Nature Notes July

July delivered a mixture of weather, with strong winds, heavy rainfall, thunder and lightning, cloud and sunshine.

SIGHTINGS 
Birds:   Carrion Crow, Magpies, Jays, Jackdaws, Buzzards, Black-headed Gulls, Herring Gulls, Tawny Owls, Sparrowhawk, Green/Great Spotted Woodpeckers, Wood Pigeons, Feral Pigeons, Collared Doves Heron, Chiff Chaff, Tree Creeper, Nuthatches, Robins, Blackbirds, Song Thrushes, Wrens, Dunnocks, Stonechats, Siskins, Greenfinches, Goldfinches, Chaffinches, Bullfinches, Coal/Blue/Great/Long-tailed Tits.
Mammals:   Pipistrelle Bats, Fox, Grey Squirrels.
Butterflies/Moths:  Holly Blue, Brimstone, Small/Large White, Peacocks, Red Admiral, Speckled Wood, Silver-studded Blue, Meadow Brown, Gatekeeper, Ringlet, Large Skipper. Species of Day flying Moths.
Pond Life:   Pond Skaters, Back Swimmers, Whirligig Beetles, Stickleback.
Insects:   Bees, Hoverflies, Wasps, Velvet Ant, Sheet web Spider, Grasshoppers, Mining Bees.
Dragonfly/Damselfly:   Southern Hawker, Broad Bodied Chaser,   Beautiful Demoiselle, Small Red.
Reptiles:   Slow Worm, Common Lizard.
Plants in flower:   Bell Heather, Cross-leaved Heath, Cotton Grass, Bog Asphodel, Common Sundews, Rowan Tree berries, Holly berries.

Flocks of Siskins and Finches, after the breeding season, were seen on site.
Two Tawny Owls were heard communicating at dusk.

Nature Fact

The Siskin is one of our smallest finches and like most other members of that family, the male is brightly coloured, whereas the female is dull with a flecked breast.  Most finches are primarily seed eaters and the Siskin is no exception, with its staple diet being conifer seeds.  They also feed on Silver Birch seeds and on gardens feeders offering sunflower hearts, niger seeds and peanuts.  During the breeding season, Siskins are much more secretive and hides away high up in conifer trees.  Birds that start the season early in prime condition are likely to rear more youngsters than birds in less than peak condition.

Annual General Meeting

The Annual General Meeting of Slop Bog Guardians will be held on 5th August at Avon Country Park commencing 7.30pm. Visitors welcome.

Nature Notes

The weather in June was similar to that of May, very mixed.

SIGHTINGS
Birds:   Buzzards, Carrion Crows, Jackdaws, Magpies, Jays, Feral/Wood Pigeons, Green/Great Spotted Woodpeckers, Nuthatch, Treecreeper, Chiff Chaffs, Willow Warbler, Song Thrush, Blackbirds, Robins, Wrens, Goldcrest, Dunnocks, Coal/Blue/Great/Long-tailed Tits, Chaffinches, Greenfinches, Bullfinches, Goldfinches, Stonechats, Siskins, Mallard Ducks, Grey Wagtail, Heron, Black-headed Gulls.
Mammals:   Pipistrelle Bats, Roe Deer, Grey Squirrels, Wood Mouse.
Butterflies/Moths:  Large White, Holly Blue, Silver-studded Blue, Speckled Wood, Meadow Brown, Gatekeeper, Large Skipper, Green Hairstreak. Species of day flying moths.
Pond Life:   Pond Skaters, Back swimmers, Whirligig Beetles, Stickleback fish, White Water Lily.
Insects:   Hoverflies. Midges, Wasps, Bees, Funnel Spiders, Sheet Web Spiders.
Dragonfly/Damselfly:   Small Red, Banded Agrion, Broad bodied Chaser.
Reptiles:   Common Lizards, Female Adder.
Plants in flower:   Cut-leaved Geranium, Foxgloves, Bell Heather, Cross-leaved Heath, Dandelions, Cotton Grass, Bog Asphodel, Common Sundews.

During the last week of June, the colony of Silver-studded Blue butterflies were showing in large numbers. Resident Bullfinches were seen with this years young.

Nature Fact

Undergrowth habits:  Heather might look monotonous at first, covering the ground as far as the eye can see, but among the individual plants, each in its particular stage of growth, there are a variety of different types of micro-habitat.  The small, young plants flowering prolifically in an open community, allow Lizards to bask on the warm, dry surface of the ground and Grasshoppers to find places to lay their eggs in the soil.  Here too, Solitary Bees and Wasps can excavate their nesting chambers.  The Wasps furnish the chambers with insect larvae as fresh food for their own larvae, while the Bees lay in a store of honey and pollen.