29 Jun Autumn has arrived - a ripe BLACKBERRY appeared among the red ones at the allotment gardens this afternoon! At the railway path was a SCARLET TIGER MOTH and a SPECKLED WOOD butterfly and a BLACKCAP sang briefly nearby. I walked to B&Q via the Ashley Down allotments and was delighted to see five RINGLET butterflies and a COMMA between the city farm and Muller Road. Back in Monty proper, a few plants of LADY'S BEDSTRAW were growing on a lawn in St Andrews Road as they did last year. The plant gets its name from the medieval custom of using the scented flowers to stuff mattresses and pillows, particularly for women about to give birth, as it was believed to ensure a safe and easy childbirth. A GREY SQUIRREL was in the Royal Mail car park. |
28 June A great afternoon! At 2.30 pm a FOX ran across the road at the top of St Andrews Road into a garden, causing pandemonium among a couple of MAGPIES and some LONG-TAILED TITS! I caught a glimpse of the Fox and took a poor photograph as it climed a fence in the garden. I waited a while and it ran out onto the road again but when it saw me it turned tail and headed towards the railway path - again I tried to take a photo. It looked like a young Fox and seemed to be in good condition, little sign of mange. Fab stuff. At the Hurlingham Road end of the iron bridge, there were at least two VOLUCELLA ZONARIA hoverflies on the thistles - magnificent insects. At the railway path a SPECKLED WOOD butterfly showed well, but there was also what looked like a HOLLY BLUE but this is the wrong time of year for them to be on the wing - I'd expect the summer brood to be flying at the end of July! Was it this species? What else could it have been? At the station I noticed a sedge, which I'm almost certain must be GREY SEDGE (Carex divulsa) but as it was on the other side of the track I could not get a close view to ID it properly. At North Road, St Andrews, it was good to see some 'meadow' plants growing outside the student accommodation, including BIRD'S FOOT TREFOIL and SELF-HEAL. At the top of Richmond Road, it was nice to see three ferns together - MAIDENHAIR SPLEENWORT, WALL-RUE and the less common (at least in Monty) HART'S TONGUE FERN. |
22 June Cor blimey it was a windy old day today, positively autumnal gusts scattering leaves and flinging the treetops around. Birds were mostly taking shelter, their presence betrayed by calls and short snatches of song. Those that dared to fly were tossed alarmingly around the sky. A DUNNOCK sang briefly in the garden and perched for a few seconds on the telephone wire below my window. At around 3 o'clock pm at the railway path a BLACKCAP sang with equal brevity and later I heard calls from what I assume to be juveniles of this species. Young CARRION CROWS were also calling nearby and a couple of singing GREENFINCHES flew around haphazardly in the breeze. Further along the path among the sheltered and sunlit foliage was what I think is a SOLITARY BEE of some sort, and nearby was a handsome DOCK LEAF BUG. I found a larger patch of SCARLET PIMPERNEL near the Royal Mail office today but as it was in the shade the flowers were not open, so I will try and take a photo tomorrow morning when they will (hopefully) be in sunshine! Good shows of HEDGE WOUNDWORT were near the station footbridge - as Chris Rose knows only too well, this is a favourite plant of mine, and gets its name from its past use in herbal medicine for the treatment of wounds. |
21 Jun This morning at 10.30 I was able to see for myself the SWIFT flying into its nest in Richmond Road - the strange thing was that the bird screamed from inside the nest hole - I had always associated the characteristic screaming call to birds that were on the wing. At Richmond Avenue a GOLDFINCH was singing away, and at Hurlingham Road a SPARROWHAWK was being mobbed by a couple of crows above the railway line. A few minutes later I watched two Sparrowhawks over Ashley Vale flying together, stooping and gliding - I can only conclude that these were young birds recently fledged locally, practicing their moves - lovely stuff. The rain earlier certainly brought out the molluscs - a WHITE-LIPPED SNAIL and a LARGE BLACK SLUG were on the pavement beside Fairlawn Road. Along the incline to the station footbridge were a couple of SCARLET PIMPERNEL plants in bloom - the flowers were closed up because of the cloudy conditions, a habit which has earned the flower the alternative name of poor man's hourglass. |
14 Jun A lovely sunny morning which even coaxed me out to do some work in the front garden - that's a first! At around 11.30 I tore myself away to do a quick circuit around the patch, and the highlight was my favourite hoverfly - something called VOLUCELLA ZONARIA. It was on thistles at the Hurlingham Road end of the iron bridge, and too high up to take a photo of. This is a whopping great insect that sometimes gets mistaken for a Hornet, but is quite harmless and actually parasitises wasps' nests. Just below it was a SPECKLED WOOD butterfly, and a BLACKCAP, a JAY and a party of LONG-TAILED TITS were heard nearby. At the park at least one young CARRION CROW was heard calling, so there have been a minimum of two nests in Montpelier this spring - in the park and at Fairlawn Road. A ROSE CHAFER was zooming around at the top of the railway path and a HARLEQUIN LADYBIRD was at the station. |
11 June A day of cloud and sunny spells. At Fairlawn Road a BLACKCAP was singing and nearby was a party of LONG- TAILED TITS. It was good to hear a young CARRION CROW calling, as it came from near the nest I first noticed back in the early spring. On Narroways Nature Reserve there was a male GREY WAGTAIL and some good butterflies including MARBLED WHITE, MEADOW BROWN, COMMON BLUE and SPECKLED WOOD. |
10 Jun This evening one of the fledged BLACKBIRDS paid a visit and was fed raisins by the adult male in front of the window. At 8 o'clock this evening a GOLDCREST was singing from a fir tree in Old Ashley Hill. Last night I trapped quite a few moths including LYCHNIS, FLAME and SPECTACLE - the latter so named because of the white rings on its 'face'. Sadly the Spectacle came to a sticky end when I tried to photograph it this evening - it flew onto the slate roof below my dormer window and was promptly eaten by the male Blackbird! |
9 June This evening in the garden at around 8.30 two recently-fledged BLACKBIRDS at last showed themselves, having been calling almost constantly in the last couple of days but staying deep under cover. I was not able to take a photo as they were very flighty. SWIFTS are almost constantly flying around in screaming parties, six birds zoomed over St Andrews Road this morning at 11.00. Soon after, a party of LONG-TAILED TITS were near Hurlingham Road and a family of ROBINS among the trees at the junction of Fairlawn Road and Ashley Hill. A GREY SQUIRREL bounded across Station Road and up the incline to the station! I also had a look at the wildlife pond at St Andrews Road today and saw about ten AZURE DAMSELFLIES and about six LARGE RED DAMSELFLIES. These two species are the most likely to colonise new garden ponds. Also in St Andrews Park was a female CHAFFINCH, a young CARRION CROW calling from a tall fir tree (it sounded a bit like a Rook), a COAL TIT and another Grey Squirrel. Finally last night I had a BRIGHT-LINE BROWN-EYE moth (great name, eh?) in the kitchen. |
8 Jun I had an awayday in the Gordano Valley today so couldn't make any observations. Last night I had three interesting moths come into the flat - an ANGLE SHADES, a FLAME SHOULDER and a RIBAND WAVE. Sadly my cat Tom ate the Angle Shades - perhaps I don't feed him enough? This evening is gorgeous, with the scent of Honeysuckle drifting up to my window. |
7 Jun It was a warm and sunny afternoon as I took a lunchtime stroll around the patch. At Fairlawn Road there were lots of bugs - a flower beetle called Oedema nobilis was on a buttercup (look at the thick thighs!), a BUMBLEBEE called Bombus pascuorum was on a leaf (nice reddish-ginger colouring), and nearby was a BRAMBLE SAWFLY (yellowish abdomen). The first BROAD-LEAVED WILLOWHERB plants of the year were in flower at the same location and also at the station where there was also a party of LONG-TAILED TITS and a couple of COLLARED DOVES. ROSE CHAFERS seemed to be everywhere today, in gardens in St Andrews Road and at the station. In the park the STINKING IRIS plants are in flower - so called because if you break the leaves they smell a bit like roast beef (particularly offensive to me - I'm a vegetarian!) There were three SWIFTS chasing each other round the flat this evening and young BLUE TITS heard calling in the garden. |
5 Jun An amazing sight in the park this morning at around 9.00 was of a MISTLE THRUSH carrying food, indicating that it had a nest somewhere. I have not heard Mistle Thrushes calling or singing all spring, and in fact the last time I saw one in the park was last November! This just goes to show how surprisingly unobtrusive a largish bird like this can be even when it is busy feeding young. Also in the park were a couple of CARRION CROWS, a ROBIN and two BLACKBIRDS. Meanwhile I was able to get a decent photo of the PURPLE TOADFLAX and also a SNAPDRAGON at the top of Station Road. A HARLEQUIN LADYBIRD was also nearby. |
3 Jun I wonder if it's possible to hang around outside some stranger's house, staring at their eaves, without being arrested? I gave the Swift's nest in Richmond Road a quick look this evening but could not see any activity. Perhaps I should disguise myself as a lamp-post? On the way to Easton for my drumming class I heard two or three GOLDFINCHES along Sevier Street and a singing CHIFFCHAFF and GREENFINCH in Glenfrome Road. |
2 Jun I went to the Somerset Levels today so didn't get much time to look round the patch, but two CORMORANTS flying over the flat at 9.30 am was an impressive sight. There were lots of BUMBLEBEES on the Bramble flowers by the allotment gardens enjoying the morning sunshine, and a BLACKCAP sang at the station. |
1 June I was in London all day today so missed out on the delights of Montpelier. However, walking along Picton Street on my way to the bus station at around 9 o'clock I saw no less than twelve LONG TAILED TITS fly across at roof level! My trusty Richmond Road correspondent tells me there are SWIFTS nesting in a house there, which is very good news. I will have a look tomorrow! |
