Sunday 30th. October 2011

Another busy week hedgelaying , left little time to get out , and the weather didn't help either , but I did manage a couple of visits . The first was up on the Downs , for what will probably be the last chance of reptile sightings this year . Conditions were very reasonable , with a temperature of around 16C and some good periods of clear sky . But , for all that , I only managed to find a single Slow Worm . Even the birdlife was very scarce , with the best being a flock of Common Gulls passing noisily overhead . Thinking about it , the whole year has been poor in that respect , with no Yellowhammers or Common Buzzards , and just a single Common Whitethroat being seen whilst on

site . Just a few remnants of Summer still remain , like this Harebell / Campanula rotundifolia , and

the odd Devilsbit Scabious / Knautia arvensis , still supplying nectar for the few insects that are still on the wing . The most interesting find for me was a group of Carline Thistles / Carlina vulgaris ,

found in a much more colourful condition , and showing the yellow sepal-like bracts , which according to the book , fold up in wet weather . I usually see the plant in it's drab beige/brown condition , in which it remains throughout the Winter . A few invertebrates were found on the way

round , like this Hawthorn Shield Bug /Acanthosoma haemorrhoidale , and it's cousin the Forest Bug

/ Pentatoma rufipes . On a nearby stack of old fence posts , a queen Common Wasp / Vespula

vulgaris , was looking for a safe , warm place to spend the Winter , before starting a new colony of the species next Spring . I also disturbed a female Dark Bush-cricket / Pholidoptera griseoaptera ,

which then posed helpfully on some Nettles , showing well the upward curved ovipositor which she would use to lay her eggs . The only other interest was when I turned over a large piece of wood that

was lying in the grass , and found four juvenile Wood Mice huddled up together .
The other visit was a very short one to the Farm lake . Short mainly because there was very little about . As I got to the lake , a Little Grebe that was in the nearest corner , spotted me in seconds , and

was off at full speed to the furthest corner off the lake . I watched it arrive alongside the reedbed , and was pleasantly surprised to see a mate/friend pop out of the reeds to greet it . That is the first

time that I have seen more than one on the lake , since the resident pair lost their brood during the Summer . Let's hope it is a mate , and they will be more fortunate next year . One male Migrant Hawker was recorded along with a single Red Admiral , like most that I have seen recently , heading South . The only other interest was a fast moving Tit flock along the hedgerow , composed of a mix

of Blue and Long Tailed , one of which posed just long enough to get a shot amongst the Spindle fruits .