It would seem that low water levels and a dangerous concentration of E.coli bacteria, in our chosen section, the River Stour is telling us to stay away. I won't need much persuasion as I am really not feeling it, for the Barbel, at present. Although I have spotted some very big fish, for their species, not one Barbel has been located. Unsure of how many fish one needs to catch before you've caught enough, I'll happily keep my gear packed away until such time as conditions change, for the better, and we get a flush of new water in the river.
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| Elbow-striped Grass-veneer - Agriphila geniculea |
The moth trap continues to take centre stage in my daily routine turning up some very nice species, common and otherwise, for our garden list. My macro photography is slowly, oh so slowly, starting to improve hence allowing me to record better images of the intricate patternation of some of the miniscule creatures that I discover on the egg trays. Hummingbird Hawk-moths are still present in decent numbers, four yesterday, but it was a medium sized Hawk-moth sp. which zoomed around the Nicotiana flowers, at dusk, which caused the most frustration. It was almost certainly one of the "A" list species which I've never trapped?
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| Spindle Knot-horn - Nephopterix angustella |
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| Southern Bell - Crocidosema plebejana (a much better effort than the last one!) |
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| Grey Knot-horn - Acrobasis advenella |
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| Cream-bordered Green Pea |
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| Bordered Straw |
Autumn bird movements are now well under way. Yesterday I counted seventeen Common Buzzards and three Ravens over whilst today there have been two Pied Flycatchers in the garden Buddleia and Elder trees. As crazy as it might sound, Pied Flycatcher (No. 155) is the first addition to my self-found year list since our June holiday on Corfu!
The local Hedgehogs continue to visit our feeding station, it not being unusual for there to be three or four at any one time. However I've not seen a Fox since the first week of July and feel sure that it/they have fallen foul of the local pest control clowns.
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Hedgehogs this summer must have struggled to find any food. The bone dry conditions must surely have meant very few slugs, snails and worms about, so you are probably a life saver at the moment.
ReplyDeleteOur local Hedgehogs are spoilt for choice of where to dine as, at least, four of my neighbours also put out food and water for these wonderful garden visitors. Any walk around the local area also seems to be through Hedgehog friendly neighbourhoods where road signs and/or garden fence gaps and ramps are familiar features. However, as you say, I'm sure that more rural populations of these animals will have really struggled with the heatwave conditions. As always, cheers for the comment, all the best - Dyl
DeleteDyl, your garden and the accompanying sky above it certainly gets a variety of wildlife that I can only dream of. However, Tawny Owls are all around me. At least half a dozen foxes frequent my garden and then there's the Badgers. Horses for courses I guess, though the council would have something to say if people started keeping those on their properties.
ReplyDeleteAlthough it is true that since retirement I have put much more effort into getting the garden in better shape, the vast majority of the insect and avian encounters are purely a result of the geographical location of Thanet. Sticking out into the base of The North Sea and totally dependant upon weather conditions, we are in pole position to see/attract migrants when they're on the move.
DeleteStill waiting to add Tawny Owl to the garden list, the closest I've encountered one is in Ramsgate Cemetery which is around half a mile from our front door! Badgers on Thanet are rare beasts indeed, certainly around the Ramsgate district, but I'm sure that Foxes will return to the feeding station as the year progresses and this year's crop of youngsters start to disperse. Hoping your recovery is going well - Dyl