| WILDLIFE
REPORTS
31
March 2006
The
first Smooth Newt spawn
was spotted early this year in my garden pond in Mill Hill Drive (south
of Mill Hill), north Shoreham.
Newts
2005
The
expected expanse of yellow flowers of Lesser
Celandine, Dandelions, Daffodils and
Bulbous Buttercups, on the verges of the
Withy Patch, Lancing, heralded signs of spring.
28
March 2006
A
Red
Kite seen near Upper Beeding at 5.40
pm flew towards Steyning.
SOS
Red Kite Reports
Dru
Brook reports a Painted
Lady Butterfly (first of the year) and
a Red Admiral Butterfly
in McIntyre's Field (east of Lancing Clump).
Adur
Butterfly List 2006
There
was continual commotion over the Rookery in The Drive, north Shoreham;
the dozen or so Rooks
seemed to be under continual harassment from about thirty Jackdaws.
A single Crow
perched on a nearby chimney.
Shoreham
Town & Gardens
27
March 2006
The
first Hedgehog
seen this year ventured out from its winter hibernation hole.
23
March 2006
Along
the Coastal Link Cyclepath 750 metres
north of the A27
Flyover, the usual small patch of just
over a dozen yellow Coltsfoot
plants were seen in flower.
Adur
Levels 2006
 22
March 2006
Spring
is imminent. My first genuine wild plant (excluding the Chickweed)
seen in flower this year was the ubiquitous weed the Red
Dead Nettle on the Dovecote
Bank (north Shoreham) followed by hundreds of Sweet
Violets over the lower
slopes of Mill Hill.
Adur
Violets
First
Violets from Lancing Ring
21 March
2006
On
the Middle Road Playing Fields, a very small clump of Germander
plants were about to open and nearly the first
wild flowers this year. A small clump of Chickweed
was in flower. This weedy plant probably flowers all through the year.
19
March 2006
Andy
Brook reported a Brimstone
Butterfly in Ring Road, North Lancing.
This was the first report of the year.
Katherine
Hamblettt (aged 11) reported a butterfly
fluttering over my south Lancing garden. (TQ
185 046). I thought it was most likely to
be a Red Admiral.
Adur
Butterfly List 2006
Adur
Butterfly First Flight Times
On
a cold bright day with the wind chill not much above freezing (1.2
ºC at 1:54 pm), the birds were calling
like it was the first signs of spring, mostly the cacking of Rooks
and Magpies
in The Drive, north Shoreham, and a Robin
singing from the top of a Holly
tree in a nearby garden.
13
March 2006
I
counted half a dozen Teals feeding
upended in their characteristic way east of the bridge and just east of
the Tamarisk
island on Widewater Lagoon.
12 March
2006
Six Rooks
visited the garden
for food, and there was a large clump of Frog's
spawn submerged in the pond in a Shoreham
garden near Buckingham Park.
I spotted
my first definite bumblebee of the year amongst
the rockery.
Shoreham
Town & Gardens
10 March
2006
 Three
mating embraces of Common
Frogs were submerged in
amplexus
in the garden pond in a Shoreham garden near
Buckingham Park. This was seven frogs
as one female attracted the attention of two males.
Four species
of corvids visited
the garden, including at least eleven
Jackdaws,
two Crows,
one Rook
flying over at low level and another or the same one landed on the Summer
House to feed, together with a plump Magpie
that perched on the fence.
Garden
Bird Database 2006
9 March
2006
The
following newsworthy birds were seen in the Adur area: Black
Redstart
(2),
Rock
Pipit (1), Purple Sandpipers (2) on
the shore zone, Great-crested
Grebes (7)
at sea,
Peregrine
Falcon (1),
Stonechat (3) and
Water
Rail (1 at Widewater).
There
is considerable mating activity of Common
Frogs in the pond in a Shoreham garden
near Buckingham Park.
Report
by Eileen Horton
6
March 2006
The
first Peacock Butterfly
of the year is seen by Dru Brook
near the eastern car park on Lancing Clump.
Adur
Butterfly List 2006
Adur
Butterfly First Flight Times
5 March
2006
A
shrimping
expedition (push-net) to the sandy shallows of Southwick
beach produced four small
Sand-eels,
Ammodytes tobianus, but these were so
small that most of these elongate fish would have escaped through the netting.
Small fish fry were caught in the net as well.
On
the Shoreham Harbour Power Station there were two Peregrine
Falcons one which appeared smaller than
the other. The smaller one would have been the male. At least one of the
falcons were seen every day this month.
Report
by Peter Talbot-Elsden
4 March
2006
My
first hoverfly of the year was one of
the small ones that flew slowly under the warm sun and landed on a Firethorn
in a Shoreham garden near Buckingham Park.
I had a good look through a magnifying glass and it was probably a Melanostoma.
2 March
2006
I
surprised a grey-bluish Sparrowhawk
perched on a branch in the spinney between the top plateau of Chanctonbury
Drive (SE of the bridge over the A27 to Mill
Hill) and the A27. This is on the edge of the Mill
Hill Cutting. I got as close as two metres before the raptor flew off,
but it was well camouflaged and it was not until I was three metres from
it, did I see the bird of prey at all. It was much bigger with marked hooded
eyes than the familar Kestrel and
I estimated its height at 40 cm. This is much
larger than the book size of the male which is only recorded to 30 cm.
A grey
cloud produced a flurry of light snow, mostly condensed like hailstones
and this brief period lasted for 20 minutes and the snow did not lay.
Shoreham
Weather 2006
1 March
2006
One
Short-eared
Owl was observed from about 6:00
pm with two Barn
Owls at New Salts Farm (north of the Saltings
roundabout on the private road to Shoreham Airport).
The Barn Owls
were also using the field on the west of the road as well.
There
were also two Snipe
flying around and at least three Water
Rail squealing.
NB:
All these birds are notable records in the Adur area.
Garden
Bird Database 2006
Shoreham
Weather Reports 2006
Adur
Nature Notes December 2005 Reports |
