Abington Naturewatch

Friday, 23 October 2026

Common Frog

14th August 2026 - Andy M saw this Common Frog by his pond.

Partial Solar Eclipse in Abington

12th August 2026 - Andy and Polly M took advantage of the wide open skies along the Roman Road to witness the Partial Solar Eclipse. By projecting an image of the sun through a telescope onto a piece of card, Andy was able to get these photos showing the moon slowly traversing in front of the sun, moving from right to left. A few dark sunspots can be seen on the surface of the sun.

Even though this eclipse was only partial, the light levels dropped dramatically, the birds became quiet, and the Hare up there, stopped rushing around the fields and hunkered down.

18:30

18:55

19:01

19:05 - around maximum

19:22

19:30

Abington Roman Road around the partial eclipse maximum.

Common Darter

26th August 2026 - David F spotted this Common Darter dragonfly resting near his garden pond.

Riverfly river sampling - August results

20th August 2026 - the Abington Rivercare team undertook their usual Riverfly sampling of the River Granta, at the ford in Abington, and the results are shown below.

For comparison, in the Number column, the number counted in August 2026 is compared with the same species measured using the same methodology in August 2025 - the 2025 number being shown in brackets.

Angler's Curse

Olive

Bullhead

Bullhead, small fish fry

Stickleback

Water Boatman

the sampling site, at the Abington ford

Butterflies

19th August 2026 - David F saw a Red Admiral and a Small White butterfly in his garden.

Red Admiral

Small White

Buff-tip Moth

9th August 2026 - another moth - this one's a Buff-tip Moth, seen by Andy M in his house.

Yellow Shell Moth

9th August 2026 - Derek T spotted this Yellow Shell Moth in his house.

The Aims of Abington Naturewatch

At their meeting on 9 April 2005 the members approved this revised version of the aims of Abington Naturewatch:

To monitor and record the wildlife (fauna & flora) within the borders of the Abingtons;
To encourage protection of our wildlife, maintain its quality and foster its diversity;
To promote awareness of the richness, potential and problems of the natural environment of the Abingtons;
To cooperate in improving access to the local natural environment for the benefit of all Abington villagers.

Pat Daunt, Founder

The organisation is informal and communication is by email if possible; members are notified of events from time to time. Contact details are maintained by a small "project team". There is currently no membership fee as costs are covered by voluntary contributions at events.

Members are encouraged to report notable sightings of flora and fauna within the Abingtons to the appropriate sector coordinator and an illustrated record is published annually.

A map of the area covered, with some features noted, is available here: http://maps.google.co.uk/maps/ms?ie=UTF8&hl=en&msa=0&msid=213774935674882866424.00000111dca2be9f06ab8&z=13>

For more information or to join, please contact David Farrant on (01223) 892871.

Contributions to our records should be sent to sector contacts or either of the above. Photographs may also be submitted to Andy Merryweather (amerryweather61@gmail.com)