Nature Notes May 2009 | News | Little Hadham and Much Hadham Community Website

Home

News

Nature Notes May 2009

Common Buzzard - (photo Denis O'Regan)

A very busy period, with many migrants entering the parish in the last four weeks, (March 18th – April 18th). Included in my wanderings were two dawn chorus walks, leaving the village hall car park at 5.00am and returning about 9.30am. Both walks were well attended with 20 people in total making the effort to be up early. We were rewarded with good bird song and clear weather on both occasions.

The first walk (March 21st) realized a total of 38 species with highlight birds being a calling little owl, a drumming great spotted woodpecker, goldcrest, sparrow hawk, woodcock and common buzzard.

Coincidentally, 38 was also the second walk’s total, on April 18th. Here, swallow, chiffchaff, willow warbler, blackcap and whitethroat were all heard and seen, all of these being newly arrived summer migrants. The last of the redwings and fieldfares were noted along the footpath leading south from Acremore Street.

Treecreeper - (photo Denis O'Regan)

However, the most unexpected birds was a party of four northerly moving great black backed gulls over Bush Wood. During the month I spent time north of the A120, recording a new bird for the parish in the shape of a coot, seen on 6th April at a pond behind Hadham Hall. 86th species for the area. Also noted were treecreeper (5th shown above), bullfinch (29th), siskins (a party of 35 on the 29th), pair of little owls nesting (30th), grey heron (2nd and 13th), nuthatch nesting (2nd) and chiffchaff (all walks with 11 counted singing on the 8th). A migratory party of 38 golden plover were seen over the ploughed fields east of Bury Green, where also a pair of bullfinches and a pair of blackcaps were observed on the 8th.

Butterflies have increased in both numbers and species observed with peacocks being seen on most sunny days, along with the yellow brimstone. The first comma was seen on the 21st, small tortoiseshell and orange tip were recorded for the first time on the 8th and a small white (13th.)

A stoat was observed for the first time on the 21st at the pond in Millennium Wood. Plants continue to appear with garlic mustard, ground ivy, dead nettle, coltsfoot, and wood anemone joining the already established cowslip, bluebell and dog mercury. The hedgerows and woodlands are now coming into leaf and, if the old saying: “Ash before the oak, in for a soak; oak before the ash, in for a splash” holds true then we should have a good summer. This saying refers to which of the two trees comes into leaf first. This year it is clearly the oak, whereas the last two it has been the reverse and what disappointing summers they were! Hopefully, a good summer for butterflies, damsel and dragonflies.

As I type there is news of a migratory white stork in the Albury/Braughing region. This uncommon bird will have overshot on migration, being caught up in the strong southerlies we had on the 15th and 16th April. It will be seen in open fields and is unmistakable. Sooner or later it will make its way south again, but not before refuelling so may turn up anywhere in the parish, or be seen overhead.

Chiffchaff- (photo Denis O'Regan)

Finally, of particular interest, was an observation of a willow warbler that had a wrong song. Seen south of the Ford on the 17th, it starts its song as a chiffchaff before completing the verse as the usual willow warbler song. This usually occurs when a bird fledged last summer overwinters with the wrong species (in this case chiffchaff) and so learns the wrong song before adding its own instinctive run of notes. They are referred to as “mixed singers”. First I have recorded since one along the River Stort in 2005. This bird
is shown above.