23rd-26th May 2025 - the Late Bank Holiday Bird Survey results are in! Seven reporters clocked up a very creditable 63 species seen or heard within the Abingtons parish boundary over the long weekend.
Derek T compiled the results and commented "Every footpath in our patch was surveyed and I offer my thanks to all who took part. Small and large returns all add to our knowledge of the bird life in the Abingtons".
Amphibians
and Reptiles
Four reports were
received this month: two Common Frog and a Smooth Newt were seen in
Lewis Cres (see
blog), and a Smooth Newt was seen on two occasions in a pond in
Cambridge Rd garden. Common Newt were also regularly seen, up to four at
one time, in a Bourn Bridge Rd garden pond.
Birds
Boosted by the bank
holiday survey results, the good total of 66 species were reported this month in
592 records. Seven species were first spotted this year on the bank holiday
survey, these being Corn Bunting, Little Whitethroat and Grey
Partridge, all seen along the Roman Road; Garden Warbler and Hobby,
seen on the LSA; and Great Crested Grebe and Reed Warbler, seen around
GP lake.
Three Swift were
first seen this year on 1st May around the village centre, about four days
earlier than average. The number then steadily grew to a maximum of ten seen
around Hall Farm late in the month. Up to six Swallow were regularly
seen, mostly on the LSA, and similar numbers of House Martin were also
spotted on the LSA and around GP.
Seven species of
warbler were reported this month; Chiffchaff and Blackcap continued
to be seen regularly, Common Whitethroat and Willow Warbler were
spotted on the LSA (see
blog) as was the case April, with Garden Warbler, Lesser Whitethroat
and Reed Warbler all being reported for the first time this year (see
blog).
Unusually, a male Bullfinch
was spotted in a Lewis Cres garden feeding on tree flower buds. Also less
commonly, a Little Egret seen on two occasions along the river by the recreation
ground, and two young Grey Wagtail were spotted by Bourn Bridge, with an
adult seen near the sluice.
A Treecreeper
was spotted on several occasions at Hall Farm, and 1-2 Great Spotted
Woodpecker were seen at several sites, but no recent reports of Green
Woodpecker. Corn Bunting, Linnet
and Yellowhammer were all seen along the Roman Road (see
blog) and in the LSA, with Skylark also being heard at several
sites.
Both a Little Grebe
and a Great Crested Grebe were spotted on GP lake, along with several Greylag
and Canada Goose and a Barnacle Goose. A female Mandarin
Duck is known to be nesting near the river, and a second female was seen
with six small duckling on the lake. A female Mallard was also seen with
eight good-sized ducklings on the river, and both Reed Bunting and Reed
Warbler were singing from the reedbed (see
blog). Two Moorhen and a Grey Heron were seen there too,
and a pair of Ruddy Shelduck were spotted over the LSA.
Buzzard and Red
Kite were frequently reported (see
blog), and both Kestrel and Sparrowhawk were seen several
times. A Hobby was seen on the LSA, and a Tawny Owl was heard calling
one evening. A Jay was a frequent visitor to a Cambridge Rd garden, and
Red-legged Partridge have been seen in several gardens.
Butterflies
and other Insects
There were relatively few reports of insects this month, 83 reports were
received compared with 121 in April. Of these, 67 were records of butterflies which
comprised a total of 11 species.
Butterflies - the most frequently reported species was the Brimstone (20
reports), which has also been the most common butterfly every month so far this
year. Holly Blue was the next most frequently spotted (16 reports). All
the other species were reported much less frequently, with Orange Tip and
Red Admiral each gaining six reports, with the remaining species being
fewer.
This month saw the first report this year of Small Heath on the
Roman Road on 23rd May and again on the LSA on 26th, this being a grassland
species not frequently seen in gardens. This month saw a decline in the records
of Orange Tip, when this species is usually at its peak. There was a
single report of Peacock in May, perhaps not unexpectedly, as we are
approaching the time of the year (June-July) when over-wintering individuals
are dying, but before the next generation is set to emerge. As for April, Small
Tortoiseshell was again not reported in May.
Odonata - as the warmer months approach, we might expect to see a wider range
of odonata species. However, as for April, May brought reports only of Large
Red Damselfly.
Other - White-tailed Bumblebee and Buff-tailed Bumblebee
continued to be seen and there was one report of Red-tailed Bumblebee. This
month also saw the first report of Tree Bumblebee. A Hornet was
seen in Meadow Walk in mid-May, and a Mayfly seen in Lewis Cres (see blog).
Flora
and Fungi
Wood Forget-me-Not were reported in Sluice Wood (see blog).
Mammals
Bat - several
seen regularly throughout the month, probably Pipistrelle and Serotine,
in a Cambridge Rd garden.
Fox – two cubs
spotted in a Cambridge Rd garden on 11th, and an adult in South Grove on 25th.
Muntjac - one
seen by the side of Newmarket Rd on 14th, one in field north of Cambridge Rd on
24th, one in South Grove and one in Lagden’s Grove both on 25th, and one in a
Cambridge Rd garden on 29th.
Hare – three
along the Roman Road on 23rd, two in field north of Cambridge Rd on 24th and
two in fields south of Chalky Rd on 26th (see
blog).
Weather
A very dry month again,
with only 20.25mm of rain - the normal average for the month being over 80mm!
The highest temperature recorded was 30.7°C on the 1st of the month and the
lowest being minus 1.2°C on the 23rd.
Winds were predominantly from an easterly direction, giving us the prolonged
dry spell due to a well-established high to the east of the UK.
NatureWatch
events
The River Sampling group met on 23rd May,
see blog for results. Despite the windy weather, four members had a
lovely walk around Paxton Pits on 21st May, where the highlight was the large
number of recently hatched damselflies (see blog). And despite the date being moved due to bad weather, a
total of seven members got to see the lovely profusion of orchids at Fulbourn
Fen on 2nd June (see blog). Our next trip is an evening walk around Granta Park
on 13th June. The full programme for the year can be viewed on the blog, here 2025 Programme Link.
Many thanks to all those who contributed their sightings this month.
Peter Brunning, Tricia Cullimore, David & Gaynor Farrant, Stewart Gilmour, Robin Harman, Carole McCrae, Len Mead, Andy & Polly Merryweather, Mary Miles, Joan Nevin, Barbara Phippen, Patsy Randall, Gill and Richard Smith, Suzan Stewart, John & Maggie Turner, Derek Turnidge, John Webb, Penny Zimmerman.
Abbreviations: GA - Great Abington, LA –
Little Abington, LSA – Land Settlement Association, GP – Granta Park, ORC – Old
Railway Cutting, AbPkFm – Abington Park Farm.
29th May 2025 - Polly M found this adult Mayfly in the garden, which rather obligingly rested on her finger for a photo before resuming its flight in the breeze.
26th May 2025 - at the top of Chalky Road, near Hilderham Wood, Andy M spotted a couple of Brown Hare chasing around in the growing crops, before stopping for a quick nibble and a wash, and finally seeing Andy and lolloping back into the crop.
25th May 2025 - over the fields south of Chalky Road were both Buzzard and Red Kite effortlessly soaring in the wind.
26th May 2025 - a walk along the Old Railway Cutting is often fruitful in terms of finding warblers, since Chiffchaff, Blackcap, Common Whitethroat and Lesser Whitethroat all breed in the hedges. In previous years, Andy has also found Garden Warbler here during the Bird Survey, but not this year, although there was a particularly noisy Wren!
Walking up Chalky Road to Hildersham Wood, was good for Yellowhammer, Corn Bunting, Linnet and Skylark, as well as a number of raptors, which this year included Buzzard, Red Kite and Kestrel, as well as a brief glimpse of a Hobby.
Of the relatively few butterflies seen, Speckled Wood could be found along the shady parts of the path along the railway cutting, with Small Heath in the more sunny grassy areas. Oxeye Daisy were out in profusion in some fields on the LSA too.
25th May 2025 - one of the more unusual species Andy M found whilst walking around the LSA, was this Willow Warbler singing at the edge of South Grove. Very similar to a Chiffchaff in appearance, the song is the easiest way to distinguish the two, but the Willow Warbler has longer primary wing feathers and tends to have paler-coloured legs.
25th May 2025 - Granta Park includes a number of different habitats, including woodland, grassland as well as the river and lake of course. This in turn hosts a rich variety of different bird species. In particular interest around the lake were Reed Bunting and Reed Warbler singing, both Little Grebe and Great Crested Grebe, Grey Heron and included a brood of Mandarin Duck ducklings with a female. Greylag, Canada and Barnacle Goose were also present on the lake or the cricket green, and the woodland held many small bird species such as Robin and Wren, as well as Chiffchaff and Blackcap.
23rd May 2025 - whilst taking part in the Abington late bank holiday Bird Survey, Andy M again undertook to walk as many of the public footpaths and permission paths within the village parish boundaries as possible over the long bank holiday weekend. Whilst recording and photographing the birds he saw and heard for the survey, he walked around 25 miles, finding 58 bird species. Derek will collate the full results of the Bird Survey separately, but the next few posts include some of the photos Andy took on his travels, starting with the Roman Road. This is the northern boundary of the Abington parishes of course, and includes good numbers of farmland birds, like Linnet, Corn Bunting and Skylark, considered quite uncommon in other parts of the country. In addition to those species shown below, other species of note seen there were Grey Partridge, Common Whitethroat and Lesser Whitethroat.
