Quite a lot of my August was taken up with jury service, a rather grim experience, so getting outside into nature was a welcome relief.
Three new bird species added to the list this month. Perhaps
the most unexpected was Nuthatch. They are a recent coloniser with the first
breeding as recently as 2010 and usually no more than a single pair (in the
grounds of the hall). But with no records last year, and none so far this year,
I thought it had disappeared from the village so it was a pleasant surprise to
have a bird calling from a tree behind the pub this week.
On the river I picked up both the first Common Sandpiper of
the year and, distinctly rarer in the parish, a young Little Ringed Plover…
Other wader sightings included two Green Sandpipers on the Swale,
a flock of 14 Curlew and 75+ Lapwing feeding in the cropped fields.
This wasn’t the only sign of Autumn with the riverside
willows alive with Chiffchaff calls today as well as the first Teal and Grey
Wagtails back on the river.
Peter had two Spotted Flycatchers in his orchard, the first
sightings of the year. A late Swift was feeding with a large flock of
hirundines on the 30th and there was a flock of around 120 Linnets
down Back Lane.
There have also been large numbers of Greylags in the fields
with a peak count of 950 birds on the stubbles near Big Bend.
A good year for butterflies continues. One small patch of
thistles near the river was absolutely rammed with butterflies, I had 12
species here including my first Common Blues of the year…
Moths, too, were interesting with between Peter and me a further 12 species added to the parish list in August. These included my first Chevron Grass Moth which turned out to be the first confirmed record for VC65 (North-west Yorkshire)…
I also saw my first Maiden’s Blush…
And Scalloped Hook-tip…
The Magic Garden proved excellent for dragonflies this week
with at least 14 Migrant Hawkers present…
Together with Brown Hawker, Southern Hawker, Ruddy and Common Darter and an exceptionally late Broad-bodied Chaser.
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