Overview
 
 

Spring Dyke 2006-2008 Wildlife Reports

15 December 2005
A large mechanical machine has now cut down the vegetation and its tyre tracks could be seen on the reed strewn muddy bank next to the flooded stream. 
 

Great Reedmace, or Bulrush Typha latifolia

Apart for three Grey Herons that flew off on my approach there was nothing of special interest. It is debatable what food source attracted them to the stream if they were not just resting or considering breeding habitats. The stream which nearly dried out in the summer does not appear to provide a home for fish, but the Common Frog is known from spawn and tadpoles. 
A large flock of Sheep grazed the field to the north.

1 December 2005
The vegetation in the field has not been cut down this year. 
 

27 August 2005 A Dark Bush Cricket, Pholidoptera griseoaptera, estimated at 25 mm long (perhaps longer?). It was larger than any grasshopper I have ever seen.  This was seen by Miller's Stream, at the new southern entrance by the road. This hopper is frequently seen on Spring Dyke. The stream was even lower than July with no water visible.

6 July 2005
 

After the dry heatwave in the second half of June, it was no surprise that Miller's Stream had reduced to a low level, but the extent was a bit of a surprise, falling lower than recorded this century and only a shallow trickle remained, insufficient to support large fish. No fish of many kind have been seen in the stream. 
Spring Dyke, the land area was overgrown with thistles etc. and no passage was attempted. A Meadow Brown Butterfly fluttered around the fringes near the road. 

17 June 2005
Even the first bit of rough land near the road is now too overgrown by Creeping Thistle to be accessible. There was a 1682 Blood-vein Moth, Timandra comae and a blue damselfly that my deteriorating eyesight had difficulty in identifying from the eyes, the clearest way. I think it was the  Common Blue Damselfly, Enallagma cyathigerum, but I could not get close enough to be sure it was not the more frequent Azure Damselfly. 
Adur Thistles
Adur Moths

27 April 2005

21 April 2005
The Small Tortoiseshell Butterfly was in such poor condition worn and damaged on the right wing that it seemed only just about capable of flying, although it avoided my half-hearted attempts to capture its image. The flighty white butterfly was a Green-veined White (corrected entry). 
Amongst the reeds next to the stream something slithered and it was green rather than golden-brown, possibly a Slow Worm, but I think it was more likely to be juvenile Grass Snake. 

16 April 2005
On the southern side of Miller's Stream (opposite to Spring Dyke) a large adult Roe Deer, without antlers, surprised me with a leap from cover of the long reeds to disappear under a Hawthorn. 
A Small Tortoiseshell Butterfly showed. 

2 April 2005
I disturbed a male Pheasant and a Moorhen and there were at least three bird warning calls I could not identify and two of these were quite distinctive with a wailing eerie sound and another from what seemed like a smaller bird was more melodic. At least four Small Tortoiseshell Butterflies showed.
Adur Butterflies 2005
A small dried out mushroom was seen. It had a white stem 50 mm long and a fawn cap 18 mm in diameter. Its gills were dark brown. It was probably Psathyrella microrhiza.
Adur Fungi: Fruiting Bodies (Monthly Guide)

16 March 2005
The Moorhens are back and I saw two of them scuttling quietly, but not with their noisy presence as usual. The noise was left to two pairs of Mallards takign flight and then flying overhead squawking madly. Then there was the distinctive dipping flight of the Green Woodpecker seen near the Waterworks House. 

5 January 2005
I disturbed a flock of Wood Pigeons, a Grey Heron and three hen Pheasants on Spring Dyke and two pairs of Mallards on the adjacent Miller's Stream near the Waterworks, Old Shoreham. There was a single old orange Tube Mushroom, Tubaria furfuracea, attached to the base of a broken twig. Small Jew's Ear Mushrooms and lichens Parmelia caperata grew on the Hawthorn.
Adur Lichens
 

Spring Dyke 2004 Wildlife Reports

Adur Levels 2005

Adur Nature Notes 2005:   Index Page