Briantspuddle Birding

Diary 2008

 

30 August : At last, two Crossbills! Reported widely around the village this week, and many on the heath nearby in the current influx. I first heard some, and saw a red male flying about over nearby gardens,then heard some agian in my own spruce tree - but these were immatures, probably males as they were showing a little yellow and some orange. They were trying to feed on the buds in the fresh spruce growth. First record, and garden bird species no 90!

10 August : Two Willow Warblers - just to prove me wrong!

9 August : As last year (20 July), a dispersing Garden Warbler - the second record. Another Willow Warbler too - these are surprisingly scarce here.

23 July : A mating pair of Six-spot Burnet moths today - but no Bird's Foot Trefoil here for them! Also a pair of Hedgehogs on 22nd.

21 July : Another first record: a Sedge Warbler was flying around the sparrow roost in the morning - first seen from bed! Species no 89.

13 July : First Gatekeeper of the year.

11 July : The first casualty of the bad weather - a Bramley apple tree, laden with fruit, toppled over in the high winds. First Meadow Brown of the year on 8th.

4 July : The first dispersing Willow Warbler today.

27 June : This is defintiely mammal month - the first Hedgehog was seen today snuffling about the lawn on a rare non-Badger night.

16 June : Another great mammal seen : a Yellow-necked Mouse. The Badgers have torn down one of the peanut feeders and scattered penuts around under a cotoneaster bush. The mouse was seen climbing down through the bush, picking up a peanut, and scrambling up again to vanish in the nearby ivy. It seemed quite big, and through bins the masrkings could be clearly seen: contrasting rufous upperparts wth asharp contrst topale belly,and the clincher: a brown band across the underside between the front legs.

14 June : Superb views of a Badger coming to peanuts on the lawn at 1130pm. Took no notice of kitchen radio, or me in the kitchen!

6 June : Nice Cardinal Beetle, Pyrochroa serraticornis, and Wasp Beetle today. A male Nightjar gave good views over the garden on 5 June.

31 May : First Spotted Flycatcher in the garden and a juv Grass Snake in the flower border.

Ol' Blue-eyes!

A superb Eyed Hawk is a moth trap highlight

A splendid Eyed Hawkmoth: the first garden record, 10 June 2008

18 May : The first Hobby over the river today.Cuckoo heard again.

Beauty and the Beast: a delicate Muslin Moth shares moth trap space with a hefty Cockchafer, 11 May 2008

9 May : Wow! Two ticks in two days - a damp morning produced the garden's first Whitethroat over breakfast - a quiet male feeding in brambles.a first record for the garden. Species no 88.

8 May : Inspired by yesterday's Cuckoo, I try a dawn chorus watch. The rewards were a churring Nightjar - my earliest ever by a week - and a distant but distinct Reed Warbler (later found by the river over half a mile away!), a first record for the garden (species heard from the garden count!). Species no 87.

7 May : The first Cuckoo heard at 4am!

3 May : No more Swifts until today, when the first Willow Warbler also appeared briefly.

26 April : The first Swift appears in the evening.

Hover Boys: two of the hoverflies about in the warm spell, 20 April 2008; Rhingia campestris (left), the 'Barry Manilow' of hoverflies and easily recognised; Eristalis pertinax (right), a drone fly recognised by its yellow tibia.

17 April : A Pheasant displays noisily on the lawn in the early mornings, while both Orange-tip and Brimstone butterflies continue to delight around the flower borders.

Tip-top: Male Orange-tip butterfly on Honesty, 13 April 2008

Well hammered: Up to four Yellowhammers are now gracing the seed table area, 6 April 2008

10 April : The first House Martin over in the evening, while a Comma was flying in the afternoon sun.

...bling, ...bling!: male Brambling, still coming to food, 24 March 2008.

31 March : Bramblings reached a record max of 7 on Easter Monday, 24 March, with a max 4 Yellowhammer on Easter Day, 23rd. Spring now proceeding apace, with Dunnocks much in evidence, with record max 4 on 28th. A Sand Martin over the garder on 30th was accompanied by a Chiffchaff singing in the spring sunshine, and the year's first Brimstone butterfly. Today, the first Swallow over , on the same day as last year. All to play for now...

Bram-tastic: Male Brambling, one of at least five coming to food today, 21 March 2008. Full summer plumage can't be far away.

21 March : At least five Bramblings joined a finch feeding frenzy this morning on a blustery Good Friday. A record 14 Chaffinch had set the scene yesterday, along with a new-to-food species: Rook. Corvids generally made the running on 20th, with two Carrion Crow, surprisingly, new in the garden. A Green Sandpiper by the river - my first this year - set me wondering about the next garden bird - maybe a Common Sandpiper soon. And there are still plenty of summer migrants waiting to be added. Now, must get a few more sackfuls of food...

Female Brambling, with Siskin on right, below the feeders, 18 March 2008

19 March : At last manage to take photo of one of the Bramblings - albeit through the window. The males are still proving elusive, though. Now up to three Yellowhammers down to the food, which is also attracting Rooks amongst a total of 19 species on a single day. Today, a Parish Tick, in the form of a male Wheatear on the road up to Tolpuddle. BTW all the recent bird photos have been taken by digiscoping from inside my kitchen - apart from the Pheasant for which I had to walk ten yards to the back gate.

Female Yellowhammer in the damson trees, 9 March 2008

9 March : At last, two Yellowhammers attracted down to the bird food - specifically to the 'table mix' put on an old breadboard on the ground. One or two Bramblings are still about with Siskins very evident on all the feeders. Parish news during the last few weeks has been of a wintering Pallas's Warbler in Oakers Wood (about 2 miles away from the garden across a heath), unfortunately on private land. It is usually in the company of one or two Firecrests, and as Firecrest occasionally occurs in the garden, I live in hope...

Bullfinch on the Damson buds, 16 February 2008

Male Greenfinch (left) and Siskin (right): two customers at the feeders, 14 February 2008

14 February: Now at least four Brambling around the feeders, and catching flying insects up the garden as the day warms up. They don't stay still enough to be photographed, though.

12 February: The first two Lesser Black-backed Gulls of the year flew over in sunshine, and the first Red Admiral butterfly of the year was flying about too.

9 February: Less than a week after putting down a new type of table seed, a female Brambling joins the Chaffinches for a short spell at lunchtime.The first record in the garden.

8 February: Two Yellowhammer in the apple trees briefly, but not coming to food as hoped.

5 February: A record max. 16 Siskin with Goldfinches were counted coming out of roost, and making a real racket in the damson trees this morning.

3 February: A record max of 9 Chaffinch counted.

Male Pheasant wanting the gate to be opened for him, 2 February 2008

2 February: A male Pheasant was strutting round the garage this afternoon: the first record in the garden.

20 January: Record max 4 Bullfinch on the damson buds this afternoon.

14 January : A pair of Shoveler flying up from the village pond and seen from the garden were species no. 86 for the garden list and also new for my parish list.

5 January 2008: Two Redpoll and a Reed Bunting in amongst a flock of Linnets near Affpuddle Church were new for my parish list.

A frosty end to the year, 14th and 29th December 2007

 

Please continue to send in your records ! Thanks.

Link to 2007 Diary