| WILDLIFE REPORTS
28 February 2005
I first noticed the dozen silhouettes in the tall pine tree
in central reservation half-way up The Drive in Shoreham; then the cacking
became apparent and it was not the expected cawing of Crows, but the nosier Rooks with their pointed
silvery beaks.
In Shoreham town the air temperature fell
overnight to a low of -1.8 ºC at dawn, one of the coldest local temperatures
recorded in this millennium near the coast.
27 February 2005
Snow! Although it appeared
more like horizontal sleet at first from the east, it actually begins
to lay first on the pavements and roads and then on the grass. Although,
only a thin layer, this is the first proper snow of the winter. The snow
did not lay in Steyning and seems to have been confined to the flat urban area by the coast.
Snow at the bottom of Stoney Lane
Photograph by Pete Weaver
11:00 am
Air Temperature 2.3 ºC
Dew Point -2.1 ºC
Wind Direction NNE
Wind Speed Force 6 (Strong Breeze)
By midday the wind had reduced and it was more
like snow than sleet. Unfortunately,
a look at the downs from out of my window
and no snow seems to have settled. By 1:00 pm, almost all the snow had melted.
A Skylark
on Mill Hill may have been a migrant?
Full Report
25 February 2005
Two Redwings
(a thrush) were spotted in McIntyre's Field (a wildlife meadow) to the
east of Lancing Ring. A very early Brimstone Butterfly fluttered in the sunshine.
Adur Butterflies 2005
A thin layer of ice
floated on the surface of my garden pond in Corbyn Crescent
(TQ 224 055) for the first time ever as the air temperature fell below freezing for the first time
this winter, recorded at -0.2 ºC just before 7:00 am.
23 February 2005
A small flurry of snow, scarcely enough
to warrant the name, descended before dawn; it laid only in a thin layer
on hard surfaces like pavements and roads, but not on the grassy bits
in Shoreham town. By daybreak the snow had all melted and
the air temperature did not fall below freezing, although the dew point fell
to -3.1 ºC at 3:26 am and approaching midday it was still -2.2 ºC.
Yellow Lesser
Celandine was in flower near Lancing Manor (south of the
A27).
22 February 2005
Two Fieldfares in the trees
in The Drive (near Buckingham Park), (TQ
219 063), was a first for several years (the first urban observation
this millennium) amongst the negligible snow flurries. Later one and
then a further two flew over the back garden of 40
The Drive.
c. 21 February
2005.
A Great Spotted Woodpecker visited a
fat ball in a pocket garden in Church Green, east Shoreham, next to Kingston
Buci, near where there is a patch of trees and horse grazing between Dolphin
Road and the school playing fields.
Report by June
Brown
21 February 2005
A Jay was seen
from the the back garden of 40
The Drive (near Buckingham Park), (TQ
219 063), flying from one large evergreen tree
to another with a slightly dipping flight.
A slight flurry of snow
occurred in the afternoon, but there was not enough snow to settle.
The temperature was well above freezing but dew point fell below zero.
The precipitation was only recorded at 0.25 mm which is the reason the
flurry did not lay.
19 February 2005
A Grey Wagtail splendid
in its yellow livery is a regular visitor to a garden which is mostly
a pond in Overmead, Shoreham (north of the Meads). A Goldcrest
was also seen flitting around the pond borders.
18 February 2005
Dropping like a moving stone from the
sky, the Peregrine Falcon descended
from the nest box on Shoreham Power Station before levelling out
and disappearing from sight in less than a second. The distance must
have been 25 metres, mostly in direct vertical descent, and my estimate
of its speed was between 25 metres to 37.5 metres a second, equivalent
to a speed of between 56 and 84 mph. This was the first time I had seen
a Peregrine dive. It was sudden more than impressive and again I remark
how small the bird seemed to me, scarcely bigger than a Kestrel at distance and about the same size as the
prevalent Black-headed Gulls. A minute
later a Peregrine was seen emerging from
behind the main Power Station building, but this may have been a different
falcon as up to three had been seen at one time recently.
Southwick Nature 2005
A Marmalade
Fly, Episyrphus balteatus, became the first hoverfly sighting in the south facing front garden
in south Lancing,
(TQ 186 044), this year.
9 February 2005
The first Common Frog
spawn has appeared in my garden pond in south Lancing,
(TQ 186 044), beating last year by six days.
Report by Ray Hamblett on Lancing Nature Notes Blogspot
8 February 2005
There were at least a couple of Rooks in the churned up
cattle pasture immediately to the east of Mill Hill. Rooks are unusual near the urban area and only seen occasionally
in winter (whereas Crows are seen every
day in groups of up to 30 or more).
A Mistle
Thrush was seen in a largish
bare-branched tree in the Dovecote Estate, Shoreham. It rested
amongst the branches just below the top. I managed a close look
through my binoculars and it was 20% larger than a Song Thrush, had
larger dark spots, had a different disposition and looked different
when it flew off. This is my first record, as I find it tricky to
be sure of my thrushes.
Shoreham-by-Sea (Town & Gardens) 2005
7 February 2005
A Peregrine
Falcon was seen flying around Shoreham Harbour Power Station chimney (where
the nest box is).
Report by Peter Talbot-Elsden
6 February 2005
A very tatty Red Admiral Butterfly settled on my Euryops pectinatus or Golden Daisy Bush which is
currently flowering in a sunny corner of my south facing Lancing
front garden (TQ 186 044).
A Goldcrest was confirmed in the Hawthorn tree at the bottom of the
back garden
Photograph by Ray Hamblett on Lancing Nature Notes Blogspot
Adur Butterfly
List 2005
Adur Butterflies
Link: Adur Butterflies Flight
Times
Under the blue sky with better quality light
it was now possible to readily identify two Dunnocks, with a third one occasionally chasing each other around
the back garden of 40 The Drive
(near Buckingham Park), (TQ 219
063), on the fences, around the small pond,
underneath the Leylandii and around the Holly Tree, with the
Robin and Blue Tits resident and Greenfinches using the Holly
as a perch. A Collared Dove was not interested in the bird table and flew overhead
with a twig in its beak.
2 February 2005
Just after midday, the first burst of sunshine of
the year felt warm in a shade temperature of 9.7 ºC.
This attracted 25+ dark Honey Bees to a Hebe shrub in The Drive (near
Buckingham Park), Shoreham, plus a queen
Buff-tailed Bumblebee.
There were two brown plump birds with orange
legs on the fence of the back garden
of 40 The Drive (near Buckingham Park), Shoreham, (TQ 219 063). I do not know if they were Dunnocks or juvenile Robins though. They were not adult Dunnocks as the grey breast was missing and they were more the build
of Robins. There was no trace of red on the breast of these
young birds. Two Chaffinches were seen instantly in a garden full of birds.
New Shoreham (Buckingham Ward) Garden Bird
Database 2005
Shoreham-by-Sea
(Town & Gardens) 2005
On the Adur at mid-tide, two Little Grebes were diving
underwater near (in the main river, not the inlet) Cuckoo's Corner.
I attempted to surprise one as it surfaced, but it saw me and skittered
across the smooth surface of the river like a miniature Moorhen.
Adur Estuary 2005
Adur Nature Notes 2005: Index
Page
Lancing Ring Blogspot 2005
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