April 2020
Amphibians and Reptiles
Common Frog – frog spawn
and tadpoles sighted in ponds on South Rd and Bourn Bridge Rd through the
month, and an adult frog seen in ponds on Lewis Cres and South Rd.
Common Toad –
One sighting of adult in pond on South Rd on the 11th.
Smooth (or Common) Newt
–
steady number of sightings through the month from ponds on South Rd, Bourn
Bridge Rd and Cambridge Rd.
Grass Snake – First sightings of
the year reported on the 24th, with one large adult (80cm long) seen
in a pond on South Road where it appeared to be feeding on tadpoles, and another
seen in a garden on Bourn Bridge Rd.
Birds
Summer Visitors: Swallow
– first seen on South Road on 5th (cf 6th April last year), and since then on
North Road and along the Roman Road. House Martin – first seen on 19th around
nest sites on the school, and in Mortlock Gardens.
Warblers: Willow
Warbler – single singing males on LSA (12th), as well as along ORC and Roman
Road. Common Whitethroat (15-20) and Lesser Whitethroat (4-5) singing
along Roman Road (24th) and since along the ORC. Chiffchaff and Blackcap
- in full song throughout the month and across the village.
Wheatear – two seen
along Roman Road (24th), a passage migrant in this area.
Blackbird, Blue
Tit and Goldfinch - all spotted nest building, with a report the first
Blue Tit egg laid in a nest box on 8th, and a female Blackbird seen
feeding young at the nest as early as 4th.
Kingfisher – one flying
downstream near the sluice (13th).
Skylark – c10 singing
and chasing low above the fields on LSA, and behind Lewis Crescent.
Great Spotted
Woodpecker
– heard drumming in Sluice Wood early in month, and on garden feeders on the
High Street, LA. Green Woodpecker – calling around LSA, and feeding on a
garden lawn on Cambridge Road. Nuthatch – male and female on a garden feeder
early in the month, and again on 29th.
Bullfinch – several reports
of pairs along Roman Road and the ORC.
Long-tailed Tit – several
seen ‘playing knock and run’ on window reflections throughout the month.
Reed Bunting – one under
feeders in a GA garden, and a pair along the ORC, as well as on GP. Corn Bunting, Yellowhammer and Linnet
– all singing along the ORC, on the LSA and the Roman Road throughout the month.
Tawny Owl – heard several
times, in particular around Cambridge Road and GA church. Little Owl – reported only once on GP at
the previously used nest site (13th), but access to GP has been more restricted
recently.
Grey Heron – one flying
over Cambridge Road. Little Egret
– one near Millennium Bridge (5th), and again on GP (8th), likely the same bird.
Greylag, Canada
Goose and a Cormorant - on GP lake early in month, alongside surprisingly
few Mallard. Moorhen – one
bird briefly feeding on a garden lawn in Lewis Crescent.
Red Kite and Buzzard
– both reported on several occasions from along Bourn Bridge Road, around LA
church and along the ORC. Kestrel
– several sightings, and Sparrowhawk – one along the Roman Road and Bourn
Bridge Road.
Pied Wagtail - on the cricket
green and around the LSA. Grey Wagtail – one along the river edge near the
sluice (18th).
Collared Dove and Stock
Dove pairs in several gardens.
Red-legged Partridge and Pheasant
– in gardens and fields on LSA an near Cambridge Road
Jay – occasionally
seen in Abington Woods and on ORC. Raven
– one flying over GP mid-month.
Butterflies, Bees and other insects
April has been a
remarkable month for invertebrates this year with 423 reports; this is three
times as many as April 2019 (140 reports).
There are two main reasons for this increase: firstly the long spells of
sunny and very warm weather and, secondly, due the pandemic of Coronavirus
COVID 19, many villagers were staying at home as requested by the government
and some even completely isolated at home.
Fortunately, the majority of villagers have gardens, so watching
butterflies and other wildlife was a welcome respite from all the worries and
stress caused by the virus.
All these reports are
from within the boundaries of Great and Little Abington. Note that the numbers given are not the
numbers of butterflies and other insects but the number of times a species was
reported by someone.
Butterflies (345
reports)
Brimstone – 77 reports, Orange
Tip – 69 reports (first sighting 5 April).
Small
White –
54 reports, Peacock – 50 reports, Holly Blue – 37 reports.
Comma - 18 reports, Speckled
Wood – 15 reports, Green-veined White – 9 reports.
Small Tortoiseshell – 8 reports,
Red Admiral – 6 reports, Large White – 2 reports.
Bees (66 reports)
Buff-tailed Bumblebee, Red-tailed
Bumblebee, White-tailed Bumblebee, Tree Bumblebee, Tawny Mining Bee, Honey Bee.
Bee Fly (large
numbers seen)
7-spot
Ladybird
Large Red
Damselfly (first sighting 19
April)
Hummingbird Hawkmoth
Mammals
Field vole – one was
seen in Cambridge Road under a bird feeder on the 7th and again on
the 24th.
Bats – a large
bat was seen on the 9th in a garden in GA, the first to be reported
this year. Then a large bat was seen in a garden in Cambridge Road on the 18th,
the first one to be reported from that garden.
Two more were seen in the same garden on the 18th, one large
and one small.
Muntjac – four were spotted this month, two in a garden on
Cambridge Road on the 12th, one in South Grove, LSA on the 19th,
and one by the entrance to Bancroft Farm on the 22nd.
Otter – an otter was spotted swimming through Lagden’s Grove
with something (possibly a fish) in its mouth on the 14th.
Hares – one hare
was spotted in a field alongside Chalky Road on the 20th, and four
more were seen in fields adjacent to the Roman Road near Worsted Lodge on 24th
and 26th.
Fallow deer – twelve
deer were seen in fields alongside Chalky Road on the 20th.
Flora
A good
number of wild flower species were reported in bloom from around the village: a
garden on the High Street, along Bourn Bridge Road, along the ORC, in Sluice
Wood, along the Roman Road, and near Abington Park Farm:
Dandelion, Forget-me-Not, Fritillary, Yellow Archangel, Solomon’s Deal, Bluebell, Red Dead-nettle, Ground Ivy, Cow Parsley, Wild Arum, Cowslip, Blackthorn, Hawthorn, Shepherd’s Purse, Garlic Mustard, Fodder Radish, Phacelia, Green Alkanet, Honesty.
Rivercare
As a result of the lockdown,
there has been little River care activity, in terms of sampling or litter-picking. In terms of pond and river wildlife.
Three-spined Stickleback in full breeding
colours were reported in pond on the LSA, and a shoal of small fish were seen in
the river in Sluice Wood. These were most likely to be Minnow, although there
have been previous reports of trout, although usually only a small number. Minnows
have been noted previously at the gravel shoal and at the ford.
Weather
Largely an
exceptionally dry month, except for the last four days, after which the
rainfall total jumped from 4mm to 33mm! Otherwise,
predominately sunny and dry with light winds. The maximum day time temperature
was 28.9 degrees (11th), with a minimum of minus 4.7 degrees (1st).
Many thanks to all those who contributed
reports of their sightings for April 2020:
Barry
Brooks, Peter Brunning, Lois Bull, Mike Bull, Anne Dunbar-Nobes, David Farrant,
Gaynor Farrant, Julia Gunning, Robin
Harman, Ros Hedge, Jennifer Hirsh, Iain Keys, Len Mead, Andy Merryweather, Freda
Orgee, Brian Parris, Gareth Rees, Marion Rusted, Gill Smith, Evelyn
Tredget, Derek Turnidge, Sally Turnidge, Diana Wingfield, Richard Wrangham.
Please email your sightings, within the
Abington parishes, to the relevant ANW Recorder:
Amphibians and reptiles: Anne Dunbar Nobes ac.dunbar.nobes@gmail.com
Birds: Derek Turnidge derek@turnidges.com
Butterflies, Bees etc: Jennifer Hirsh jennifer@hirsh.com
Mammals: Gill Smith richardandgill.smith@live.co.uk
Flora: Currently vacant - if interested, please contact David
Farrant for more details.
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