Nature Notes July

The weather during July was very mixed, with extremely hot dry weather followed by   windy and wet conditions.  Quite quiet on the Reserve as the breeding season nears the end for most animals.  

SIGHTINGS
Birds :  Carrion Crows, Magpies, Jays, Jackdaws, Buzzards, Grey Heron, Black-headed Gulls, Common Gulls, Tawny Owls, Green/Great Spotted Woodpeckers, Wood Pigeons, Stock Doves, Collared Doves, Chiff Chaff, Willow Warbler, Tree Creeper, Nuthatches, Robins, Blackbirds, Song Thrushes, Goldcrests, Wrens, Dunnocks, Stonechats, Nightjar, Siskins, Kestrel, Greenfinches, Bullfinches, Chaffinches, Goldfinches, Coal/Blue/Great/Long-tailed Tits.
Mammals:   Grey Squirrels, Fox, Pipistrelle Bats.
Butterflies/Moths:   Brimstone, Speckled Wood, Large/Small White, Comma, Small Heath, Silver-studded Blue, Ringlet, Large Skipper, Meadow Brown, Gatekeeper, Speckled Wood. Species of day flying Moths.
Pond Life:   Pond Skaters, Back Swimmers, Whirlygig Beetles.
Insects:   Species of Bees, Hoverflies, Wasps, Mining Bees, Velvet Ants, Common Green Grasshoppers, Raft Spider, Sheet Web Spiders, Orb Spiders, Funnel Spiders, Seven Spot Ladybird.
Dragonfly/Damselfly:   Southern Hawker, Broad Bodied Chaser, Four Spot Chaser, Emperor Dragonfly, Small Red, Common Blue, Damselfly, Beautiful Demoiselle.
Reptiles:   Common Lizard.
Plants in flower:   Bell Heather, Cross-leaved Heath, Cotton Grass, Bog Asphodel, Rowan Tree Berries, Holly Berries, Large White Pond Lily, Blackberry Fruits, Cranesbill, Garlic Mustard, Common Vetch,

A Nightjar was last recorded on 7th July before the weather turned wet.
Young Owlets have been heard along Hazelwood.
A case of Avian Pox was sighted on a Dunnock along the southern fence line and reported to the appropriate authorities.

SITE  MANAGEMENT
Cattle returned to the Reserve in early July. There was no work party in July-the next two will be held on the 1st August and 5th September. Details will be posted on this blog page  nearer the time.

Nature Fact

AVIAN POXVIRUS ALERT  -  Avian pox is a viral skin infection that shows up as warty growths on the head (particularly next to the eyes and beak) legs, wings or other body parts of the infected bird.  The growths are usually grey, pinkish, red or yellow in colour and can reach a considerable size.  Affected birds feed and move around normally.  The birds most affected are Tits, Dunnocks and pigeons.  Avian poxvirus spreads between birds by biting insects, by direct bird-to-bird contact and by indirect contact via surfaces such as perches or bird feeders.  Good hygiene at feeding stations (regular disinfection required) will help to stop the spread to healthy birds.

Work Party

The next work party will be held on Tuesday 1st August from 10am-1pm. Meet at the Redwood Drive entrance.

Annual General Meeting

The Slop Bog Guardians AGM will be held on Thursday 10th August at Avon Heath Country Park commencing 7.30 pm. Visitors are welcome.

Nature Notes June

June was a month of extreme weather with heavy rain and strong winds in the first few weeks followed by sunny, dry days and soaring temperatures.

SIGHTINGS 
Birds:   Carrion Crows, Magpies, Jays, Buzzards, Wood Pigeons, Stock Doves, Collared Doves, Green/Great Spotted Woodpeckers, Common Gulls, Black-headed Gulls, Sparrowhawk, Kestrel, Siskins, Stonechats, Nightjar, Tawny Owls, Robins, Blackbirds, Song Thrushes, Wrens, Goldcrests, Chaffinches, Bullfinches, Greenfinches, Dunnocks, Chiffchaffs, Blackcaps, Treecreepers, Nuthatches, Coal/Blue/Great/Long-tailed Tits.
Plants in flower:   Blackberries, Rowan, White Water Lily, Herb Robert, Cross-leaved Heath, Common Cotton Grass, Bog Asphodel, Heath Bedstraw, Garlic Mustard, Hypericum.
Mammals:   Roe Deer, Common Fox, Pipistrelle Bats, Grey Squirrels, Wood Mice, Mole activity.
Butterflies/Moths:   Speckled Wood, Brimstone, Holly Blue, Red Admiral, Peacock, Large White, Silver-studded Blue, Meadow Brown, Large Skipper, Ringlet, Species of day flying Moths.
Insects:   Species of Bees, Hover Flies, Wasps, Midges, Ants.
Dragonfly/Damselfly:   Small Red, Common Blue, Broad Bodied, Four Spot Chaser.
Pond Life:   Pond Skaters,  Whirlygig Beetles, Sticklebacks.
Reptiles:   Common Lizards, Grass Snake.
With the extreme conditions during June, the wildlife life struggled. Bird species parents were greatly tested in their ability to find food for their young during the wet period and then suffered with the extreme temperatures that followed.
A Nightjar was heard in the evening of the 1st June and every night after until the bad weather set in.
No Tree Pipits have to our knowledge been heard or seen this year.

SITE  MANAGEMENT
Repairs to the fencing were completed by replacing rotten posts along the western perimeter which will allow the cattle to return in early July. The date of the July work party is uncertain but details will be posted on this blog page when known.

Nature Fact

Nightjars are Summer migrants to Europe and occupy open heathland or lightly wooded areas.  They spend the day motionless and emerge at dusk to feed They are remarkably agile flyers having large wings and tails often cruising around bush tops and trees to catch moths. Their strange song helps to identify them. They may approach people at dusk as if curious about intruders in their territory.

Nature Notes May

It was dry, warm and sunny by day for the majority of May but turned wet and stormy toward the end of the month.

SIGHTINGS
Birds:   Carrion Crows, Jackdaws, Magpies, Buzzards, Common Gulls, Black-headed Gulls, Heron, Tawny Owls, Sparrowhawk, Kestrel, Green/Great Spotted Woodpeckers, Wood Pigeons, Stock Doves, Collared Doves, Pheasant, Stonechats, Siskins, Chiffchaffs, Blackcaps, Willow Warblers, Grey Wagtails, Goldcrests, Nuthatches, Treecreepers, Song Thrushes, Blackbirds, Robins, Wrens, Dunnocks, Coal/Blue/Great/Long-tailed Tits, Chaffinches, Bullfinches, Greenfinches.
Plants in flower:   Gorse, Flowering Currant, Primrose, Foxglove, Cut-leaved Geranium, Cotton Grass, Bog Asphodel.
Fungi:   Mitula Paludosa (Bog Beacon).
Mammals:   Grey Squirrels, Fox, Roe Deer, Pipistrelle Bats.
Butterflies/Moths:   Holly Blue, Orange Tip. Speckled Wood, Brimstone, Large White, Red Admiral, Peacock, Species of day flying Moths.
Insects:   Buff-tailed Bees, Bumble Bees, Wasps, Midges, Flies, Hover Flies, Ants, Leaf Cutters, Miner Bees.
Pond Life:   Pond Skaters, Common Newts, Whirlygig Beetles, Backswimmers.
Reptiles:   Common Lizards, Slow Worms.

Many young birds fledged during May, with Blue Tits, Great Tits  Long-tailed Tits, Blackbirds, Robins, Great Spotted Woodpeckers, Treecreepers, Nuthatches, Bullfinches all being seen.  Monitoring of nests has shown that the breeding rate has been very low this year, with only one or two young being successfully raised.  Siskins have been the species noted for producing a good brood, having been seen in family groups.
Pipistrelle Bats were recorded on most warm dry evenings.

SITE  MANAGEMENT
New rails were fitted to the fence posts along the southern edge of the dry heathland which completes this project.  Work was carried out to improve the path surface bordering this area.  The next work party is scheduled for Tuesday 27 June at 10am.  Details will be posted on this blog page nearer the time.

Nature Fact

It is easy to identify the sex of the Great Spotted Woodpecker.  The female has a black topped head whilst the adult male has a bright scarlet block of colour at the nape of his neck.  Young males can be identified by noting the scarlet colour, which begins on the very front of the head and works its way down to the nape over a period of time as they mature.  The female is larger than the male.

Work Party Tuesday 30th May 10am-1pm

Meet at the Redwood Drive entrance. There is post and rail fencing to finish and, subject to time and labour, we hope to make a start on improving the path along the fenceline where we carried out vegetation clearance last Winter.  Please telephone Will Holland on 07827 820465 for further information if required.

Tools, gloves and refreshments will be provided. 

Nature Notes April

Very dry weather for the majority of the month.  The milder weather encouraged foliage to appear, with insects and butterflies on the wing.  Several migrant birds were seen and heard on the Reserve.

SIGHTINGS 
Birds:   Carrion Crows, Jackdaws, Magpies, Jays, Buzzards, Common/Black-headed Gulls, Tawny Owls, Sparrowhawk, Kestrel, Green/Great Spotted Woodpeckers, Wood Pigeons, Stock Doves, Collared Doves, Stonechats, Siskins, Chiffchaffs, Blackcaps, Willow Warbler, Swifts, Goldcrests, Nuthatches, Treecreepers, Song Thrushes, Blackbirds, Robins, Wrens, Dunnocks, Coal/Blue/Great/Long-tailed Tits, Chaffinches, Bullfinches, Greenfinches.
Plants in flower:   Gorse, Flowering Currant, Amelanchier, Hazel Catkins, Broom, Primrose.
Fungi:   Mitula Paludosa (Bog Beacon).
Mammals:   Grey Squirrels, Mole activity, Fox, Roe Deer.
Butterflies/Moths:   Holly Blue, Orange Tip, Speckled Wood, Brimstone, Large White, Comma, Peacock, Red Admiral, Species of flying Moths.
Insects:   Buff-tailed Bees, Bumble Bees, Wasps, Midges, Flies, Hover Flies, Ants.
Pond Life:   Whirlygig Beetles, Pond Skaters.
Several Swifts were seen flying over the Reserve in the last week of the month.
Chiffchaffs and Blackcaps seen and heard at numerous locations.
Many Tit species have taken to nesting in bird boxes provided, some already feeding young.
Fledgling Robins, out of the nest by end of April, were seen being fed by parents.
Mitrula Paludose  has been prolific in the stream at Kingfisher Creek between the two bridges, this Spring.  This can easily be mistaken for a flowering water plant.

SITE  MANAGEMENT
New posts were installed and fencing replaced along the southern border of the dry heathland area. The next work party is scheduled for Tuesday at 10am.  Details will be posted on this blog page nearer the time.

Nature Fact

Mitrula Paludosa is a ascomycetous matchstick-like fungus, known as the Bog Beacon in Britain and N Ireland while in the U.S.A. it is commonly referred to as the Swamp Beacon.  Either way, there are no prizes for guessing that this fungus occurs only in very wet places.  The role of these little club-like fungi in the natural world, is that of recycler; they feed off rotting leaves and stems, helping to break them down into simple compounds, that other plants can feed on.

Work Party Tuesday 25th April 10am-1pm

We are hoping to finish off the post and rail fencing so please meet at the Redwood Drive entrance or for those of you that were here last month – meet at the worksite.

Tools, gloves and refreshments will be provided.

Nature Fact

Plant growth is triggered and can be sustained whenever the mean temperature rises to six degrees centigrade, which, in the British Isles, is regularly reached in March.

Nature Notes March

The weather was mixed ranging from fine warm days to wet and windy. The warmer temperatures encouraged many species of wildlife to venture out into the early Spring.  

SIGHTINGS
Birds:   Magpies, Carrion Crows, Jays, Buzzards, Jackdaws, Black-headed Gulls, Common Gulls, Tawny Owls, Sparrowhawk, Great Spotted/Green Woodpeckers, Wood Pigeons, Collared Doves, Grey Heron, Stock Doves, Song Thrushes, Robins, Blackbirds, Treecreepers, Nuthatch, Siskins, Stonechats, Bullfinches, Greenfinches, Chaffinches, Wrens, Goldcrests, Firecrest, Blackcap, Chiffchaffs, Coal/Blue/Great/Long-tailed Tits.
Plants in flower:   Common Gorse, Flowering Currant, Primrose, Amelanchier, Hazel Catkins.
Mammals:   Grey Squirrels, Mole activity, Foxes, Female Roe Deer.
Insects:   Buff-tailed Bees, Bumble Bees, Honey Bees, Wasps, Midges, Flies.
Butterflies:   Brimstone, Red Admiral, Peacock, Comma, Tortoiseshell.
Pond Life:   Whirlygig Beetles, Pond Skaters.

The second week in the month brought a Blackcap along the Hazelwood boundary.
The first call and sighting of Chiffchaffs came at the end of the month.  The males are spaced evenly along the Hazelwood paths, fenceline and heathland, Kingfisher Creek and on the northern heathland wood boundary.
A Nuthatch was observed preparing a nest in a dead Pine tree trunk, alongside the heathland fenceline path. The downsizing of the entrance hole with mud is most important to deter any predators.
Many of the nest boxes are now occupied by potential pairs with much activity by the Tit species.
Common Gorse adds a vibrant yellow to the Reserve producing the scent of coconut on warmer days.
Hazel Catkins are on view from the boardwalk.

SITE  MANAGEMENT
Fencing was replaced along the southern border of the dry heathland area and new posts installed.  The next work party is scheduled for Tuesday 25th April at 10am.  Details will be posted on www.slopbog.org  blog page nearer the time.