Friday Flutters: A Blue and Green Day.

With much higher temperatures today the hour spent on my Ashtead Common transect turned out to be mainly a blue and green affair. The first butterfly recorded was a Holly Blue (above) but the most predominant species was the Brimstone (below) with 12 individuals logged in addition to Small White (1), Speckled Wood (1) and a very flighty single Green Hairstreak.

A few of the ancient oaks are in full leaf but many of the very old pollarded veterans are still waking up. It was very quiet at Flag Pond and in case you wondered that is the muddy colour of the water all year round due to the underlying clay and it plays host to three species of Newt.

A slight detour off my prescribed route provided a few views of two regular woodland species; the Treecreeper (left) and the Nuthatch which was particularly vocal today.Another surprise while watching these 'creepers; was the single hoot call of a Tawny Owl somewhere high on the ridge ... most unusual for the time of day!

Back at home I spent an hour or two doing a few tidy up jobs in the garden while listening and watching three Swifts screaming high overhead plus visits by a Holly Blue and a Small White butterfly.

I am not a fan of non-native species but these 'Spanish' Bluebells do provide a splash of colour at the moment. These invaders will have to be removed when I find the time and replaced with our native stock. Elsewhere a few different varieties of Tulip are hanging on and the herbaceous greenery is bulking up very fast.

Nesting Update:

One final good bit of news today is that we finally have evidence that a pair of Blue Tits are using the nest box in the Birch at the bottom of the garden. 

I will be monitoring their progress and hope to get some better images over the coming weeks. FAB.

Linking to:
Saturday's Critters

Today's Flowers
Nature Notes 

Wood Nuthatch (Sitta europaea).

While walking my local patch I hear Nuthatch (Sitta europaea ssp. caesia) calling more often than seeing them so when an opportunity to get some images presented itself during a visit to Warnham L.N.R. I took a few shots when one briefly visited a feeder.

 Just a pity about the shadow cast by the roof of the table feeder!

After a very long wait I eventually got that classic downward pose when it perched on a nearby tree trunk. FAB.

A New Transect for 2015.

Adjacent to my regular patch circuit around Epsom Common Ponds is Ashtead Common National Nature Reserve, extending over 500 acres of ancient woodland owned and managed by the City of London Corporation. In the 1870's the City was concerned that access to the open countryside was being threatened, and as a result promoted two Acts of Parliament to enable it to acquire and protect various open spaces from development.

Last month during a walk with one of the Wardens I offered my services to carry out Butterfly recording over a new fixed route (transect) starting in April 2015. I have walked the proposed route on several occasions recently and this post provides an insight to the varied wildlife I have already encountered.

 

The start of the transect begins at 'Chessington View' overlooking the fields above Rushett Farm, a good spot to listen to Skylarks in the Spring and to locate Nuthatch at almost any time of the year. During the winter large flocks of Redwing and Fieldfare congregate in the trees in between their feeding forays onto the nearby fields. Carrion Crows, Jackdaws and Magpies are fairly numerous throughout most of the year.

 

[Eurasian] Nuthatch. (Sitta europaea)

The route climbs gently upwards following one of the main rides through the woodland passing an area that was cleared some time ago and the coppiced Hazel was protected by woven rustic barriers to prevent it being browsed by Deer and it appears to have been sucessful.

This 1st section has already produced recent sightings of Brimstone, Green-veined White, Speckled Wood, Meadow Brown, Comma and Silver-washed Fritillary. Bird species seen or heard here include Great-spotted Woodpecker, Robin, Blackbird, Song Thrush, Blackcap, Chiffchaff, Chaffinch, Treecreeper, Blue, Great and Long Tailed Tits, Goldcrest and the very noisy Ring-necked Parakeets.

Speckled Wood.

Section 2 is over similar terrain and passes a very muddy coloured pool called Flag Pond where all three species of Newt; Common, Palmate and Great crested have been recorded.

This is a good place to search for Dragonflies and Damselflies.

Ruddy Darter. (Sympetrum sanguineum)

There are over 2,300 ancient pollarded Oaks across the common which play host to an amazing variety of wildlife; bugs, insects and nesting opportunities for many species of birds. A year ago I noticed that some of the Birch trees had been 'ring-barked' which prevents the sap flowing upwards and now a few have felled themselves ... just one of the many simple and natural methods employed in managing the woodlands.

The woodlands can often be surprisingly quiet until the peace is shattered by the very distinctive loud burst of song from one of the many resident Wrens.

A juvenile Wren. (Troglodytes troglodytes)

My route then passes around an area of archeological significance, the site of a 1st and 2nd Century AD Roman Villa, Bath House with adjacent tile works.

Excavations were first carried out between 1924 to 1929 and again in 1966, 2006 and more recently during August to September 2013 by the Surrey Archaeological Society. As expected nature has very quickly recolonized the diggings with grasses, nettles, ferns and brambles providing dense ground cover.

The open area below the 'King Oak' should be a very good spot for butterfly species. I have already logged Meadow Brown, Ringlet, Gatekeeper, Small and Large Skippers, Comma and Peacock. This part of the common with its mix of Oaks and Sallows is also an excellent place to see Purple Hairstreak and the handsome Purple Emperor.






As my boots brushed past the grasses lining the narrow path numerous Grasshoppers of different sizes and colours hopped from stem to stem.

I don't know if this is typical but every time the lens got close they all tried to move around the grass stem to hide!
 

A young Roe Deer patiently watched my progress before heading off into the undergrowth.

 

There are a number of seats along my route providing convenient spots to rest awhile and watch the wildlife. 

Sometime I find someone has also used it for other purposes ... the remains of a recent Hazelnut snack by a Grey Squirrel.

At the end of section 6 close to my rest stop I spotted a Hornet and a resting Migrant Hawker.

Various gates and fences are encountered all over the common and many of the latter form the boundaries to specific areas that are grazed by cattle on a rotation basis to maintain this special landscape.

Some of the main open rides are designated bridleways but access to many other pathways is restricted by the use of natural Birch filled barriers that need to be regularly topped up during the year. 

Silver-washed Fritillary.

The final two sections of the transect follow part of the north-western  boundary overlooking Rushett Farm where it is not uncommon for me to find a Common Buzzard, which nest in the adjacent wood, perched on one of the old Oaks or soaring above the fields.

If all goes well with the arrangements for next year I'll look forward to providing weekly wildlife updates between April and September from this interesting location.  FAB.

I'm linking this post to:
Saturday's Critters hosted by Eileen
Camera Critters hosted by Misty
I'D-Rather-B-Birdin' hosted by Anni

Nuthatch.

Something from the recent archives to keep the bird photography content ticking over .....  

(Eurasian) Nuthatch (Sitta europaea).

In Britain our resident birds (ssp. caesia) have a warm rusty-buff breast and belly. Whilst the sexes are very similar the vent on the males is usually a much darker red-brown.  

All images were shot at Warnham Nature Reserve using the EF 70-300mm lens.   FAB.

More from Warnham LNR.

I didn't get any wildlife watching in yesterday as we were waiting on a plumber to call and repair our hot water system that failed last Sunday so as a follow up to my previous post about Warnham LNR, here are a few more images from my day out in Sussex.

 Magpie (Pica pica)

 Male Reed Bunting  (Emberzia schoenichus)

This species is a resident breeder occupying around 185,000 UK territories during the summer. Its main habitat being reedbeds and riverine scrub which was only a hop and skip away from this feeding station.

 Next up is the much stripier female Reed Bunting.

Titbit: Over 50% of Reed Bunting chicks are not fathered by the pair mate but result from an adulterous liaison .... probably the highest recorded of any bird!

Most of the Nuthatches (Sitta europaea ssp. caesia) that I normally see are high up in the woodland canopy so it was a pleasure to see this individual, however briefly, much closer to the lens even though it didn't want to sit still!   FAB.

Local Patch this Week.

To round off this week here are a few images of some wildlife I have encountered during my regular walks around Epsom and Ashstead Common.

The lonesome Canada Goose.

Wood Nuthatch (Sitta europaea). The trees were alive with their calls this week.

Grey Squirrel getting ready to disappear.

Treecreeper hunting for a tiny morsel.

Male Manadarin Ducks thinking about departing.

Showing me his best side!

Bluebells are just beginning to appear.

New and unexpected addition to patch list today was this very chirpy Linnet (Carduelis cannabina).

Posed briefly before moving to another distant tree.

Buterflies included Peacock, Brimstone and the Speckled Wood (above) that briefly stopped for a warm up in the sunshine.   FAB.

Walking Damp Woodlands.

Late Thursday morning I headed to my usual parking spot near the River Mole but decided to take a totally different route. This time it was a short walk upstream and then heading uphill while trying to stay upright on very sticky, wet chalky footpaths.

Taking a brief rest at the railway bridge before the uphill journey into uninspiring woodland consisting mainly of nude grey Ash trees and a few green Yew dotted here and there. For the first half hour or so it was deathly quiet apart from the occasional 'squawk..squawk' of overflying Parakeets and  'krra..krra..krra' of the local Carrion Crow population.

The verdant green mosses covering previously felled logs and....

Ferns recolonising an old stump show just how damp the understory canopy is throughout this hillside. My journey eventually got me to the edge of Updown Wood where it borders the open farmland with a greater mix of trees including some Birch and Beech. Here the bird life began, at last, with Blue, Great, Coal and MarshTits. Then through the branches I heard a Nuthatch calling and eventually managed a couple of record shots just to prove to you that I actually saw something!

Nuthatch

My attention was then drawn towards a group of Long-tailed Tits and scanning through the flock I eventually located 3 Lesser Redpolls (another tick for 2010) but only a rear end shot..not for publication. 

View over the open farmland and river valley to the 'posh' houses on the opposite hillside.

Lots of 'Old Man's Beard' (Clematis vitalba) decorated both sides of the trackway as I headed

downhill and out into the open fields to see Green Woodpeckers, Jackdaws and several Mistle Thrushes with Redwing feeding amougst the stubble field.

On the way home I stopped at Epsom Common Pond, still partly frozen over, and no water life at all.

 

Only met one dog walker...not surprising with these underfoot conditions. On the edge of the woodland I heard the thin repeated call of a Treecreeper which then flew onto a nearby tree but quite high up.

This is the first time I've attempted to capture this well camouflaged species and the shots in this collage are all cropped slightly.

Finally the reflective quality on the little pond devoid of any fishermen.

Hope you all have a good wildlife watching weekend.  FAB.