Visit to St. Nicholas Church and surrounding areas – 4th August 2020

Date: 4th August 2020

Time: from 10:00 a.m.

Weather: dry, cloudy/hazy sunshine, light wind, 17°C to 19°C

This morning I had a brief walk up to St. Nicholas Church and around the surrounding areas.

With regard to birds, it continues to be exceptionally quiet with few birds seen and only sporadic singing and calling and as such there is again a very short list of species recorded.

However, quite unexpectedly, I managed to see a Garden Warbler, my first record for the site bringing my site total for bird species to 49. I wonder which species will chalk up the half century?

As I was returning home via the track that emerges near Larkins Tyres, I spotted a Robin and a few juvenile Great Tits. Whilst watching the latter, a warbler species appeared although slightly obscured by vegetation. I initially assumed that it was a Blackcap, a species which has been very conspicuous this spring although less so now that the males have ceased singing. However, when this warbler showed itself it had neither a black cap evident in the male Blackcap or the red cap evident in the females and juveniles. Its relatively long wings and tail and generally plain featureless appearance with olive-grey upperparts and dull white underparts led me to conclude that it was a Garden Warbler.

The Garden Warbler can be much more difficult to see than its close relative the Blackcap and the songs of the 2 species are also quite similar and take some skill and experience to separate. Even now, I still struggle sometimes to separate the songs although today this was not the issue since the bird that I saw remained silent.

Unfortunately, I was unable to get a photo of today’s Garden Warbler but here are 2 photos of the species taken at RSPB Ynys-hir in Ceredigion and at RSPB Ham Wall in Somerset.



Photo: Garden Warbler at RSPB Ynys-hir, Ceredigion

Photo: Garden Warbler at RSPB Ham Wall, Somerset

I neither heard nor saw any Blackcaps on this visit but I did hear 2 Chiffchaffs giving their soft whistled contact call.

In addition, I saw 2 Green Woodpeckers in the eastern end of the cemetery as they flew up from the ground in to a large oak tree and I also heard a calling Great Spotted Woodpecker from the track near to Larkins Tyres.

I only managed to record 5 species of butterfly: Common Blue (5), Gatekeeper (50+), Speckled Wood (3), Large White (2), Small White (2)

Gatekeepers continue to be super-abundant almost everywhere and 50+ is almost certainly an under-estimate.

I recorded 2 species of dragonfly: Common Darter (1 male), Ruddy Darter (1 female)

I also saw another much larger dragonfly species which I think may have been a female Migrant Hawker or possibly a female Southern Migrant Hawker which is much rarer but increasingly being found in south Essex. However, my view was too distant to be certain and it flew off before I was able to either clinch the ID or get a photo.

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

Garden Warbler
Chiffchaff
Blue Tit
Great Tit
Wren
Dunnock
Robin
Blackbird
Goldfinch
Green Woodpecker
Great Spotted Woodpecker
Magpie
Carrion Crow
Woodpigeon

Common Blue
Gatekeeper
Speckled Wood
Small White
Large White

Common Darter
Ruddy Darter
Hawker sp.

Here are some photos from my visit:

Photo: male Common Darter

Photo: female Ruddy Darter

Photo: female Ruddy Darter

Photo: female Ruddy Darter

Photo: Common Blue

Site totals to date:

Birds = 49

Mammals = 6

Butterflies = 20

Dragonflies and damselflies = 6

Reptiles = 1

Amphibians = 0

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Stay safe, stay well, stay strong, stay connected with nature