Cats and squirrels - sights in Bradley Stoke

This cat seems to have learnt that cars don't actually use part of the roundabout in Champs-sur-Marne, and quite happily rolls about on the tiled section while cars drive past. I don't know how many of its nine lives were used up learning this.....


A little further on, along the footpath to the reserve, then in over the footbridge into Savages Wood, was this squirrel. It was foraging on the ground, before shooting up into the branches to eat what it had found. Also seen in the area was a jay and two magpies. There were plenty of small birds such as tits in the bushes and small trees around the woodland edge.

Phenology

The Woodland Trust run a phenology network which can be accessed at www.naturescalendar.org.uk - phenology is the recording of what is happening in nature over time, such as when do swallows fly back to Africa etc. The website collects records from thousands of volunteers and collates them to provide a picture about what is happening in the country, and compares them year on year, highlighting climatic effects.

The final swallow that I saw in Bradley Stoke was on the 9th September, and this has been recorded on the site. All of the summer migrants have probably gone by now, so now we await the winter arrivals such as Redwings and Fieldfares, although in the past 10 years I have only seen Redwings once in the garden. Look out for them, and record their arrival at Natures Calendar.

Grasshoppers

While walking through part of the reserve on Saturday evening after it had just got dark, Disgruntled was struck by the sheer number of grasshoppers/crickets that could be heard chirping away. Every couple of metres walked, another grasshopper could be distinguished, and this happened all along the path from Brook Way to the Diana Gardens footpath. They seem to love the grassy areas, and given the amount I heard there must be hundreds of them, but you rarely see them during the day. The reserve is definitely not a silent place if you walk through it at night at the moment.

Flowers

Garden flowers this time.


Californian poppy.


A sunflower....



This is a close up of the centre of the flower. Note the seeds forming in the middle, and the scattering of pollen around the flower head.

Wildlife in Abbeywood

Disgruntled noticed last night how much wildlife there was in the lake outside of the MOD Abbeywood complex. On the water itself was a flock of over 20 Canada geese, and a cormorant was drying itself out on a post in the middle of the water, shortly before flying to the top of the supporting pillars of the foot bridge to do the same thing. Swans also nested in the area earlier in the year. None of them seemed to care much about the volume of passing traffic.

Caterpillars, Spiders and Little Grebes.

On Saturday, Disgruntled was in his garden when he noticed the following in a Kilmarnock willow:-



Unnoticed at the time until the photo was uploaded to a computer was his mate in the branch behind, but they are doing a good job at munching the leaves of the tree. They were around 5 cm long, but are currently unidentified. If anyone can name them, please get in contact.



In the same tree, a little bit above the caterpillars and between two small branches, was this Garden spider, Araneus diadematus, sat in the middle of its web and attending to what looks like dinner. The web is quite large and quite impressive, and these spiders are quite common. They will become easier to spot as the autumn draws in, and the morning dew collects on their webs, making them easier to see.




Last night Disgruntled wandered to the Three Brooks lake and was pleased to see that the resident Little grebe (or Dabchick) and successfully raised a brood of two. Both chicks were out and about, foraging for themselves and being fed by a parent. In this picture, the chick has just received a small fish from the mother and is busy shaking it about.



In this image, the chick is trying to deal with a fish which it has caught itself. The concentric rings in the water highlight where the chick has surfaced after diving.



The second chick.

Hedgehogs

Hedgehogs can be elusive creatures, and often not seen, at least alive. But they are quite common around Bradley Stoke, and often visit gardens. If you look closely you might see the signs.

Occasionally you might come across a crunched up snail shell, which might be evidence of a hedgehog having a snack. Much more common though is hedgehog pooh. It is relatively easy to recognise - it is usually black in colour, and can range in size from small pellets 1-2cm long and 0.5cm wide, up to bigger efforts which look like they might have come from a cat, apart from the fact that cat poohs are usually a different colour. It looks as though the hedgehogs have been having a party in my back garden some time on Monday night/Tuesday morning, as there were multiple droppings across my back lawn.

If you want to feed hedgehogs, don't put out milk and bread (it swells in their stomachs). Instead, put out cat food, wet or dry, and a small bowl of water. Place it somewhere which you can observe from inside the house, and periodically check it. Most likely the hedgehogs won't appear until after dark, but they will sometimes appear earlier. If you put out food regularly then you can often establish a routine with the hedgehogs, as they will check each day whether there is food there for them or not. Disgruntled was particularly charmed a couple of years ago when a family of five used to turn up every day. If you look closely each hedgehog has its individual markings and features, so every hedgehog was given its own name. Disgruntled also recommends that if you have the space you build a hedgehog house so that they have somewhere to hibernate through the winter. Disgruntled did this, and for at least one winter a hedgehog was in residence. Note that although they hibernate, they do not necessarily sleep through the entire winter, and may make appearances when the weather is warmer for the odd snack. All the better for keeping the slug and snail populations down in your garden.