Abington Naturewatch: July 2026

Monday, 13 July 2026

Mandarin Duck along the river

16th May 2026 - there are been quite a few Mandarin Duck along the river this year, Andy M seeing up to six at one point. This pair were quietly feeding in the river by the sluice, the male sporting his particularly splendid breeding plumage.

Mistle Thrush pair

16th May 2026 - this pair of Mistle Thrush were busy gathering food by the lake on Granta Park - no doubt to feed their ever-hungry offspring in a nest nearby.

Andy M

Reed Bunting

16th May 2026 - this rather dapper-looking male Reed Bunting was chirping rather tunelessly around the lake on Granta Park - but hey, with these good looks, who needs a lovely voice!

Andy M

High-level Grey Wagtail mating

16th May 2026 - whilst walking around the Granta Park lake, Andy M heard the twittering call of a wagtail, and looking up was slightly surprised to see two Grey Wagtail high up on the roof of the TWI building. After a bit of prancing around, the two then proceeded to mate - the bird equivalent of joining the 'mile-high-club' perhaps!

Kestrel female

16th May 2026 - this female Kestrel was hovering over Andy M on Granta Park, ever vigilant for prey below. The female lacks the grey head of the male, and has continuous barring on the underside of the tail.

Red Kite with prey

16th May 2026 - Andy M spotted this Red Kite circling over the meadow by the Granta Park lake. As he watched it fly lower and lower, before finally dropping and coming back up with an item of prey in its talons. Whilst hard to be sure what the prey is, there is quite a warren of rabbit burrows in that area, so chances are it was a young rabbit.

Pied Wagtail

16th May 2026 - a diligent adult Pied Wagtail collecting insects for its young, on Granta Park.

Andy M.

Blue Tit young - getting ready to go!

16th May 2026 - John W has a camera in one of his tit nest boxes, and send this lovely image of at least eight small Blue Tit nestlings getting ready to venture through the bright nest hole and into the outside world!

Riverfly River Sampling - May results

14th May 2026 - as usual, the RiverCare team undertook the monthly sampling of the river Granta at the ford in Abington. The results are shown below.

Blue-winged Olive larva

Olive larva

Mayfly larva

Caseless Caddis larvae

small Signal Crayfish

Freshwater Shrimp (Gammarus spp)

small fish 'fry' - species unknown

larger Bullhead fsih

small Bullhead fish

Greylag Goose and Little Egret

10th May 2026 - whilst walking round Granta Park, David F came across this family group of Greylag Goose, and a Little Egret on the lake.

Painted Lady butterfly

10th May 2026 - there has been something of a wave of Painted Lady butterflies coming into Southern England from the near continent this year, and David F took this photo of one on Granta Park.

Flag Iris

10th May 2026 - this rather lovely display of yellow Flag irises was spotted by David F on Granta Park.

A green beetle!

4th May 2026 - Andy M spotted with rather flashy metallic-green Ground Beetle in his garden. Pretty difficult to be sure what species it is, but could be a Greenclock Ground Beetle (Poecilus spp) commonly found in gardens.

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)