Tuesday 31 July 2018

Bird' Sightings on the 'Patch'

We previously competed (if albeit, nominally) in the 'Patchwork Challenge' but have decided to give it a miss this Year. We say nominally, since the Highest Position we could ever have hoped for, was Mid-Table. That being said, we will continue to look for Birds on the 'Patch'.

The so-called, 'Patch', runs alongside the Thames from where the Footpath runs up to the Thames Path from Crabtree Manorway North in Belvedere, downstream, to just beyond Corinthian Manorway, in Erith.

It includes the area, say 200 yards inland, running parallel to the River. Sadly though; almost all of the ground immediately inland from the River has been built on. The 'Patch' includes the (fairly small) newly-landscaped Lake beside Church Manorway and the Footpath that runs between Church Manorway and Bronze Age Way where there is a short stretch of Ditch bordered by Reeds &c.

We had been toying with the idea of extending the 'Patch' this year to include the nearby Crossness Nature Reserve and Surrounding area but have decided against the notion.

Although it would inevitably boost the total number of Birds seen (we could have included Birds such as Avocet (but seen on the 'Patch' during 2018), Black RedstartCaspian Gull and Great White Egret if we had included the Reserve and Surrounding area in our 2017' 'Patch') the truth of the matter is that we probably wouldn't see many more Birds than we do already!

During 2016, we Recorded 74 Species on the 'Patch' (an Exceptional Total we think: for us at least).

During 2017, we Recorded 60 Species on the 'Patch'.

After a break of a few months this year, we are not expecting to reach 60 Species but that won't affect our enjoyment.

During July we added Great Crested Grebe and Little Egret to our List of Sightings.

As at 31 July, the Sightings are as follows (52 Species):

Avocet
Black-Headed Gull viz.


Black-Tailed Godwit
Blackbird
Blue Tit
Canada Goose
Carrion Crow
Chaffinch
Chiffchaff
Collared Dove
Common Gull viz.


Common Sandpiper
Coot
Cormorant
Curlew
Dunlin
Dunnock
Gadwall
Goldcrest
Goldfinch
Great Black-Backed Gull
Great Crested Grebe viz.


Great Spotted Woodpecker
Great Tit
Grey Heron
Grey Wagtail
Herring Gull
House Sparrow
Lapwing
Lesser Black-Backed Gull
Linnet
Little Egret
Little Grebe
Long-Tailed Tit
Magpie
Mallard viz.


Meadow Pipit
Moorhen
Mute Swan
Oystercatcher
Pied Wagtail
Redshank
Redwing
Ring-Necked Parakeet
Ringed Plover
Robin
Rock Dove/Feral Pigeon (accepted for the 'Patchwork Challenge')
Rock Pipit
Shelduck viz.


Starling
Stonechat
Teal
and Wood Pigeon

Friday 27 July 2018

Butterflies Seen In the Garden (at Home) during 2018

Butterfly' Species seen in the Garden during 2017: CommaCommon BlueGatekeeperGreen-Veined WhiteHolly BlueLarge WhiteMeadow BrownRed AdmiralRingletSmall White and Speckled Wood Butterflies.

With lots of new planting to attract Butterflies &c. we hoped to increase on this during 2018: and Wow, we are up to Eighteen Species!

Butterflies seen during 2018:

Brimstone Butterfly ~ first seen on 22 April 2018 (not seen during 2017)

Comma Butterfly ~ first seen on 25 June 2018 (also seen during 2017) viz.


Common Blue Butterfly ~ first seen on 15 July 2018 (also seen during 2017) viz.




Essex Skipper Butterfly ~ first seen on 8 July 2018 (not seen during 2017) viz.


Gatekeeper Butterfly ~ first seen on 29 June 2018 (also seen during 2017) viz.


Green-Veined White Butterfly ~ first seen on 4 May 2018 (also seen during 2017) viz.


Holly Blue Butterfly ~ first seen on 22 April (also seen during 2017) viz.


Large Skipper Butterfly ~ first seen on 11 June 2018 (not seen during 2017) viz.




Large White Butterfly ~ first seen on 30 June 2018 (also seen during 2017) viz.



Meadow Brown Butterfly ~ first seen on 24 June 2018 (also seen during 2017) viz.


Painted Lady Butterfly ~ first seen on 3 July 2018 (not seen during 2017)

Peacock Butterfly ~ first seen on 18 April 2018 (not seen during 2017)

Red Admiral Butterfly ~ first seen on 15 June 2018 (also seen during 2017)

Small Copper Butterfly ~ first seen on 27 July 2018 (not seen during 2017)



Small Skipper Butterfly ~ first seen on 4 July 2018 (not seen during 2017) viz.


Small Tortoiseshell Butterfly ~ first seen on 25 June 2018 (also seen during 2017)

Small White Butterfly ~ first seen on 18 April 2018 (also seen during 2017) viz.


and Speckled Wood Butterfly ~ first seen on 20 April 2018 (also seen during 2017) viz.



Monday 23 July 2018

Birds Seen In or From the Garden (at Home) during 2018

We have decided to try to keep a proper Record of Birds Seen In or From the Garden at Home: prompted by the Unusual Sighting (for us) of a Song Thrush in the Garden during the closing days of 2017 and seen again (the assumed same Bird) on 2 January.

Truth to tell, we don't see many different Bird' Species but we are pleased enough with what we do see.

Bird Sightings as at 23 July:

Blackbird

Blue Tit viz.





Carrion Crow

Chaffinch

Coal Tit viz.


Dunnock

Goldfinch  viz.





(last year we saw at least one young Goldfinch at the Bird Bath and on 7 April this year we saw three adult Goldfinches in the Garden; previously we had only ever seen two adult Birds in the Garden at any one time)

Great-Spotted Woodpecker viz.



Great Tit

Grey Heron (flying over)

House Sparrow

Magpie

Ring-Necked Parakeet viz.


Robin viz.




Song Thrush

Sparrowhawk (swooping down on assumed House Sparrows)

Starling viz.



Wood Pigeon (the first Bird' Species seen during 2018 and initially spotted by little Bella!) viz.




Wren

Other Bird' Species previously heard/seen include: Black-Headed Gull, Chiffchaff, Collared DoveGreen Woodpecker, Jackdaw and Long-Tailed Tit.

Thursday 12 July 2018

We find a Grasshopper in the Garden (at Home)

We thought we had heard Grasshoppers (or Crickets) in the Front Garden.

And Yippee: we heard one and then saw one viz.



Friday 6 July 2018

Wild Flowers in our local Monad

... There is a tendency to ignore the things that are in front of us ...

With this in mind and having previously half-heartedly looked around us for Wild Flowers &c. while out walking &c. we have now decided to see which Wild Flowers &c. we can find in our local Monad, TQ****, which falls within Vice-County 16, West Kent (for various reasons we prefer to keep the TQ Reference private).

That being said, we imagine that where we see Wild Flowers the vast majority of people see unsightly and untidy Weeds! From the odd conversation we have had, that would most certainly appear to be the case. Indeed, one person became exceedingly agitated that we were photographing Jersey Cudweed growing in a Public Alley viz. why would anyone photograph a 'Weed'?

There will of course be many Plants we are unable to identify but Nothing Ventured &c.

For example, we have never really gotten going nor probably ever will with a number of Plant families, including the Daisy Gang viz.


But perhaps over time this might change?

We initially hoped to see Fifty Plants growing in Grassy Areas (sadly, few and far between except for Road Verges and all are fairly regularly Mown/Strimmed), on Pavements, beside Roads &c. (vulnerable to Street Cleaning &c.) but passed that Target within a few days.

We shall also include assumed Self Seeded Plants, seen growing in Front Gardens and clearly visible from the Pavement (see Common FumitoryLady's Bedstraw, Orange Hawkweed &c. below).

Records have been submitted to the Kent Botanical Recording Group (KBRG)

American Willowherb
Annual Meadow-Grass
Annual Mercury
Antirrhinum (assumed Self-Seeded: growing and flowering on the Pavement) viz.


Aster (assumed Michaelmas Daisy growing in a Roadside Gutter) viz.


Black Bindweed viz.


Black Horehound viz.


Black Medick
Black Nightshade
Bramble
Bristly Oxtongue viz.


Broad-Leaved Dock viz.


Broad-Leaved Everlasting-Pea viz.


Buck's-Horn Plantain viz.


Buddleia
Bulbous Buttercup viz.


California Poppy
Charlock (growing/flowering beside Recycling Bins) viz.


Cleavers
Cock's-Foot
Common Bird's-Foot-Trefoil (very pleased to find this growing on the edge of a Pavement although of course ever-vulnerable to Council' Street Cleaning) viz.


Common Chickweed
Common Dog-Violet (growing in our Front Garden)
Common Field-Speedwell
Common Fumitory viz.


Common Hogweed
Common Mallow
Common Mouse-Ear
Common Nettle
Common Poppy
Common Purslane (although aware of single Sea Purslane Plants growing beside the Thames in both the Belvedere and Erith areas, we had never heard of Common Purslane before finding this and a few nearby Plants growing in a Roadside' Gutter ~ mentioned in Kent Botany 2017) viz.



Common Ragwort
Common Stork's-Bill (flowering on the Pavement) viz.


Common Vetch (growing [i] in a 'Wild' Front Garden and [ii] beside a Public Footpath) viz.




Common Whitlowgrass viz.


Couch Grass
Cow Parsley
Creeping Buttercup viz.


Creeping Cinquefoil
Creeping Thistle viz.


Creeping Yellow-Cress
viz.


Daisy
Dandelion viz.


Dove's-Foot Crane's-Bill
Dwarf Mallow viz.



Evening Primrose
Fat-Hen
Feverfew viz.


Field Bindweed
Field Forget-Me-Not viz.


Field Madder
Field Wood-Rush (growing in a Front Garden)
Four-Leaved Allseed (on the Kent Rare Plant Register) viz.




Goat's-Beard
Grape Hyacinth (growing in our Front Garden) viz.


Great Willowherb viz.


Greater Celandine
Greater Plantain
Green Alkanet
Ground Elder (we suddenly realised we were looking at Ground Elder. We wouldn't normally be excited to see it but we were when we saw it growing in the Upper Bedon Stream area) viz.


Groundsel
Hairy Bittercress
Hedge Bedstraw
Hedge Mustard
Henbit Dead-Nettle (the flowers, when seen side-on, put us in mind of Happy Giraffes) viz.



Herb Robert (we have been surprised how little we have seen considering how prolific it is in the Garden at Home)
Hoary Cress
Ivy viz.


Ivy-Leaved Speedwell viz.


Ivy-Leaved Toadflax viz.


Jersey Cudweed (on the Kent Rare Plant Register and seen in a number of different locations although in some instances just a single Plant and all ever-vulnerable to being Weeded Out or damaged/destroyed by Council' Street Cleaning) viz.





Knotgrass
Lady's Bedstraw (very surprised to see any but Wow: the Lady's Bedstraw has essentially replaced the Grass in an 'Open-Plan', Front Garden) viz.


Least Yellow-Sorrel (growing in the Grass in a Front Garden) viz.


Lesser Burdock (not expecting to find any so a very Pleasant Surprise) viz.


Lesser Celandine
Lesser Swine-Cress viz.


Love-in-a-Mist viz.


Meadow Grass (species undetermined) viz.


Mind-your-own-Business viz.


Mouse-Ear Hawkweed
Narrow-Leaved Ragwort
Nipplewort
Opium Poppy
Orange Hawkweed (we were surprised and really pleased to see this growing in the Grass in a generally untended Front Garden)
Oxford Ragwort
Pellitory-of-the-Wall (there is quite a lot scattered around)
Perennial Wall-Rocket
Petty Spurge
Pineappleweed viz.


Pot Marigold
Prickly Lettuce viz.


Prickly Sow-Thistle
Procumbent Pearlwort viz.


Purple Toadflax 
Purple-Leaved Procumbent Yellow-Sorrel viz.


Red Clover (seen in just one location unlike White Clover which is widespread) viz.


Red Valerian viz.


Redshank viz.


Red Dead-Nettle
Ribwort Plantain
Round-Leaved Crane's-Bill
Rue-Leaved Saxifrage viz.




Scarlet Pimpernel viz.


Selfheal (growing in the Grass in a Front Garden)
assumed Shaggy-Soldier viz.


Shepherd's-Purse
Shining Crane's-Bill viz.


Smooth Sow-Thistle
Spear-Leaved Orache viz.


Spear Thistle
Spotted Medick
Spotted Spurge (mentioned in Kent Botany 2017, a few Plants growing in Roadside' Gutters: according to Kent Botany 2016, it was first found in Vice-County 16, West Kent, on 27 July 2016, in the Eltham area. Seen again during 2018) viz.





Sun Spurge
Sweet Alyssum
Sweet Violet viz.


Thale Cress
Three-Cornered Garlic/Leek viz.


Thyme-Leaved Sandwort (totally unexpected) viz.


Tomato (assumed) viz.


Wall Barley
Wall Speedwell
Water Bent viz.


White Bryony
White Clover viz.


White Dead-Nettle viz.


Winter-Cress (species to be determined) viz.


Wood Avens
Woody Nightshade (spilling onto the pavement from a Front Garden)
Yarrow viz.


Yellow Corydalis (spread from nearby Gardens) viz.


A Footnote: in the Garden at Home we have seen a number of Self-Seeded Wild Flowers, including:  Common Dog-Violet viz.


Common Field-SpeedwellCommon Ragwort, a CowslipCreeping Thistle, Feverfew, Green Alkanet, Honesty viz.


Pink Sorrel viz.


Prickly Lettuce, Red Dead-Nettle, Red Valerian, Selfheal, Spear Thistle, Thyme-Leaved Speedwell, White Clover and Woody Nightshade.