Monday, 17 August 2020

Evening visit to St. Nicholas Church and surrounding areas – 17th August 2020

Date: 17th August 2020

Time: from 8:30 p.m.

Weather: dry, cloudy, dark, 18°C

This was my first evening visit since 6th August 2020.

When I arrived at the site at 8:30 p.m., there was a lot of loud noise coming from a small group of people which did not augur well for watching Badgers which usually emerge quite close by.

I decided to wait to see if they would move on. As I did so, I saw a Red Fox stretched out and motionless on the grassy strip that runs parallel to Church Hill down to St. Nicholas Lane. It remained motionless for a few minutes and, fearing the worst, I walked down to the area for a closer look. As I approached, it stood up, stared back at me for a few seconds and then ran off in to cover. This particular Red Fox, which I was unable to identify as an adult or one of the cubs, was clearly just indulging in some rest and relaxation 😀.

At 9 p.m., whilst watching another area where I have seen a Badger, I heard the distinctive “geckering” of Red Foxes behind me and I also saw a bat species briefly circling around the church car park which I assume was one of the Pipistrelle species.

At 9:20 p.m., the people making a noise left the area and walked off down Church Hill. I quickly returned to my usual location where I watch the Badgers and scattered some food as normal.

Given the disturbance in the area that had been going on from at least 8:30 p.m. when I arrived, I expected a “no show” given how wary Badgers are of humans. Amazingly, within 5 minutes a Badger appeared, emerging from the usual position in the hedgerow. However, it was clearly very nervous and constantly sniffed the air. Not surprisingly, after only about a minute, it turned round and returned in to the hedge.

Whilst watching out for the return of a more confident Badger (it didn’t happen), I again heard the loud “geckering” of Red Foxes for a few minutes and I guessed that this was coming from around the church car park area.    

With regard to birds, I only heard 2 Robins briefly singing and a Blackbird alarm calling.

Species recorded during this visit were as follows (heard only records in italics):

Badger
Red Fox
Pipistrelle sp.

Robin
Blackbird

Site totals to date
Birds = 48
Mammals = 6
Butterflies = 20
Dragonflies and damselflies = 6
Reptiles = 1
Amphibians = 0

💚🦆 🦉🦋🐝🦊🦡🌼 🌳💚
Stay safe, stay well, stay strong, stay connected with nature


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