WonderfulWildlifeUK

Few wildflowers capture the imagination quite like our orchids. They’re beautiful, of course, but also sufficiently scarce to provide a little jolt of excitement whenever you happen across one. They are also the only group of plants – to the best of my knowledge – that manages to unite all natural history enthusiasts, whether they […] from James Common https://commonbynature.co.uk/2020/06/21/chasing-urban-orchids/

Bunk line area today per Alan Dawson. A good mixed Hirundine flock today of Swallow , House Martin and Sand Martin . Difficult to say how many but appeared to be made up of 3-4 family groups per species. Greenfinch , Yellowhammer , Common Whitethroat , several Buzzard , a Kestrel and a distant Barn Owl . Also a distant Red Fox noted. from Cholsey Wildlife https://cholseywildlife.blogspot.com/2020/06/hirundines.html

Alan found a rare form of the above Cricket at Cholsey Marsh yesterday. Wikipedia has this to say regarding the Long-winged form: “Both male and female adults are normally brachypterous. However, a macropterous form, f. diluta (described by Charpentier 1825) also exists. These have much longer wings, and usually make up less than 1% of the total population, but in some populations occur in much higher numbers, usually in areas where the bush-cricket's range has recently expanded to. They are more common in long, warm summers where populations reach higher densities. It has also been suggested that a very localised hostile environment may also produce a higher level of macropterous forms. The macropterous form is a dispersal phase, and it provides the advantage of reaching new, more favourable habitats, within which there is a lower density of Roesel's bush-crickets residing. Well established populations tend to be more highly brachypterous, as high dispersal ability is c...

A couple of weeks ago, I walked part of the North Downs Way with a friend. Not a particularly unusual event, normally, but many of us have had rapidly to adjust our expectations of normal over the past months. I had wandered through the fields around my home almost every day since lockdown, charting Spring […] from James Common https://commonbynature.co.uk/2020/06/19/a-walk-on-the-north-downs-way-by-frances-jones/

Cloudy with a few sunny periods, 20°, light ESE. A walk out towards Aston Tirrold via the Lees today. Several Reed Warbler and Sedge Warbler seen with food along the “Reedy Ditch” and the occasional snatch of song heard. Several Reed Bunting along the “Long Ditch” and nearby and a couple of Blackcap , a Chiffchaff and a Nuthatch at the Lees. 2-3 Yellow Wagtail , a couple of Yellowhammer and a Corn Bunting between the Lees and Manor Farm. Mammals: Brown Hare . Dragonflies: Beautiful Demoiselle , Banded Demoiselle , Azure Damselfly . Emperor Dragonfly and Four-spot Chaser . Butterflies: Large Skipper , Large White , Small White , Small Tortoiseshell (50+), Comma , Speckled Wood , Marbled White and Meadow Brown . A few Hoverflies around today including a Pellucid Hoverfly and a possible Ant-hill Hoverfly . And if you have passed thru the Bull’s Hole you may have noticed the Hart’s Tongue Fern growing on a wall. Sedge Warbler  Hart's Tongue Fern ...

Mainly cloudy with a few sunny spells, 21°, light S. A rather uneventful walk out to Lollingdon and back today. A Goldcrest singing along Cholsey brook and a flyover Yellow Wagtail at Little Lollingdon. Nothing much changed. Common Tern along the Thames today. Per Alan. Mammals: Brown Hare and Roe Deer . Dragonflies: Banded Demoiselle , White-legged Damselfly (Alan). Butterflies: Large Skipper , Small Skipper (Alan), Brimstone , Large White , Small White , Small Tortoiseshell , Speckled Wood and Meadow Brown . Moths: Cinnabar , Scarlet Tiger (Alan), both these moths being noted frequently. Insects: Stag Beetle (Alan), a lot of records in Cholsey this year. Good news, and a Hornet Mimic Hoverfly out at Lollingdon. Common Tern (courtesy Alan Dawson)  Stag Beetle (courtesy Alan Dawson)  Brown Hare (again, running away)  Hornet Mimic Hoverfly  Large Skipper (courtesy Andrew McBirnie) Scarlet Tiger (courtesy Alan Dawson) from ...

A few photos of a Stock Dove in the garden having a shower in heavy rain yesterday. A Green Woodpecker popping in for a drink. and a Grey Squirrel on a daily visit a Cinnabar Moth on Loren's Allotment (courtesy Loren) and finally a couple from along the Thames from Alan today. Egyptian Goose and Kingfisher. from Cholsey Wildlife https://cholseywildlife.blogspot.com/2020/06/rain-shine-garden-river.html