Wildlife Sightings

November 2011

It has been a good year for beech nuts and acorns  - many people calls these the mast – the fruits of the trees. So it's been called a good mast year. But it was a poor year for butterflies and dragonflies, despite an early flowering year when flowers came out 2 weeks earlier than usual. The fungi were in short supply in September but a wet October gave a later boost of a few specimens around the site. Nature was out of sync. The autumn was  called the second warmest, after 2006. November was being described as  a second spring.

Was it a bumper breeding bird year, you may ask? Well, it was poor for waterfowl but good for the warblers. Whitethroats were seen everywhere along the hedgerows, during our spring, which seems a long time ago.

There was still feeder heaven this month. It's always fun to spend a few minutes at the heronry feeders. A great spotted woodpecker landed on one of the branch supports. It climbed up, looked around to see if the coast was clear before a spell of nut nibbling. But the nut cage was empty! Dejected, the woodpecker climbed backwards down the wooden branch, with great grip and determination, and then flew off. Maybe later, there would be food – and there was.

There were two great spotted woodpeckers using the feeder on one mild, warm day. One was waiting in a nearby tree, while the other was busy nibbling at the nuts, using the feeder as a shade from the sun – or was that just a coincidence. After feeding, nibbler flew off and the waiting bird took over the nut feeding duties. It was a case of wait and share.

The lesser spotted woodpecker was seen occasionally on the feeder. It's gets difficult for our little clinger (as some visitors call it). When it's perching in the nearby tall tree, it gets mobbed by the blackbirds or watched by the local sparrowhawk but it is a fast mover. A dark silhouette overheard and it darts back to the safety of its unknown roost, deep in the woods.

We watched the coal tit having to fly a long distance from its roost to the feeders, grab some seed and quickly shoot back to its base, in order to feed in safety. It would fly top speed to the feeder and then stop just before the seeds. The others tits were far bolder, grabbing seed and moving to nearby trees, and returning soon afterwards.

Short-eared owls were seen, flying over the car-park or Fishers Mill meadows and over the Dosthill man-made hill (the bund). Good views were had from the reedbed, from the Fishers Mill viewpoint or from the meadow trail. Sometimes, early in the month, in the mornings (9-10am) and on other days, in the afternoon. Later between 1 and 3pm seemed to be the regular time.

Four birds were seen in a tall leafless tree over the river at Dosthill – 2 cormorants, a grey heron and a little egret.

A kingfisher flew across the bridleway silt pool as a grass snake swam across to the far side.

On one evening in the month, a large starling flock (a murmuration) was seen at dusk (about 4.30pm). It was estimated to be in the thousands. Usually there are separate groups of only about a hundred cackling birds in different parts of the site.  

We were looking out for flocks of Whooper or Bewick’s swan passing over the site. The beaks of the adult whooper has the yellow W (or V on the side) marking, while the Bewick has the yellow B (or U on the side).  Then there were the juvenile swans with dark beaks so we looked at the adults.

The Birds for Beginners walkers sighted over 50 species on one day this month despite the drooping fog.

The wetland trail was muddy (and still is) and so our visitors kept to the grassy edges. Walking on the edge became the call.

On a few of the warm sunny autumn weekend days there were ladybirds everywhere: 7-spot, 14-spot, 18-spot, 22-spot  and harlequin, on benches, viewpoint fencing and metal signs.

OTHER BIRDS:  Our ever-outdoor, brave-hearted  winter WeBS surveyors  counted (included RSPB Dosthill) : black-headed gull (16), Canada goose (296), coot (526), cormorant (7), gadwall (78), golden plover (47), goldeneye (11), great crested grebe (7), green sandpiper, lapwing (270), little egret (6), mallard (193), moorhen (29), mute swan (50), pochard (4), shoveler (12), teal (77), tufted duck (167), water rail (2), wigeon (325) and a few dunlin.

Meadow trail had fieldfare and redwing flocks, green woodpecker, great spotted woodpecker and short-eared owl.

Wetland trail had Cetti’s warbler, coot, cormorant, dunlin, gadwall, goldeneye, goosander, great crested grebe, green sandpiper, hen harrier, jack snipe, kestrel, kingfisher, little egret, little grebe, little stint, mallard, marsh harrier, merlin, moorhen, mute swan, peregrine, pintail, pochard, redshank, reed bunting, shoveler, snipe, sparrowhawk, stonechat, teal, tufted duck, water rail, woodcock and yellowhammer. There were flocks of Bewick’s swan, Canada goose, fieldfare, golden plover, lapwing, redpoll, redwing, siskin, starling and whooper swan.

Woodland trail had the churr of a wren, tweeting long-tailed tit, screaming pheasant, calling buzzard, feeding blue, coal and great tit, together with sightings of blackbird, bullfinch, dunnock, goldcrest,  greenfinch, grey heron, jay, nuthatch (on the feeders),  raven, song thrush, sparrowhawk and treecreeper. The bridleway viewpoint had Cetti’s warbler, grey heron, grey wagtail and water rail.

BUTTERFLIES: Occasional sightings of red admiral and brimstone were seen around the apples in the feeders or in the ivy along the bridleway (early in the month).

WILD FLOWERS:  The warm autumn had got people talking about a second spring when flowers, which should be dormant, were flowering. We had noticed that some autumn hawkbit, broom, clover, dandelion, evening primrose, knapweed, ox-eye daisy, ragwort, red campion, toadflax, water chickweed and white dead-nettle were still in flower. 

MAMMALS:  An occasional weasel was seen by Fishers Mill viewpoint. Freshly made mole hills were seen in the meadows and grasslands.

The month overall was mild and wet as autumn ended and we were promised a mild beginning of winter. The mild weather in Europe stopped the large of flocks of geese, gulls, swans and waders flying over or staying with us. Will this November be the warmest since records began ?

With a great thank you to everyone for your nature sightings – keep them coming in.

Nigel Palmer