Muntjac on High Street

Jennifer saw this Muntjac in her front garden, not far from the front door, at about 12 noon on Saturday 25 June. When it left it appeared to go down the lane; Jennifer will ask the neighbours if they've seen it. It looked fairly young so may not have come far.

Spotted flycatcher in Abington

This Spotted flycatcher was seen in an Abington garden on the morning of 25 June, just after 10am.
It is apparently very shy!

Abington Insect life

Derek spotted a Southern Hawker nymphal cast on 24 June:

and then saw it the next day newly emerged from its nymphal cast - and another in the process:

Meanwhile, Robin, Richard and Peter saw a banded demoiselle (Calopteryx splendens) at the Millennium Bridge while doing the monthly litter pick:

Abington Birdwatch - weekend of 28 - 30 May 2016

Thanks to eleven contributors, Derek has collated an impressive list of species noted in the Abingtons over the above weekend, including a maximum number of each.

28-30 May 2016 Abington Birdwatch	Eleven Reports received Maximum number of species noted
Blackbird	5
Blackcap	1
Black-headed Gull	3
Blue Tit	8
Bullfinch	2
Buzzard	4
Canada Goose	9
Carrion Crow	3
Chaffinch	2
Chiffchaff	2
Coal Tit	3
Collared Dove	16
Corn Bunting	3
Dunnock	4
Goldfinch	16
Great Crested Grebe	3
Great Spotted Woodpecker	2
Great Tit	4
Green Woodpecker	2
Greenfinch	5
Grey Heron	3
Hobby	1
House Martin	10
House Sparrow	7
Jackdaw	>20
Jay	1
Lesser Black-backed Gull	1
Linnet	6
Little Owl	2
Long-tailed Tit	12
Magpie	3
Mallard	5
Mistle Thrush	2
Moorhen	2
Mute Swan	3
Pheasant	3
Pied Wagtail	4
Red-legged Partridge	6
Reed Bunting	1
Robin	8
Rook	>10
Skylark	4
Song Thrush	1
Sparrowhawk	1
Starling	>40
Stock Dove	2
Swallow	9
Swift	7
Treecreeper	4
Whitethroat	2
Willow Warbler	1
Woodpigeon	>50
Wren	2
Yellowhammer	2

Tree Bumblebees in Nestbox

While checking the bird nest-boxes in his garden recently, Andy M noticed that one nest-box seemed to have been filled with moss, so much so that the moss was visible through the entrance hole.  On watching for a few minutes, a number of bumblebees were seen coming and going from the nest-box.  According to 'Bumblebee Conservation', the Tree Bumblebee (Bombus hypnorum) was first seen in UK relatively recently (2001), presumably arriving from mainland Europe, and has since spread throughout Britain. Seen mostly in late spring and early summer, it can be distinguished from other bumblebee species by its characteristic ginger-coloured thorax, black abdomen and white tail - and from its habit of setting up home in nest-boxes!

Painted Lady Butterfly in Lewis Crescent

Andy M saw this Painted Lady butterfly, feeding on an Allium flower in his garden on 6th June. Jennifer commented that these butterflies are migrants which start to appear in the UK at the beginning of June.  They tend to been seen only rarely in Abington - with around 2-6 reports a year - but occasionally, in exceptional years, they can be seen in very large numbers, such as in 2009 when hundreds were seen along the Roman Road!

Damselflies in High Street

Jennifer writes:

Here is another damselfly photo taken in my garden on 5th June of a pair of Azure damselflies mating on the edge of my pond. There were also a pair large red damselflies mating as well. They are obviously enjoying the change of weather.

Visit to Fen Drayton Lakes, 4 June 2016 - Damselflies

Jennifer writes:

In addition to the many birds spotted, once the day warmed up we were pleased to see and photograph five different species of damselflies.

They were:
     Southern damselfly, Common damselfly, Blue-tailed damselfly,
     Small red-eyed damselfly, Azure damselfly.

With good high resolution digital cameras, it is possible to identify them from the markings on the male abdominal segments!

Common damselflies mating (LM)

Common damselfly (AM)

Common damselfly (JAH)

Small red-eyed damselfly (BB)

Azure damselfly (JAH)

Blue-tailed damselfly (AM)

Blue-tailed damselfly (JAH)

Southern damselfly (AM)

Southern damselfly (LM)

Visit to RSPB Fen Drayton Lakes, Saturday 4 June 2016

Derek writes:

Twelve of us enjoyed the visit to Fen Drayton Lakes on 4 June. The weather was kind to us after the recent heavy rain. Here is a list of the birds we saw or heard.

Blackbird	Blackcap	Blackheaded Gull
Canada Goose	Carrion Crow	Cetti's Warbler
Chaffinch	Chiffchaff	Common Tern
Coot	Cormorant	Cuckoo
Garden Warbler	Goldfinch	Great Crested Grebe
Great Tit	Green Woodpecker	Grey Heron
Greylag Goose	Herring Gull	Kestrel
Lapwing	Little Egret	Longtailed Tit
Magpie	Mallard	Marsh Harrier
Mute Swan	Oystercatcher	Pochard
Reed  Bunting	Reed Warbler	Robin
Sedge Warbler	Skylark	Song Thrush
Sparrowhawk	Starling	Swallow
Swift	Tufted Duck	Whitethroat
Woodpigeon	Wren

Please note the next visit to Paxton Pits on Saturday 9 July when we shall again be expertly guided by Stuart Elsom.

We were less lucky with insects this time - but see separate note for photos from several of those who joined the visit.

Visit to Beechwoods Nature Reserve - 1 June 2016

The Beechwoods nature reserve on the other side of the Gogs is a pleasant place to walk around, especially at this time of year when the Helleborines are in flower. See http://www.wildlifebcn.org/reserves/beechwoods for more information and a location map. Parking is available in a lay-by opposite the entrance.

Sally Turnidge organised a visit at short notice after seeing them opening last week. They were good but the weather was not! If you missed the visit, it's quite easy to find. The best of the helleborines are somewhat protected by ad-hoc fencing but please take care and leave therm for others to enjoy!

Seven Naturewatch members and a dog braved the unseasonal wet, windy and cold weather to go to the Beech Wood to see the helleborines. There were a good number of the plants in flower and we were glad we went.

On the way to see the helleborines, we saw some impressive bracket fungi on a fallen tree