Saturday, 9 September 2023

Visit to St. Nicholas Church and surrounding areas – 9th September 2023

Date: 9th September 2023

Time: from 9:15 a.m.

Weather: dry, sunny/cloudy, light wind, 22°C to 28°C

I noted that there was a definite autumnal feel to my last visit on 30th August 2023 given that the temperature was only 12°C to 14°C. My visit this morning saw a definite return to summer with very high temperatures of 22°C to 28°C.

I restricted my visit to the northern section of the site, including the pond, and it was a relatively slow and quiet start. However, patience and perseverance eventually provided some notable sightings.

With regard to birds, I heard both a calling and a briefly singing Chiffchaff plus I saw a single bird foraging in the bushes surrounding the pond. This may have involved just a single bird given that the calling and singing bird were also in close proximity to the pond. I also heard a briefly alarm calling Blackcap in the same general area. Therefore, the 2 most common summer visiting warblers are still present on site.

In addition, I heard 2 calling Great Spotted Woodpeckers, the first in the northern section of the site near the pond and the second in the wooded area adjacent to the access track back to Larkins Tyres.

When I arrived at the pond, I failed to see any dragonflies or damselflies. However, after around 30 minutes, I had regular sightings of 2 coupled mating pairs of Common Darter and at least 2 other males plus at least 2 male Ruddy Darters.

Most significantly, as I was about to leave the pond, I saw a single Willow Emerald Damselfly, this being my first record for the site and taking my dragonfly and damselfly list to 12 species for 2023 and 13 species in total. I also had my first record of Willow Emerald Damselfly at my other local patch site at Noak Bridge Nature Reserve on 21st August 2023.

I only saw 2 species of butterfly during my visit: Speckled Wood (2 in the wooded are at the end of the access track from Larkins Tyres) and unidentified “white” species (Large White and/or Small White) (at least 20).

Finally, I had very brief glimpses of 2 unidentified mammals, possibly Red Fox and/or Reeves’ Muntjac but impossible to determine due to the height of the grassland in the northern section of the site. However, I did hear a “barking” Reeves’ Muntjac when I was sitting at the pond. A single Grey Squirrel climbing up the trunk of the large oak in the northern section of the site provided no identification challenge!

After returning home, I spent around an hour there before going out again. Walking the short distance down the grassy path from my flat to the main road, I saw singles of the following: Holly Blue, Peacock, Red Admiral and Speckled Wood.

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


Chiffchaff
Blackcap
Blue Tit
Great Tit
Robin
Dunnock
Goldfinch
Great Spotted Woodpecker
Jay
Magpie
Carrion Crow
Woodpigeon
Herring Gull

Speckled Wood
Large White and/or Small White

Here are a few photos from my visit ….




























Photo: female Willow Emerald Damselfly




























Photo: female Willow Emerald Damselfly



























Photo: male Ruddy Darter



























Photo: male Ruddy Darter



























Photo: male and female Common Darters



























Photo: Meadow Grasshopper



























Photo: Wolf Spider

Site totals for 2023 to date (2022 totals in brackets):

Birds = 41  (45)
Mammals = 3  (5)
Butterflies = 23  (17)
Dragonflies and damselflies = 11  (7)
Reptiles = 0  (0)
Amphibians = 0  (0)

Total species list for the site:


Birds = 63
Mammals = 7
Butterflies = 25
Dragonflies and damselflies = 11
Reptiles = 1
Amphibians = 0

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