Nature around Watlington
This is what you get when you feed birds. A flock of collared doves.
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Photo taken in my garden. Female sparrowhawk overlooking a bird feeder. Behind is a great tit keeping very quiet.
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Greater spotted woodpecker Clever vole living under bird feeder,
Sculthorpe Moor Hawk and Owl trust
Sculthorpe Moor Hawk and Owl trust
Nature Notes with Chris Dyson November 2020
Fifty years ago I managed to purchase three volumes of Henry Stevenson’s ‘Birds
of Norfolk’ published in the late nineteenth century. In the front of volume 2 was
a beautiful colour plate of a Great Bustard. This striking Turkey sized bird was
indigenous in Great Britain and present in Norfolk in quite large numbers well into the eighteenth century. They could be seen in flocks, called ‘Droves’ in Norfolk, of at least forty individuals and travelled over quite large areas of Norfolk and the
adjoining county of Suffolk. Due to changing farming practices and shooting for both the table and to supply stuffed bird collections, which were the fashion in the nineteenth century, they were finally exterminated from this country. The last two were shot in Norfolk at Dersingham and Lexham in 1838.
In 1900 an unsuccessful attempt was made to reintroduce them to this country when 17 birds from Spain were released on the Elveden estate in Suffolk. Since 2004 a project has been running on Salisbury Plain which is endeavouring to reintroduce the Great Bustard to this country and is having some success. Occasional migrant birds of this species have visited this country from time to time.
It was therefore a great thrill on recent visits to the Watatunga Wildlife Reserve to be able to see, at last, specimens of this magnificent bird. It was quite amazing to see such a large bird almost disappear when the cock bird just sat down in some tall grass and vegetation. His plumage camouflaged him perfectly and had I not seen him previously I would have been hard put
to spot him.
Our usual summer migrants the Swifts, Swallows, House Martins and the various Warblers were with us in reasonable
numbers. However, although I heard the Cuckoo more this year than last, they were still not plentiful. The call of the Turtle Dove was missing altogether, and for me that used to be the sound of summer. The Swifts left us in early August but the
Swallows and House Martins were still with us in reasonable numbers up until the end of September.
Even before the summer migrants had left, some of the winter migrants were arriving. At Welney Wetland Centre on the 26th September 44 Whooper Swans had arrived from Iceland. Whilst on the 28th September 50 Redwing were observed at North Runcton and on 11th October large numbers of both Redwing and Fieldfares were seen arriving from Scandinavia. Also having arrived from Scandinavia were 3 Brambling, seen in a garden in Downham Market on 15th October.
From early summer until well into October, Large and Small White butterflies were busy searching out peoples Cabbages,
Brussel Sprouts and any other members of the Brassica family in order to lay their eggs. Meadow Brown and Large Skipper butterflies were plentiful on the Angel Field/Millennium Green, where caterpillars of the Buff Tip moth were also observed.
Other butterflies seen in small numbers in the village during the summer were Comma, Speckled Wood and Small Tortoiseshell. The migrant butterflies like the Red Admiral and Painted Lady were in short supply. Although I saw the occasional
Red Admiral I did not see a Painted Lady butterfly in the village at all this summer.
One highlight observation for me was being able to watch and photograph a Hummingbird Hawk Moth feeding on the flowers of Perpetual Sweet Peas in our garden. Although not a rare moth they are not a common species either. They are a migrant species and visit this country from southern Europe in varying numbers every year.
They are a day flying moth and behave just like a Hummingbird with rapidly beating wings allowing them to hover in front of a flower and use their long proboscis to suck up nectar. They are a fascinating species to be able to observe at close quarters.
Fifty years ago I managed to purchase three volumes of Henry Stevenson’s ‘Birds
of Norfolk’ published in the late nineteenth century. In the front of volume 2 was
a beautiful colour plate of a Great Bustard. This striking Turkey sized bird was
indigenous in Great Britain and present in Norfolk in quite large numbers well into the eighteenth century. They could be seen in flocks, called ‘Droves’ in Norfolk, of at least forty individuals and travelled over quite large areas of Norfolk and the
adjoining county of Suffolk. Due to changing farming practices and shooting for both the table and to supply stuffed bird collections, which were the fashion in the nineteenth century, they were finally exterminated from this country. The last two were shot in Norfolk at Dersingham and Lexham in 1838.
In 1900 an unsuccessful attempt was made to reintroduce them to this country when 17 birds from Spain were released on the Elveden estate in Suffolk. Since 2004 a project has been running on Salisbury Plain which is endeavouring to reintroduce the Great Bustard to this country and is having some success. Occasional migrant birds of this species have visited this country from time to time.
It was therefore a great thrill on recent visits to the Watatunga Wildlife Reserve to be able to see, at last, specimens of this magnificent bird. It was quite amazing to see such a large bird almost disappear when the cock bird just sat down in some tall grass and vegetation. His plumage camouflaged him perfectly and had I not seen him previously I would have been hard put
to spot him.
Our usual summer migrants the Swifts, Swallows, House Martins and the various Warblers were with us in reasonable
numbers. However, although I heard the Cuckoo more this year than last, they were still not plentiful. The call of the Turtle Dove was missing altogether, and for me that used to be the sound of summer. The Swifts left us in early August but the
Swallows and House Martins were still with us in reasonable numbers up until the end of September.
Even before the summer migrants had left, some of the winter migrants were arriving. At Welney Wetland Centre on the 26th September 44 Whooper Swans had arrived from Iceland. Whilst on the 28th September 50 Redwing were observed at North Runcton and on 11th October large numbers of both Redwing and Fieldfares were seen arriving from Scandinavia. Also having arrived from Scandinavia were 3 Brambling, seen in a garden in Downham Market on 15th October.
From early summer until well into October, Large and Small White butterflies were busy searching out peoples Cabbages,
Brussel Sprouts and any other members of the Brassica family in order to lay their eggs. Meadow Brown and Large Skipper butterflies were plentiful on the Angel Field/Millennium Green, where caterpillars of the Buff Tip moth were also observed.
Other butterflies seen in small numbers in the village during the summer were Comma, Speckled Wood and Small Tortoiseshell. The migrant butterflies like the Red Admiral and Painted Lady were in short supply. Although I saw the occasional
Red Admiral I did not see a Painted Lady butterfly in the village at all this summer.
One highlight observation for me was being able to watch and photograph a Hummingbird Hawk Moth feeding on the flowers of Perpetual Sweet Peas in our garden. Although not a rare moth they are not a common species either. They are a migrant species and visit this country from southern Europe in varying numbers every year.
They are a day flying moth and behave just like a Hummingbird with rapidly beating wings allowing them to hover in front of a flower and use their long proboscis to suck up nectar. They are a fascinating species to be able to observe at close quarters.