Rosie Etheridge Newsletter No 80 Autumn 2018 Ouf! What a Summer!
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Editor: Rosie Etheridge Newsletter No 80 Autumn 2018 Ouf! What a summer! And a few months ago we were suffering from the Beast from the East. This extreme weather is certainly detrimental to our wildlife. I hope you all put out water in your gardens for the birds and hedgehogs. Ed. REPORTS ON OUTSIDE EVENTS FRIDAY 23rd MARCH – SIGNS OF SPRING AT HEADSTONE MANOR Sixteen of us gathered by the moat in Headstone Manor Park to look for signs of spring. Any signs of spring would be welcome following the recent cold weather and snow. Unfortunately we needed more sun to bring out the bees and butterflies, although Rosie did spot a hoverfly on the move. We followed some of the trail in the Nature Finders leaflet; the trail that was made in memory of Geoff Corney, who loved this place. We made our way onto the island and, after looking at the large Yew (around 300 years old), we looked for buds on the Walnut tree (it was a good opportunity to study the bark and lichens). We found dead walnut leaves and pieces of walnut shell showing the tree was in good health. The old, partly hollow Pear tree has recently been cleared of Holly and Ivy thanks to the Gardening Group. Rounding the house it was good to see the large Box in flower; these yellow flowers are early and easy to miss. We hope the Box does not succumb to the ravages of the Box tree moth which is spreading through the country. Leaving the island it was good to see that the Sparrows are active around the Barn; a less welcome sight was a Terrapin basking on a fallen branch in the moat. Fortunately they have since been captured and passed to the RSPCA for re-homing. It was still rather cool and a few people continued on the trail while others visited the museum and some went for refreshment at the Moat cafe. Margaret Huitson SATURDAY 7th APRIL – EDGWAREBURY WALK FOR BIRDS AND SPRING WILDLIFE This was the first time the Society had done this walk through a lovely corner of the Green Belt right next to urban Edgware. Five members were there, together with Bob Husband and some members of his RSPB group. The route followed Edgwarebury Lane as it gradually changes from a public to a private road and finally becomes a cart track. At the start the road goes through fields up to the farm where there was a colony of House Sparrows. Here we also saw Moorhen, Collared Dove, Great Spotted Woodpecker, Jay, Linnet and a flock of Jackdaws. There were also Chaffinch, Greenfinch, Goldfinch and Dunnock singing there. At the end the track goes through a very large field which has been allowed to go to waste (development due shortly) and here there were Skylarks singing, a few Lapwings and a large flock of Stock Doves. The walk was quite long and took about three hours to complete. Other birds seen were Canada Goose, Woodpigeon, Green Woodpecker, Kestrel, Parakeet, Magpie, Crow, Starling and the following birds were heard singing:- Blue Tit, Great Tit, Chiffchaff, Wren, Blackbird, Song Thrush, Mistle Thrush, Robin, Pheasant and Little Owl. Three separate Buzzards were seen in the sky as well as a small flock of Mallard and a flock of Herring Gulls. Brian Hunter 1 SATURDAY 28th APRIL –– BLUEBELLS and APPLE BLOSSOM IN PEAR WOOD This walk had to be postponed from 14th April because of the weather. The rescheduled walk went well, despite the near constant drizzle or rain. About ten people turned up, including some members of the public who had seen the walk advertised. One person said they had lived in Stanmore all their lives and had always driven miles to see bluebells, having no idea these were on their doorstep. The bluebells were amazing, as always, and the lake and orchard were greatly admired. There was also much interest in the dyke. Claire Abbott and Rosie Etheridge SATURDAY 28th APRIL – MOTH EVENING AT STANMORE COUNTRY PARK This event was disappointing. It was a mostly cloudy evening and a North-Easterly breeze was blowing. Only five locals turned up. The people who had promised to come but didn’t were probably wiser than us. No moths were seen until a couple of policemen arrived to see what we were up to. A Double Striped Pug then appeared and this was the only moth we identified. Oh well, better luck next time I hope. John Hollingdale THURSDAY 3rd MAY – MORNING WALK FOR SPRING BIRDSONG AT BENTLEY PRIORY On a bright morning just four members braved the earlier start time of 9.30 am for our annual birdsong walk. We started at the big meadow and Boot Pond where we were lucky enough to see a Sparrowhawk circling overhead and heard Blackbird, Wren and Nuthatch. As we walked along the concrete path to the top of the reserve we heard Great Tit, Jackdaw and Green Woodpecker and at the top we saw seven Buzzards circling in the sky. We had hoped to find Whitethroats in the bushes at the top but none were found. However, we heard Song Thrush, Robin, Blackcap, Garden Warbler and Great Spotted Woodpecker in this area. At the lake Grey Wagtails were again nesting behind the metal grill by the dam. There were fewer birds than usual there: just Coot, Cormorant and Heron. On this walk we also saw Woodpigeon, Crow and Magpie and the total of birds heard singing or calling was just eleven. Flowers seen included Cuckoo Flower, Cowslip, Forget-me-not, Marsh-Marigold, Greater Stitchwort, Lesser Celandine, Bluebell, Dog Violet, Buttercup and Bugle. White and Orange Tip butterflies were seen. Thus ended a very enjoyable walk. A pity so few took part. Brian Hunter SATURDAY 5th MAY – STANMORE COUNTRY PARK FOR BUTTERFLIES AND BLUEBELLS The weather was ideal; a hot sunny day. Eight people turned up, some having seen the details on a local web site; hooray for social media. We met in the car park where we saw a Comma and a Holly Blue. It has been a good year for the Holly Blue in Harrow, also for Orange Tips as we saw several on the circular walk. Also noted were a couple of Large Whites. As we crossed a corner of Wood Farm (the site uphill from SCP) a Peacock butterfly was seen. At this point the local Buzzard came over to inspect these intruders on his/her territory. We heard both Chiffchaff and Black Caps on the route. St. Mark’s flies followed us. Coming into 40 Acre field on the East of the reserve two Green-veined Whites were seen nectaring. A very pleasant couple of hours. John Hollingdale 2 THURSDAY 31st MAY– BEE WALK AT GRIMSDYKE HOTEL Once again Harrow Natural History Society teamed up with Friends of the Earth for this year’s Great British Bee Count at Grimsdyke Hotel. It was a perfect late spring day in May and Buff-tailed Bumble Bees Bombus terrestris and Honey Bees Apis mellifera were in preponderance. Others less common were the Leafcutter Bee Megachile sp. and the Ashy Mining Bee Andrena Cineraria. Most of our sighting were made in the vegetable garden and many made by our enthusiastic young naturalists on their half-term break. There were some interesting observations of other species in Lady Gilbert’s Orchard. Brimstone Gonepteryx rhamni and small white butterflies Pieris rapae were out enjoying the sunshine. Peter observed a scorpion fly, Panorpa communis which has a curved tail that looks like a sting, and a red-headed cardinal beetle Pyrochroa serraticornis. Someone identified a Bee Fly Bombylius major, a fly pretending to be a bee. On the way through the woods back to the hotel we spotted a stinkhorn mushroom Phallus impudicus, which gives off the smell of rotting flesh to attract flies, and a deceased mole. Both specimens thrilled the younger naturalists who speculated on who killed Mr Mole? On reaching the hotel Busy bees spotting busy bees in Lady bar we quenched our thirsts with welcoming cups of tea and squash whilst Gilbert’s Orchard sitting outside under the gazebo. Jane Skelly MONDAY 11th JUNE - WOOD FARM EVENING VISIT Nine of us met at the Old Dairy at 7.30 on a lovely June evening. We didn’t venture far but enjoyed the view across London with the sun lighting up the various landmarks. There were good views in particular of Alexandra Palace, Canary Wharf, The Shard, London Eye and the Victoria Tower of the Houses of Parliament. Regarding wildlife we had lovely views of the pinkish breasted Linnets returning to one particular perching place, also Whitethroats; thank you Brian for bringing your telescope. Wendy had enjoyed a much longer walk up through Stanmore Country Park and pointed out a tiny Hoverfly larva that had probably just hatched and which will eat much larger aphids. Thanks also to Claire Abbott for opening and closing the Old Dairy for us. Margaret Huitson THURSDAY 14th JUNE and WEDNESDAY 18th JULY – CANAL TRIPS FROM BATCHWORTH LOCK This summer we organised two canal trips from Batchworth Lock in Rickmansworth on the trip boat The Pride of Batchworth. The first trip was on 14th June and headed south through Stockers Lock to Springwell Lock. Along the way we passed pleasingly close to wildlife without seeming to cause any disturbance at all. Memorably we were close to a Little Egret and a Heron sitting side by side and several of us had more than one glimpse of the electric blue of a kingfisher.