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Click on "Flora & Fauna Record" to go to the Birds and Wild Flower Systematic lists
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BREAKING NEWS: July, August, September, October 2014
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| 29/30 October: 14/15 Whooper Swans flew over the house, heading towards Sutton or Sutton Gault. Ian and Sheila D. |
30 October: White Dapperling (Leucoagarius leucothites). Found today in garden pot by Parsley. PM  |
| 23 October: Long Drove approx. 800 Lapwings. 200+/- Linnets and a Merlin. PM |
20 October: This small fungus in garden. Pale Brittlestem. Psathyrella condolleana. Only about size of a penny at best. If any body knows different we would be glad of advice. PM. |
| 17 October: North Fen Back Drove. 1200 Lapwings and 1 very pale Golden Plover. Many Starlings feeding among them with 30-30 Linnets and other finches. Long Drove 30 +/- Linnets. PM |
16 October: Although many Redwings are noted flying over and to westwards none have been found in local hedgerows yet. Photo: Michaelmas Daises, Ely Way, Grunty Fen. Probably Aster lanceolatus or Pannicled aster. These are believed to be wild as they have been there for a very long time and are not near housing. PM.  |
| 11 October: A few Fieldfares moving through/over. PM. |
30 September: North Fen/Back Drove 1500+/- Golden Plovers probably arrive overnight as they are too tired to forage and just remain static most of time if they are not flushed by Kestrel. 200 app Lapwings in same field. Long Drove about 25-30 Golden Plovers and 25 Lesser Blackbacked, Herring and probably Yellow-legged Gulls but not all standing so difficult to tell. No sign of any chats or Wheatears. PM&ID |
| 27 September: Some sightings: Ewell’s Fen – Lapwing 300+, Wheatear 1, Dam Bank Drove – Wheatear 1 (on road), Long Drove – Lapwing 200+, Golden Plover c75. Simon. Wendy Lanman's garden 26th Septmber. Found these "pots" made by Potter (Tube) Wasp. Very small, hole openings only about 3-4 mms across. Adult female wasp forms the tube like structures from mud. She then catches insects, grubs etc and stores them inside tubes after killing them and then lays egg in the bodies, seals up front. probably repeats this three or four times and then dies. These were hidden a wooden casing covering a water cooler outside house. PM  |
| 26 September: Lapwing numbers now building up 1000+ Ewell Fem, 1000+ Long Drove. 5 Kestrels small flocks of Goldfinch and Linnet but little else. First autumn passage with no Wheatears yet. Most unusual. PM & ID |
| 23 September: Guppys Pond: We've just been away in France since Friday, so I don't know about anything recent, but the kingfishers were out on cue each time a boat went out on our boating day ...WL |
19 September: Red Goosefoot. Nth Fen , Back Drove. Found growing on farmyard manure heaps. Seedheads and stems will grow redder later.  |
| 14 September: North Fen at least 5 Common Buzzards soaring and mew calling in and out of low cloud. 20-30 Linnets feeding on Mugwort seed heads. Adventurers Fen 200+/- Lapwings flighting. Thought there might be some migrants around but no luck. PM |
| 14 September: North Fen. Now about 400 Lapwings. Adventurers Drove. 1 juvenile Marsh Harrier, 2 Hobbies and 4 Kestrels. Long Drove over 100 Large Gulls looked interesting but wasn't able to sort them out. PM & ID There were at least 6 adult Yellow-legged Gulls and 2 adult Herring Gulls with 50 Lesser Black-backed Gulls in freshly ploughed fields along Long Drove this morning. Simon.  |
| 12 September: During August 2014 Jez Reeves organised the second community wildflower count. The results have been submitted to CEH at the Biological Record Centre (BRC), following on from the initial survey in 2013 for Plantlife. Click here to view the article written for the Village Voice, and the list of plants that were identified in the 5mx5m plot in Fairchilds’ Meadow, as well as the 1km transect across the survey square TL4675. |
| 8 September: Three Marsh Harriers were seen in the air together near Clayton’s Bridge, apparently going to roost. Simon Elephant Hawk moth caterpillar this time found in Aldreth garden. John Burgess.  |
7 September: Here is an image of a female Speckled Bush-cricket taken in our Aldreth garden earlier today. |
| 4 September: North Fen: 9 Long-tailed Tits. Covey of 24 Grey Partridges, 4 Common Buzzards. 200 Lapwings. 2 separate flocks of app 50 Linnets.3 Kestrels. Long Drove: 9 Grey Partridges. another 200 Lapwings. Corn Bunting and 4 Greenfinch on wires. 2 C Buzzards and 2 Kestrels. PM&ID. 9 Grey Partridges part of covey of 24. North Fen  Fairy-ring Champignon in Lode Way garden PM  |
| 31 August: Whinchat along Long Drove. per Ian & Monica Marks. Here are 3 images of 2 male Great Green Bush-crickets taken on 30th August at Nine Acre Wood, Aldreth and a male Migrant Hawker dragonfly taken on 31st August, Aldreth.     |
| 20 August: Last night went out along Grangers and Back Droves for a drive rather than for birding. Saw Hobby and, had a Marsh Harrier going to roost in cereal crop to north of Back Drove at 20:30. SS |
19 August: Perennial Sow Thistle. Back Drove, Nth Fen, and Wild Radish. Graingers Drove. PM&ID  |
18 August: Caterpillar of Elephant Hawk moth in garden Barbara York. |
11 August: Interesting little black fly (Rhinophora lepida) on Prickly Sow Thistle. Aldreth Road. PM. |
8 August: Lesser House Fly showing suckers on feet well (Well it is wildlife!). PM. |
6 August: Dingy Footman moth on hand. Does it need to know the time? Ian and Sheila Dickerson . |
| 4 August: Oak Bush Cricket in the garden, Barbara Y. Amphibious bistort on Guppy's Pond. Wendy Lanman  |
| 3 August: This afternoon in the garden - Turtle Dove still purring, young Buzzard begging for food and at least one Brown Argus. Simon. Willow warbler in the garden. It's the time of year when I usually get one or two. JA |
| 27 July: A Painted Lady in the garden yesterday. In pristine condition. Feeding flock of ca 30 House Martins over. A second Painted Lady on Hoghill Drove this afternoon. Not so bright though. JA |
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20 July: Station Road. private land. 1 Greater Mullein (Verbascum ) 2.Yarrow (pink early flowers). PM.
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| 16 July: On Monday 14 July I met Barbara York and Rob Partridge for a bat detecting evening down the drove by Guppy's Pond and on to Fairchild's Meadows. We detected Daubentons bats over the water and many Common Pipistrelles along the hedges, especially those beside the pond. The air was full of moths and other insects so the bats had plenty to feast on. We also detected Roesels Crickets and grasshoppers in the sheep meadow near the small pond. We saw a fox and heard what we thought was a startled muntjac making a loud, explosive barking noise. Tuesday 15 July Brian saw two kingfishers together on Guppy's Pond, and today, Wednesday 16 he was woken up very early by swans fighting. This afternoon the resident male's feathers are in a rather sorry state and a dead swan is floating at the other end of the pond. On a more cheerful note, we have found a goldfinches' nest in our crab apple tree, peacock butterflies on the inulas, red admirals on the hemp agrimony and the reed warblers are chatting away after their afternoon nap. Wendy Lanman |
| 15 July: Spotted Flycatchers in Haddenham garden where there was a nest. Still around but habitat is great. Old mature orchard with open understory. There are 2 adults and 4 juveniles but it is thought only 2 of the young belong to the resident pair. So....where did additional 2 come from (maybe from unfound nearby site). If so where have other parents gone? All occasionally go to look in vacated nest. Interesting. PM. |
8 July: Stand at "Handmade in Haddenham" event in gallery garden. Wendy is watching Jim who is guiding children through Barn Owl pellet dissection.  Harlequin Ladybird that visited the HCS stand in Handmade in Haddenham Gallery event.  |
8 July: New sign plate for Wildflower garden in Old Burial Ground, Church Lane. Haddenham jointly managed by Haddenham Parish Council and Haddenham Conservation Society.  |
8 July: White-letter Hairstreak taken at Fairchild’s Meadow on Sunday afternoon. It was one of three that I saw there. I have to admit that they were not in pristine condition and I have ‘repaired’ a tear in the wing of this individual. Simon. (Probably come to near end of flight period. PM.) |
| 5 July: House Martins on my house have just fledged 3-4 young. Its difficult to tell as parents and young are flying around together. I wonder if they will have another go. PM |
4 July: A very interesting morning along Back Drove in North Fen. At least 4 pairs of Yellow Wagtails each with 3-4 young on the wing and still being fed by parents. Also family of Corn Bunting difficult to assess how many because they drop into wheat very often also one or two other birds dropping similarly but different places. Maybe chicks still in nests. 2 juvenile Pied Wagtails. Common Whitethroat obviously feeding hidden young. Linnets come and go including 1 brilliantly coloured male. Reed Buntings about and all went quiet when Kestrel flew over. Small birds came out again quite quickly. Why were they all there. Recently dumped farmyard muck covered in insects. Common Buzzard sat on straw bale stack in distance. Most interesting of all was to come across a 10 yard by 6 yard patch of Common Thistle on flower with literally hundreds of Small Tortoiseshell butterflies on. Must have been a large co-ordinated hatch. Photographs don't do justice to numbers but it can be seen how close they were to each other. Considering 3-4 years back Butterfly Conservation were think they were going extinct its a great come back.Only 3-4 mixed Whites. No dragonflies at all which is puzzling. PM & ID   |
| 2 July: Two Willowherbs. Often regarded as weeds in a garden these are actually British wild flowers. On left of picture 1 is Broad-leaved Willowherb. Note red stems and smooth leaves. On right is Hoary Willowherb. Picture 2 is Broad-leaved Willowherb closer note smaller flowers than Hoary. Picture 3 is Hoary Willowherb. Note "hoary" leaves and larger flowers, also with small cross stigmata.    |
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