saw active or recently active (judging by
droppings) nests at: 18 and 22 Mill Road, 2, 5 and 11
Lark Way, 9 and 10 Mallard Way (first road to the
right off Lark Way), 21 Kingfisher Drive, 17 Churcher
Road, Flats 42-48 Churcher Road (4 nests). Many of
these nests are in the much newer housing around Lark
Way which have wooden soffits. Caroline wonders
whether there is still time to suggest similar
hirundine-friendly soffits might used on the new
houses for the Hampshire Farm development. Good idea I
reckon, considering the paucity of House Martins in
the local area.
Narrow-leaved
Water-plantain
The plants in the
Westbrook Stream below the Victoria Road bridge are
starting to flower. Those on the Bridge Road Wayside
have been flowering for some while.
SATURDAY
JULY 2 - 2011
NORE
DOWN
Twelve members of the
Havant Wildlife Group assembled at West Marden on a
lovely warm summer's morning for a walk to Nore Down.
They were Brian (leader), Nigel, Richard, Caroline,
Fay, Christine, Jim, Derek, Heather, Hilary, Tony and
Ken (new member). Christine had to leave us after
about half an hour. She e-mailed later to say she got
back safely with no side affects. She says, "I knew,
realistically that I wouldn't be up to climbing the
hill, but was still disappointed to have to turn back
when we got there. It's only 6 weeks since my
operation (as Fay likes to remind me!)".
The route from West
Marden took us along the footpath towards Nore Down,
through fields, which Nigel noted had been mown,
though clearly not for hay and through the hanger of
West Marden copse. We spent an hour and a half on Nore
Down looking at the fine variety of plants and
butterflies, as well as admiring the splendid views
across West Marden valley. We then walked up the long
drag of a hill of Oldhouse Lane before cutting back to
the village through fields of Oil-seed Rape (now in
seed) and the upper part of West Marden copse.
I supplied the a check
list of the more interesting plants (not
comprehensive!) that we had seen on the Nore Down area
in recent years. These were added to during the walk.
See my report on the
recce to Nore Down for more details and photos on
Friday 24 June.
Birds
In West Marden
village, we were pleased to see a good 20
Swifts flying, sometimes screaming around the
houses in family parties. More impressive than the Red
Arrows which we saw later in the morning on their way
back from the Festival of Speed.
However, there was no
sign of any House Martins which Caroline and I have
recorded in previous years in our BTO Atlas Surveys.
They have completely disappeared from Emsworth. The
closest I have seen is at Walderton, though Caroline
says she sometimes sees some over Westbourne.
Another good sighting
was a probable Spotted Flycatcher which perched
briefly on a post in a garden opposite where we parked
and a Goldcrest in a pine tree. We saw a couple of
Buzzards, one over West Marden and the other over Nore
Down during our break. Caroline picked up a Bullfinch
call where we came off the down onto Oldhouse Lane
which Heather subsequently confirmed was a young
Bullfinch with no tail. Another Bullfinch was
heard near West Marden copse.
Butterflies
Our first butterfly
was a Small Tortoiseshell feeding on a Buddleja
plant in a garden in West Marden village. Meadow
Browns were everywhere, though Marbled Whites were
also prolific on Nore Down, along with a good few
Large and Small Skippers. I was pleased some of us
managed to see a (or the?) Essex Skipper that I
photographed during my recce for the walk on June 24.
Here is Richard's photo of it showing the antennae
tips 'dipped in black paint'. .
Other butterflies seen
mainly on the down included Ringlet, Comma, Red
Admiral, Small Copper, Small White and Green-veined
White. Large Skippers were also seen on the sunny path
by the Wheat field and Speckled Wood in the woodland.
Six-spot Burnet moths were feeding mainly on Field
Scabious on Nore Down. Note the two red spots near the
wing tip. Five-spot only has one.
Plants
in woodland
Going through the
Beech woodland, Nigel pointed out that the trees were
probably planted to encourage the furniture industry
to move here. We noted False Brome and Wood Sedge on
the edges of the path, along with lots of Enchanter's
Nightshade in flower. Also, in flower were Hairy St
John's Wort, Nettle-leaved Bellflower and White
Bryony. It was noted that Woodruff had the same
arrangement of leaves as Hedge Bedstraw and Cleavers
and was in the same general family called Galium.
Other plants in the woodland not on my check list
included Common Figwort, Wood Speedwell (thanks, Jim),
Lesser Burdock, Hart's-tongue Fern and Redcurrant
bushes (with no smell, says Nigel). Before going onto
the down we noted (but stayed well clear of) the
Deadly Nightshade. Here is a picture I took of
the flowers on June 24.
Plants
on Nore Down
In addition to the
plants on the check list, Richard spotted Common
Dog-violet with pale spur and Round-headed
Rampion and Heather pointed out Wild Basil, which
I had missed. Heather also found a nice patch of
Squinancywort and a Dwarf Thistle in flower. I added
Yellow Oat-grass and Rough Chervil. We puzzled over a
Crosswort-like plant, which we finally concluded was,
in fact, simply old Crosswort. In addition to the
abundant Rough Hawkbits, there were some pale yellow
daisies, probably Autumn Hawkbit. Nigel reported over
100 Pyramidal Orchids, but surprisingly, no Fragrant
or Common Spotted Orchids.
Here
is Richard's image of the Round-headed Rampion
Here
are the Rough Hawkbits which were abundant on Nore
Down
Here
is a shot of the Perforate St John's-wort with reddish
flowers
Going into the
Oil-seed Rape field at the top of Oldhouse Lane, we
had an aromatic experience with masses of Scented
Mayweed along the paths through the fields and
Pineappleweed.
FRIDAY
JULY 1 - 2011
HAYLING
ISLAND
Sinah
Common
Jean and I had a walk
around the south west corner of Hayling Island this
morning in fine warm weather. We saw some great
flowers and grasses.
As we walked through
the Gorse on Sinah Common we could hear tiny
clicking sounds all around us. We believe they were
caused by the seed cases of the Gorse breaking open.
There was a fine
display of Viper's Bugloss in flower in the
open areas of the common. This is where Jean sampled
her first ripe Blackberries of the year.
Other
plants in flower on the common included English
Stonecrop
and a
small patch of what looked like Rock Sea-spurrey but
turned out to be Sand Spurrey
The
Kench and Ferry Road
At The Kench flowers
of Golden Samphire were just starting to open. Also
flowering were Thrift, Hop Trefoil, Ladies Bedstraw
and lots of Sand Sedge. We saw our first Hare's-foot
Clover in flower along Ferry Road and Ling on the edge
of the golf course. We came across a tall green plant
that looked just like Fennel to me, but it did not
smell. Jean said it was Asparagus. Also in flower
along Ferry Road was White Stonecrop and
Large-flowered Evening Primrose.
Three Swifts flew over
The Kench heading east towards Sinah Common. Two
Carrion Crows were chasing a Buzzard over the golf
course.
A
Hummingbird Hawkmoth was hovering around the roadside
plants on Ferry Road
Hayling
west beach
The smell of honey
from the abundant Ladies Bedstraw was all
around us while walking through the dunes. A Kestrel
perched on the golf course fence and a pair of Linnets
flittered to and fro, the male with a bright red
chest.
Plants in flower on
the dunes included Restharrow, Common Centaury, the
globular blue flowers of Sheep's-bit, more Sea
Bindweed and White Stonecrop, Sea Holly
and lots of Hare's-tail Grass. Sand Sedge was all
over the dunes.
White
Stonecrop with Sea Bindweed on hayling beach
Sheep's-bit
flower with seed heads
Yellow-horned Poppies
were still in flower at the east end of the beach
showing lots of long 'horns' (seed pods) from which it
gets its name.