Tuesday 28 July 2015

Monday July 20th to Monday July 27th

Late News

Steve Minhinnick took the following photos on July 16th:

(c) Steve Minhinnick, Small Skipper Butterfly
(c) Steve Minhinnick, Small Skipper Butterfly
(c) Steve Minhinnick, Common Blue Damselfly
(c) Steve Minhinnick, Gatekeeper Butterfly
(c) Steve Minhinnick, Harlequin Ladybird Pupae
(c) Steve Minhinnick, Harlequin Ladybird Larvae
(c) Steve Minhinnick, 7 Spot Ladybird


Grim Styles took the following photo on July 18th:

(c) Grim Styles, Water Plantain & Fool's Watercress



Steve Minhinnick took the following photos on July 19th:

(c) Steve Minhinnick, Meadow Grasshopper
(c) Steve Minhinnick, Ichneumon Wasp


Monday July 20th

Richard Horton reported 4 Dunlin, 1 Turnstone, 6 Little Ringed Plover, 2 Ringed Plover, 1 Common Sandpiper, 3 Green Sandpiper, 1 Yellow-legged Gull, 35 Lapwing, 5 Greylag Geese, 10 Egyptian Geese and a Sparrowhawk present this morning.

Kevin Duncan reported that the Turnstone and 3 Common Sandpiper were still present at 17:00.

Phil Hughes reported 3 Dunlin, 1 Turnstone, 2 Ringed Plover and 2 Common Sandpiper present this evening.

NB: The Turnstone is only the 7th recorded on site and a new bird species for 2015.

Kevin Duncan also found and identified 2 new moth species for the site: Small Magpie (Anania hortulata) & Clouded Border (Lomaspilis marginata).

(c) Kevin Duncan, Small Magpie Moth

Tuesday July 21st

No reports.

Wednesday July 22nd

John Hunt reported 3 Common Sandpiper, 4 Green Sandpiper, 4 Little Ringed Plover, 5 Greylag Geese, 5 Egyptian Geese, a Buzzard and a Kestrel first thing this morning.

(c) John Hunt, Common Blue Butterfly
(c) John Hunt, Ringlet Butterfly
(c) John Hunt, Roe Deer
(c) John Hunt, Slow Worm
(c) John Hunt, Peacock Butterfly

Thursday July 23rd

Kevin Duncan reported 4 Common Sandpiper, a Green Sandpiper, 48 Lapwing, a Teal and an early Common Gull this evening.

Kevin also found and identified 2 new moth species for the site: Bramble Shoot (Notocelia uddmanniana) and Hook-marked Straw (Agapeta hamana).

(c) Kevin Duncan, Rush Veneer Moth
(c) Kevin Duncan, Hook-marked Straw Moth

Friday July 24th

Richard Horton reported 5 Common Sandpiper, 1 Green Sandpiper, 2 Ringed Plover, 35 Lapwing and 9 Greylag Geese today.

Saturday July 25th

Richard Seargent reported 1 Common Sandpiper, 2 Green Sandpipers, 8 Greylag Geese and 20+ Lapwing present this morning.

Butterflies: plenty of Gatekeepers, Small White, Large White, Meadow Brown, Speckled Wood, Small Skipper and the odd Peacock.

Odonata: Southern Hawker, Brown Hawker, Common Blue Damselfly and Banded Demoiselle.

(c) Richard Seargent, River Blackwater After Yesterday's Torrential Rain

Sunday July 26th

Richard Seargent reported 3 Green Sandpipers and a juvenile Stonechat this afternoon.

(c) Richard Seargent, Large White Butterfly

Monday July 27th

Graham King reported 2 Green Sandpiper and a Turnstone present today (via SurreyBirders).

NB: The Turnstone is the 8th site record.


Monday 20 July 2015

Friday July 10th to Sunday July 19th

Friday July 10th

Kevin Duncan reported an Oystercatcher, Common Sandpiper and 5 Egyptian Geese present first thing, and that another pair of Black-headed Gulls had hatched their chicks. A dead Shrew was found on the path.

Grim Styles posted this photo of Musk Mallow (Malva moschata) - a new species for Tice's Meadow.

(c) Grim Styles, Musk Mallow (with Long-horn Beetle)



Saturday July 11th

Dave Baker reported that 3 juvenile Little Egrets briefly dropped into the Bike Pool this morning before departing west.

Dave also found these caterpillars, which were subsequently identified as Social Pear Sawfly (Neurotoma saltuum) - a new species for Tice's Meadow.

(c) Dave Baker, Social Pear Sawfly Caterpillars

Richard Seargent reported an adult Nightingale in the northern end of the site, a Red Kite flyover, a Grass Snake and Painted Lady on Horton's Mound, and Gatekeepers and an Emerald Damselfly along the River Blackwater.

(c) Richard Seargent, Red Kite
(c) Richard Seargent, Red Kite
(c) Richard Seargent, Broad-bodied Chaser
(c) Richard Seargent, Painted Lady
(c) Richard Seargent, Speckled Wood

A work party led by Tony Anderson of the Blackwater Valley Countryside Partnership met this morning and picked litter along the River Blackwater. Plenty of Grass Snakes and Slow Worms were reported.


Sunday July 12th


Dave Baker reported 2 Redshank and a Common Sandpiper on the margins of the Workings this morning.

In addition, Richard Seargent reported 2 Green Sandpiper (with a third reported to him) in the Workings this morning, and Richard Horton reported a Peregrine Falcon.

(c) Richard Seargent, Slow Worms

(c) Richard Seargent, Banded Demoiselles
(c) Richard Seargent, Spotted Longhorn Beetle


Kevin Duncan found an Orange-spot Piercer Moth (Pammene aurana) - a new species for Tice's Meadow.


(c) Kevin Duncan, Orange-spot Piercer Moth
(c) Kevin Duncan - Cinnabar Moth Caterpillar on Ragwort
(c) Kevin Duncan, Common Poppy Seedhead
(c) Kevin Duncan, Long-headed Poppy Seedhead
(c) Kevin Duncan, Social Pear Sawfly Caterpillars

(c) Grim Styles, Fleabane
(c) Grim Styles, Haresfoot Clover
(c) Grim Styles, Wild Carrot
(c) Grim Styles, Common Knapweed
(c) Grim Styles, Red Bartsia
(c) Grim Styles, St John's Wort



Monday July 13th

Grim Styles took the following photos, including Cutleaf Evergreen Blackberry (Rubus lacinatus) and Common Agrimony (Agrimonia eupatoria) - both new species for Tice's Meadow.

(c) Grim Styles, Common Agrimony
(c) Grim Styles, Cutleaf Evergreen Blackberry
(c) Grim Styles, Common Walnut
                              

(c) Richard Seargent, Marbled White

(c) Richard Seargent, Marbled White
(c) Richard Seargent, Small Skipper



(c) Kevin Duncan, Shaded Broad-bar



Tuesday July 14th

Kevin Duncan reported a Black-tailed Godwit, Oystercatcher, 3 Green Sandpiper and 5 Greylag Geese present this morning.

Richard Horton reported a Common Sandpiper in addition to the above.

John Hunt reported 4 Green Sandpiper, a Common Sandpiper, 21 Lapwing, 5 Little Ringed Plover, 5 Greylag Geese and 10 Egyptian Geese present this afternoon.

(c) John Hunt, Common Red Soldier Beetle
(c) John Hunt, Green Sandpipers
(c) John Hunt, Marbled White

Wednesday July 15th

No reports.


Thursday July 16th

Kevin Duncan reported 4 Green Sandpiper, a Little Egret and 12 Egyptian Geese (including a family party of 2 adults and 5 juveniles) present this morning - a new site record count. A second pair of Little Ringed Plovers have successfully hatched 2 chicks, and more Black-headed Gull and Common Tern chicks have hatched too.

Mark Elsoffer and Steve Minhinnick reported 2 Common Sandpiper, a Redshank, 6 Little Ringed Plover and 10 Egyptian Geese present this afternoon.

The following broods of young were recorded:
- Jackdaw: at least 20 young in a large mixed flock in the Meadow.
- Egyptian Goose: one brood of 5 in the Meadow.
- Coot: one brood of 3 in the Workings.
- Black-headed Gull: at least one brood of 2 on a tern raft in the Workings.
- Common Tern: at least 2 broods of 2 & 1 on islands and tern rafts in the Workings.

A family of Domesticated Duck x Mallard hybrids was present in the Workings: 1 female adult Domesticated Duck and 6 hybrid ducklings. One duckling had died by the evening.


(c) Mark Elsoffer, Hybrid Duck Family

Mark Elsoffer found a very degraded Hare's-foot Inkcap (Coprinopsis lagopus) on the footpath in the Woods - a new species for Tice's Meadow.

(c) Mark Elsoffer, Haresfoot Inkcap

Richard Horton attended a site management meeting with representatives from Hanson, Surrey County Council and the Blackwater Valley Countryside Partnership. Topics discussed included the construction of a bird hide by the Kiln and the imminent arrival of the cows onto the Meadow.

(c) Mark Elsoffer, Ringlet
(c) Mark Elsoffer, Gatekeeper
(c) Mark Elsoffer, Comma


Friday July 17th

Kevin Duncan reported 4 Green Sandpiper, 2 Common Sandpiper, 12 Egyptian Geese and a Nuthatch this morning.

Kevin also reported that the hybrid ducklings were down to 4 in the morning and only 2 by the afternoon.

Kevin also found a Rush Veneer Moth (Nomophila noctuella), a pair of Orange Ladybirds (Halyzia sedecimguttata) and an Ichneumon Wasp (Coelichneumon deliratorius) - all new species for Tice's Meadow. 

(c) Kevin Duncan, Immature Female Long-winged Conehead
(c) Kevin Duncan, Orange Ladybird Larvae
(c) Kevin Duncan, Orange Ladybirds
(c) Kevin Duncan, Orange-spot Piercer Moth
(c) Kevin Duncan, Rush Veneer Moth
(c) Kevin Duncan, Six-spot Burnet Moth
(c) Grim Styles, Common Knapweed
(c) Grim Styles, Mugwort

Saturday July 18th

After some research, Kevin Duncan identified a new species for Tice's Meadow that he had photographed on July 12th: Superb Ant-hill Hoverfly (Xanthogramma pedissequum).

(c) Kevin Duncan, Superb Ant-hill Hoverfly
(c) Kevin Duncan, Common Nettle-tap Moth

Sunday July 19th

Kevin Duncan reported 5 Common Sandpiper, 5 Green Sandpiper and 11 Greylag Geese present this morning.

Mark Elsoffer and Steve Minhinnick visited in the afternoon and reported 2 Common Sandpiper, 8 Lapwing, 5 Little Ringed Plover, 7 Egyptian Geese and 11 Greylag Geese.

(c) Mark Elsoffer, Common Sandpiper

The following broods of young were recorded:
- Black-headed Gull: 2 broods of 2 on tern rafts in the Workings.
- Common Tern: at least 2 broods of 2 on islands and tern rafts in the Workings.
- Little Ringed Plover: at least 1 chick on an island in the Workings.
- Mallard: a single chick in the Silt Pond.
- Coot: one brood of 3 on the Workings.
- Egyptian Goose: one brood of 5 in the Meadow.

Butterflies recorded were: 5 Large White, 6 Gatekeeper, 1 Peacock, 2 Small Tortoiseshell & 4 Ringlet.

An Emperor Dragonfly was seen circling low around Horton's Mound and a Slow Worm was found under a tin refugia.

(c) Mark Elsoffer, Slow Worm

Mark and Steve also found a wind-surfer setting up his gear for a family day out wind-surfing on the Workings. Needless to say, he was firmly presuaded that wind-surfing on a nature reserve was a bad idea and swiftly escorted from the site, with a little help from Richard Horton.

(c) Mark Elsoffer, Wind-surfer On His Way Home
Kevin Duncan photographed a Pale Straw Pearl Moth (Udea Iutealis) - a new species for Tice's Meadow.

(c) Kevin Duncan, Pale Straw Pearl Moth