Urban Reports           2014

Lancing, Shoreham-by-Sea, Southwick

25 December 2014

Just after midnight a healthy Red Fox ambled across the road at the junction of Stoney Lane and and Middle Road, near Kingston Buci.

18 November 2014
A larger than usually seen flock of about a thousand Starlings were spotted over Holmbush an hour before dusk.

17 September 2014
In the early evening (after dark) a large adult Hedgehog had a stand off with a Cat that seemed a less than even match in Corbyn Crecent, Shoreham. It is good to see Hedgehogs are still active near Middle Road allotments.

27 July 2014

12 July 2014

Backswimmer (juv.) Notonecta glauca	brown water beetle (possibly Acilius?)	Southern Hawker Dragonfly nymph

24 June 2014
Weeding the Brooklime which has taken over my small garden pond (more like a large puddle) in my front garden I fished out a small Golden Tench from the mud at the bottom. There were hundreds of snails including including Ramshorn Snails. The pond in the downstairs back garden hosted a Common Frog, and now some inherited Brooklime and other pond and marginal plants.

30 April 2014
 

Water Cress	Water Cress & Marsh Marigold	Marsh Marigold

April - May 2014
 

Speckled Wood	Wall Brown	Red Admiral	Green-veined White

23 April 2014
It was cloudy when I spotted what I thought might be the only butterfly of the day, a Small White over Slonk Hill Farm Road.
 

Wall Brown	Wall Brown	Peacock

Impulsively, I decided to traverse the footpath from Slonk Hill Farm Road to Buckingham Cutting (running parallel with the A27) adding a few Speckled Woods and a Large Red Damselfly. Then, completely unplanned, I cycled through the Dovecote Estate to the top of Chanctonbury Drive. In the weak sunshine a few large yellow Brimstone Butterflies made an instant impression by the straggly hedgerow (north side) ,with one or two Holly Blues and a dozen Speckled Woods, a few Green-veined Whites, and what was possibly a Large White. Daisies covered the artificial grassland with a few Dandelions, which prompted the visit of a bright Peacock Butterfly and my first definite fresh Wall Brown of the year. An Orange-tip Butterfly flew by without stopping.

16 April 2014
 

Large Red Damselfly	Water Forget-me-not	Hawthorn	Nomada fucata

14 April 2014
A Fox has been in my small town front garden digging up the new Bay plant in a pot and shitting everywhere.

10 April 2014
A trip to Mill Hill in the afternoon (3:00 pm) sunshine was rewarded with more butterflies seen on the way there.
 

Red Admiral	Speckled Wood	Green-veined White	Red Admiral

On the Old Shoreham side of the bridge under the A27 dual carriageway, at the top of Chanctonbury Drive, I expected to see a few butterflies in flight, but not quite so many. A reasonably fresh Red Admiral (2+) was the first to be spotted basking on Alexanders and brambles. As I parked my bike to take a photograph, other butterflies appeared including my first of the year for four species Green-veined Whites (2+), the expected Speckled Woods (6+), an early Holly Blue (2+) a few magnficent Brimstones (2+). One Large White and at least one Small White were also seen in the space of less than ten minutes giving seven species immediately.
Adur Butterflies: First Dates

1 January 2014
The New Year was heralded in by overcast and damp weather. Three Herring Gulls glided in the wind under the fast moving low flying grey clouds, the first birds seen this year as the rain stopped in the afternoon. When the gales and rain had died down a bit, I checked in the shed and recorded my first Small Tortoiseshell Butterfly of the year, in diapause. The first wild flower recorded in 2014 was Dandelion, although a few Buttercups were in flower in my front garden.
Butterfly List 2014