Conningbrook Lakes – Late July

Posted on 26th July 2016 by Richard

I went to Conningbrook Lakes this afternoon for two reasons 1. Hoping to see the reported Turtle Dove and 2. some Snakes.
I saw neither of course, but as always, something will take your fancy.

Being School Summer Holidays and what I thought was a perfect day for getting out and about after the heatwave, I was surprised that in my two hour stroll, I saw no one else at all!
Maybe they’re all queuing up at Dover Docks!

Although very common birds, the highlight was sitting on a Bench just by the bridge separating the main lake and watching a dozen or so juvenile Pied Wagtails darting around in a frenzy as if life depended on it. Saying that, to a bird, life does depend on it!

Gatekeeper – Marbled White – Speckled Wood

Damselfly – Banded – Heron in the Trees beside Eco Lake

Progressing around to the Eco and North Lakes I could hear many birds, mainly Long Tailed Tits, what I believe were juvenile Chaffinches and a couple of Green Woodpeckers.
As hard as I tried to get a photo, their darting between the leafy smaller trees beat me.
In the fields on the other side of the River there were intermittent groups of Skylarks.

The Wild Plants and Flowers alongside the Great Stour looked splendid. Now in their full glory you can see that much food supply will be there for Autumn and Winter, plus of course, many Butterflies, Bees and Dragon Flies enjoying them as they are now.

Now in it’s second year of opening much is happening at Conningbrook and I’m sure that many Nature lovers will be enjoying a very special last half of 2016 and next year to boot.

As for the Turtle Dove and Bees, I need to get myself out of bed at silly o’clock I think !!

Kent Wildlife Trust Web Site

Over 60 pages of Garden Wildlife on the main Down the Lane Web Site here Nature on our Doorstep

Colour at Dungeness late June

Posted on 30th June 2016 by Richard

A few Wild Flowers around the RSPB Dungeness Reserve today

Evening Primrose

Probably this is the most seen flower around the Reserve at this time of the year, a fine yellow colourful plant self seeding as it spreads.

These will flower between June and September gradually increasing each individual bloom one after the other.
Great for attracting Bees, Butterflies and Moths it is possible to grow these in your Garden, something often overlooked for the reason that many think it’s just a colourful weed found on the side of roads and waste ground.

BuGloss

A long flowering wild flower lasting from May to Septemeber which will attract Bumblebees, Honey Bees and many Butterflies especially Skippers and Painted Ladies.

They grow mainly on sand and chalk and more associated to the south of the UK.

Mallow (also known as Musk Mallow)

This lovely plant flowers between very late June through to September.

Most would class this as a weed, but seen in more natural surroundings of coast, hedgerows and wasteland areas they give a cover which would enhance anyone’s Garden.
They like soil with ample nitrogen, so if you have stinging nettles, you’ll know you have the right conditions to grow them.

Loved by Butterflies!

Thistle

Not always something liked by the Gardener, especially around a Vegetable Patch, but all the more reason to have part of your Garden grow wild to attract wildlife.
The Thistle will not let you down. Not easy to work around due to the sharpness of it’s protective spikes, but a great colour thrown in.

The main thing is that birds and Butterflies love them!

Over 60 pages of Garden Wildlife on the main Web Site here Nature on our Doorstep

The Colourful Fields

Posted on 12th June 2016 by Richard

Bit of a dodgy hip today so my walk down the Fields was mainly spent looking down rather than looking up, didn’t fancy a fall!

This turned out to be a more pleasant walk than I expected; the wildlife buffer around the fields seems to be attracting all sorts of flora which in turn is bringing the Butterflies and other Invertebrates. Even a few Midges aren’t too much trouble and they are at least supplying good food for many birds (mainly Skylarks there).

I’m still awaiting to see a Meadow Brown, there were quite a lot last year and I believe now is about the right time for them to show.
Compared to last week when I posted that I was worried about the lack of Butterflies, loads of Small Tortoiseshell, Red Admirals, Specked Woods, Small Blues and Peacocks have arrived in their multitudes! The Moths are also apparent, so nice to see one my and others favourites The Cinnabar.

Also showing are a few Dragon Flies; plenty of Four Spotted Chasers and now Demoiselles are hopping between the four feet high grass.

With a number of days of heavy rain much of the areas left to grow wild are becoming inaccessible. The good thing is they’re becoming inaccessible to human intervention and just left for whatever creature wants to show a presence.
All in all it’s making great sources of food for those who need and deserve it !

Over 60 pages of Garden Wildlife on the main Web Site here Nature on our Doorstep

Hobby, Dragon Flies and more at Dungeness

Posted on 27th May 2016 by Richard

26th. May 2016

Todays outing RSPB Dungeness and the Beach there produced some great sights, even if they were all quite common such as Hobbies, Buntings, Gulls and Dragon Flies.

I noticed quite a few Birders around and it came to light that a Laughing Gull had been seen to the west of the Power Station. I looked at the walk it entailed and to be honest, although a chance to get a rarer bird, decided I’d already walked far enough.
As it happened I was told it flew away about half an hour before I found out, so it saved me a route march!

The Hobby

There were two reasons for going today; 1. A Hobby and 2. A Bittern, I didn’t see or hear the latter.
As always with searches for something you want, it wasn’t until I’d walked around for about an hour before I spotted it and what a sight that it, about the size of a Kestrel but seemingly more agile in it’s flight.
It didn’t perch but I managed a passing Shot.

Side view of the Hobby – Male Reed Bunting – Dungeness Old Lighthouse

Red Hot Poker – Whitethroat – Tree Sparrow

A male and a female Reed Bunting gave me a pretty good pose along by Denge Marsh plus a Whitethroat kindly took off just as I clicked.

The Stream from Denge back to Boulderwall Farm was littered with Marsh Frogs but as hard as I tried all I got was that plop noise as they heard me and dived for cover!
I did see a nice Four Spotted Chaser though and this shone quite well in the midday sun.

At Boulderwall Farm the Tree Sparrows were in full song and busying themselves around the Bird Feeders in the front Garden. Not many about now, so good to see they’re well looked after there.

After a cup of Coffee in the back of the Van at the ARC Car Park I popped along the Beach. Nothing much about but saw a rather splendid wild Red Hot Poker growing all on it’s own halfway down the Beach.

A pleasant day

Over 60 pages of Garden Wildlife on the main Web Site here Nature on our Doorstep

Grey Wagtails in the Lane

Posted on 22nd May 2016 by Richard

22nd.May

Grey Wagtails are great to watch, always busy, running around the ground searching for either nest building ‘equipment’ or Flies.

The Lane has about six at present and at no time do you not walk around the corner without seeing one or two scampering along, then in the evenings they’re down in the Stream having a Bath!

The problem for some is ‘why are they called Grey Wagtails and not Yellow!’. The answer to that is quite simple, they have a grey head!
Saying that, why call their cousins Pied Wagtails, although some call them black!

Bird names re quite odd sometimes, a Chiffchaff is obviously called that because of it’s Chiffchaff song, a Blackbird is called that because it’s black, so why isn’t a Robin just called a Redbreast, or a Dunnock called a thin beaked brown. Does a Dartford Warbler come from Dartford, or a Sandwich Tern come from Sandwich. In fact where does Tern come from !!

Anyway, speaking of Blackbirds I just caught this female out the corner of my eye and fancied a quick photo of it. There’s something about Birds carrying things whether it be twigs, flies or other birds in some cases.

Many birds around here have their nests, there are House Sparrows under the Eaves, Robins in the Hawthorn Bush and Dunnocks in the Ivy.
Much activity is going on, eggs are either nearly or have hatched.

Parental nature kicks in and Summer is nearly here.

Over 60 pages of Garden Wildlife on the main Web Site here Nature on our Doorstep

Wildlife Diary

Recording wild life through the year around Hampshire, Kent and elsewhere

Tag Archives: Wild Flowers

Conningbrook Lakes – Late July

Colour at Dungeness late June

Evening Primrose

BuGloss

Mallow (also known as Musk Mallow)

Thistle

The Colourful Fields

Hobby, Dragon Flies and more at Dungeness

Grey Wagtails in the Lane