Abington Naturewatch

Tuesday, 23 May 2023

Mayfly

23rd May 2023 - David F saw this Mayfly, recently hatched along the river in Sluice Wood today.

22nd May 2023 - a small group of ANW members joined Nancy O at the Abington Ford for the monthly RiverCare Sampling of the river. The group was also joined by Ruth Hawksley from the local BCN Wildlife Trust group, to help with some of the identification. These results are reported centrally to RiverCare, and help to assess how well our aquatic wildlife is faring.

A good number of species were identified, many of which in good numbers as shown in the table below. Andy M took a few photos of some of the main types of creature found.

Cased Caddisfly larva

Angler's Curse larva (Caenis luctuosa) - a species of small Mayfly

Caseless Caddisfly larvae

Signal Crayfish - about 5-6 cm long

Tiny Signal Crayfish

An Olive larva - a species of Up-wing fly

Freshwater Shrimps (Gammarus spp)

Mayfly larvae

A small Bullhead fish - only 2-3 cm long

Several snail shells, including a live Freshwater Mussel (top, yellow)

Cranefly larvae (Tipulidae family)

Non-biting Midge larvae (bloodworms)

Collared Dove in garden

22nd May 2023 - from her kitchen window, Maggie T spotted these two Collared Dove enjoying the bird bath in her garden.

Corn Bunting

18th May 2023 - there has been much more obvious activity along the farmland hedgerows recently, including Corn Bunting singing from prominent perches and phone lines - like this one photographed by John T at the end of the Old Railway Cutting.

Red Kite

16th May 2023 - there have been a good few sightings of Red Kite flying low over the villages recently, and John T got this lovely photo of one over the Old Railway Cutting.

Great Spotted Woodpecker

12th May 2023 - Peter B spotted this Great Spotted Woodpecker on his feeders recently and got this nice photo. It's likely a male, which has a red patch on the back of the head, although it's hard to be sure.

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)