NATURE NOTES
N Notes ature
A
lthough by Christmas it may seem a distant
memory, the glorious settled weather of the autumn provided a much needed respite for insects which had struggled for survival during the cool summer and lead to low numbers of, for example, the more common butterflies. The result has been that good numbers of butterflies and other insects have been in good numbers right into the first few days of November. It has been a particularly good autumn for the largest of our sociable wasps, the Hornet (Vespo Crabro). Being up to an inch (25mm) long, they are coloured brown and yellow rather than black and have been quite noticeable throughout the South Hams region, both inland and coastal. The males and females emerge in late summer with the latter, after mating, becoming queens for the following year. The males, workers and older queens subsequently die in the late autumn. Although larger than the common wasp, generally the Hornet is not aggressive and stings are very infrequent. Other insects are their main food, but they will supplement this with tree sap, rotting fruit and nectar. The cliffs along by Strete Gate provided plenty of sightings as the Hornets preyed on hoverflies and other insects attracted to the good stands of Common Ivy Hedera Helix along this stretch of coast. Indeed, the late flowering ivy proved a magnet for butterflies as well – in early October I saw up to 30 Red Admirals, 6 Clouded Yellows, Comma, Painted Lady and many of the more common species of butterfly along here. Even in the first week of November, Red Admiral, Peacock and Small Tortoiseshell are around. Should the
european Hornet © Brian robert marshall
Hummingbird hawk moth
© Andy Stephenson
weather remain mild and, in particular, dry and sunny, a sheltered
Wildlife to look out for in the local area
spot could produce a sighting of one of these butterflies throughout the winter. The settled weather
was a result of high pressure over the British Isles and led to prolonged easterly winds across the country. This brought in many scarce and
unusual birds from the east with
many, such as Yellow browed warbler and Pallas’ Warbler (two tiny waifs from Siberia) finding their way to Devon. However, the best bird of all was an Isabelline Shrike originating from Central Asia that was found at South Huish Marsh in Thurlestone. For excellent photos, look at Mike Passman’s superb blog at
http://thurlestonebaybirds.co.uk/. The bird stayed for about a week and gave incredible views during that time.
slavonian Grebe © mike-Pennington
What to
look for in December
& January December and January are the prefect time to see wintering seabirds off the Devon coast. Favoured hot spots are Broadsands for divers including Great Northern, Slavonian and Black necked grebes and sea duck such as Common Scoter. The second car park here is also a prime spot for that Devon speciality, Cirl Bunting. Further down the coast, viewing Start Bay from Slapton area can also reveal similar species and perhaps the scarcer Velvet Scoter. Also, look at the ley for Long tailed duck.
91
Isabelline shrike courtesy of “thurestone Bay Birds”
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68 |
Page 69 |
Page 70 |
Page 71 |
Page 72 |
Page 73 |
Page 74 |
Page 75 |
Page 76 |
Page 77 |
Page 78 |
Page 79 |
Page 80 |
Page 81 |
Page 82 |
Page 83 |
Page 84 |
Page 85 |
Page 86 |
Page 87 |
Page 88 |
Page 89 |
Page 90 |
Page 91 |
Page 92 |
Page 93 |
Page 94 |
Page 95 |
Page 96 |
Page 97 |
Page 98 |
Page 99 |
Page 100 |
Page 101 |
Page 102 |
Page 103 |
Page 104 |
Page 105 |
Page 106 |
Page 107 |
Page 108 |
Page 109 |
Page 110 |
Page 111 |
Page 112 |
Page 113 |
Page 114 |
Page 115 |
Page 116 |
Page 117 |
Page 118 |
Page 119 |
Page 120 |
Page 121 |
Page 122 |
Page 123 |
Page 124 |
Page 125 |
Page 126 |
Page 127 |
Page 128 |
Page 129 |
Page 130 |
Page 131 |
Page 132