Painted Lady Butterfly in Lewis Crescent

Andy M saw this Painted Lady butterfly, feeding on an Allium flower in his garden on 6th June. Jennifer commented that these butterflies are migrants which start to appear in the UK at the beginning of June.  They tend to been seen only rarely in Abington - with around 2-6 reports a year - but occasionally, in exceptional years, they can be seen in very large numbers, such as in 2009 when hundreds were seen along the Roman Road!

Damselflies in High Street

Jennifer writes:

Here is another damselfly photo taken in my garden on 5th June of a pair of Azure damselflies mating on the edge of my pond. There were also a pair large red damselflies mating as well. They are obviously enjoying the change of weather.

Visit to Fen Drayton Lakes, 4 June 2016 - Damselflies

Jennifer writes:

In addition to the many birds spotted, once the day warmed up we were pleased to see and photograph five different species of damselflies.

They were:
     Southern damselfly, Common damselfly, Blue-tailed damselfly,
     Small red-eyed damselfly, Azure damselfly.

With good high resolution digital cameras, it is possible to identify them from the markings on the male abdominal segments!

Common damselflies mating (LM)

Common damselfly (AM)

Common damselfly (JAH)

Small red-eyed damselfly (BB)

Azure damselfly (JAH)

Blue-tailed damselfly (AM)

Blue-tailed damselfly (JAH)

Southern damselfly (AM)

Southern damselfly (LM)

Visit to RSPB Fen Drayton Lakes, Saturday 4 June 2016

Derek writes:

Twelve of us enjoyed the visit to Fen Drayton Lakes on 4 June. The weather was kind to us after the recent heavy rain. Here is a list of the birds we saw or heard.

Blackbird	Blackcap	Blackheaded Gull
Canada Goose	Carrion Crow	Cetti's Warbler
Chaffinch	Chiffchaff	Common Tern
Coot	Cormorant	Cuckoo
Garden Warbler	Goldfinch	Great Crested Grebe
Great Tit	Green Woodpecker	Grey Heron
Greylag Goose	Herring Gull	Kestrel
Lapwing	Little Egret	Longtailed Tit
Magpie	Mallard	Marsh Harrier
Mute Swan	Oystercatcher	Pochard
Reed  Bunting	Reed Warbler	Robin
Sedge Warbler	Skylark	Song Thrush
Sparrowhawk	Starling	Swallow
Swift	Tufted Duck	Whitethroat
Woodpigeon	Wren

Please note the next visit to Paxton Pits on Saturday 9 July when we shall again be expertly guided by Stuart Elsom.

We were less lucky with insects this time - but see separate note for photos from several of those who joined the visit.

Visit to Beechwoods Nature Reserve - 1 June 2016

The Beechwoods nature reserve on the other side of the Gogs is a pleasant place to walk around, especially at this time of year when the Helleborines are in flower. See http://www.wildlifebcn.org/reserves/beechwoods for more information and a location map. Parking is available in a lay-by opposite the entrance.

Sally Turnidge organised a visit at short notice after seeing them opening last week. They were good but the weather was not! If you missed the visit, it's quite easy to find. The best of the helleborines are somewhat protected by ad-hoc fencing but please take care and leave therm for others to enjoy!

Seven Naturewatch members and a dog braved the unseasonal wet, windy and cold weather to go to the Beech Wood to see the helleborines. There were a good number of the plants in flower and we were glad we went.

On the way to see the helleborines, we saw some impressive bracket fungi on a fallen tree

Spindle Ermine Moth caterpillars

Whilst walking along the Roman Road to the north of Abington, Andy M spotted a number of bushes which were almost completely covered in what looked like cobwebs. Closer inspection revealed that the webs contained thousands of tiny spotted caterpillars. Jennifer later confirmed these to be Spindle Ermine Moth caterpillars, which spin the web as protection from the birds.

Visit to Beech Wood - June 1st

The Beechwoods nature reserve on the other side of the Gogs is a pleasant place to walk around, especially at this time of year. See http://www.wildlifebcn.org/reserves/beechwoods for more information and a location map. Parking is available in a lay-by opposite the entrance.

Sally Turnidge says:

The Helleborines were opening last week and should be good by now.
Sorry about the short notice but Wednesday evening seems the best opportunity.

In view of the very short notice we should perhaps just meet there, if you need a lift, please ring me. 

Sally