27th September 2026 - David F saw these Giant Puff Ball fungi in Lagden's Grove. He also spotted two Barnacle Goose on the GP playing field.
Friday, 23 October 2026
Pigeon autopsy - and what it may tell us.
21st September 2026 - Carole M was greeted by the somewhat grizzly sight of the remains of a pigeon in her garden, and wondered what may have killed it, fed from it and removed the head - maybe a Sparrowhawk, or a cat, or what?
In this case, the kill seems likely to be the work of a Sparrowhawk, followed by scavenging from corvids (crow family). There are some clues you can look for to help determine in cases like this.
After making a kill, a Sparrowhawk will pluck the feathers individually, leaving the feathers with the quill largely intact, before typically scattering them in a circle around the kill. Mammals (cat, fox etc) will bite through the feathers to get at the fleas, leaving bitten-through half-feathers on the carcass, as well as eating more of them.
Then, a Sparrowhawk will focus primarily on eating the flesh off the breast muscles, often leaving the breastbone and the rest the carcass largely intact. This will typically happen at the kill site. Whereas Mammals will bite through the whole carcass, skin, meat, bones - the lot, crunching up everything, and so leaving the carcass appearing more generally mauled. This may also be done at the kill site, but being stronger, a mammal may drag the carcass somewhere more covered to eat it there.
Finally, in both cases Corvids (crows, magpies etc) often attend afterwards to scavenge the carcass, often pecking at and removing the eyes and the head. Red Kite may also scavenge a carcass, but this would be less likely to occur in a garden near houses.
Riverfly sampling - September results
21st September 2026 - the last Riverfly sampling of the year was done at the ford by the Abington Rivercare team.
On this occasion the team was joined by Ruth Hawksley of the Wildlife Trust and John Findlay from the Environment Agency - largely to validate the low numbers of several species seen in samples over the summer, when the river level has been perilously low. After the group spent quite some time analysing and checking the sample, the results were found to just scrape in above the 'trigger' level (just!) - which would indicate a serious issue. But it was clear that the numbers of most species were low - with the somewhat surprising exception of Cased Caddisfly larva!
Gulls - in the village!
20th September 2026 - unusually, Joan N saw a juvenile Herring Gull on her front lawn in Westfield. Then, later in the month on 27th, Maggie T spotted a Lesser Black-backed Gull perched on her garage roof. Whilst these species can occasionally be seen in the fields around the village in the autumn, its really quite unusual for these birds to venture into the middle of the village!
Herring Gull, juv
Lesser Black-backed Gull
River level still perilously low
13th September 2026 - for several months running now, the water level in the river Granta has been very low, with just a trickle of water in the centre of the bed, receding from its banks leaving large shoals of gravel, which more usually would be underwater but on which plants were starting to grow! It seemed to Andy M, that whilst lower levels might perhaps be expected in the summer, one would think that by mid-September the level really ought to be on the up! Whilst our politicians seemingly wring their hands in support, the water and much of its wildlife, still ain't where it should be - in our chalk streams and rivers!
Along the Roman Road
1st September 2026 - Len Mead spotted a Small Heath butterfly along the Roman Road recently, as well as the less usual site of a dead Mole.
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