Wildlife sightings for 14th November 2014
1 Bittern - flew across the main lake to the N shore
1 Jack Snipe - marsh (to the left of the main channel)
15 Snipe - marsh, scrape, main lake
9 Reed Bunting
17 Meadow Pipit - flew SW/W
November bird highlights: Bittern, Jack Snipe, Iceland Gull, Little Gull, Tawny Owl, Skylark, Water Pipit, Stonechat, Redpoll.
With autumn migration at its height this is a great time of year to find some exciting migrants. Summer birds like Chiffchaff, Whitethroat and Blackcap have left their breeding territories on site, while the very last of other summer visitors such as Wheatear, Whinchat, Yellow Wagtail, Swallow, Common Sandpiper and Redstart are passing through from other parts of the country heading southwards. At the same time there’s wildfowl like Shoveler, Wigeon and Snipe continuing to arrive or pass through to spend the winter here. Any species of migrant wader could turn up now, recent species this autumn including Ruff, Whimbrel and Greenshank. The marsh or wader scrape are good bets for Jack Snipe and Common Snipe. Pipits and Chats are best searched for on the marsh fields and banks.
Butterflies: Red Admiral.
Fungi: Blackening Waxcap, Hare’s-foot Inkcap, Shooting Star (an amazing minute 2-3 mm macro-fungus found on woodchip on site), Garland Roundhead (this uncommon London species is appearing again in grassland on South Route and Sandy Bank), Redlead Roundhead (this striking woodchip fungus is just starting to appear along South Route), Yellowing Knight, Sweet Poisonpie, Funeral Bell (small specimens arising from woodchip along South Route), Red-edge Brittlestem (associated with the woodchip in flowerbeds along South Route), Rootlet Brittlestem (woodland edge besides Log Pile Garden on South Route), Common Cavalier (a few individuals popping up along wooded path edges of South Route), Fluted Bird’s-nest (car park woodchip in the vicinity of the bus roundabout).
Reptiles: Last survey of the year: 31 juvenile slow worm with 13 adult females and one adult male.
