Spring in the air!

Spring is in the air, and the first Bee-fly of the year always puts a spring in my step! This individual was spotted yesterday at Afton Marsh. It may very well be the freshly-emerged individual that I found in exactly the same place in Afton Marsh back on the 12th March. It looks like it could be used as a dart, but any precision-guidance actually relates to the rear end rather than the head because the female flicks her eggs at the nesting holes of solitary bees and other insects, which is pretty nifty!

A few days ago I did a lesson for a Reception Class at Yarmouth School looking at Bugs & Flowers. I took in some Hazel catkins to show the children.

They were fascinated by the catkins - the male part of the plant, and also enjoyed searching for the delicate 'female' flowers which are seldom noticed!

Further afield, there are some beautiful Wild Daffodils flowering at Firestone Copse at the moment.

Narrow-leaved Lungwort tends to be confined to Dorset/Hampshire and the Isle of Wight - this flowering clump was the first time that I have come across this species.

West Wight Birds

First thing yesterday morning I opened the back door and a stunning male Black Redstart hopped up onto the fence from where it had been feeding below. I had been wondering what my 100th West Wight bird species of the year would turn out to be and it turned out to be a real beauty. Here is the list:

1)      Black-headed Gull (1^st January – Yarmouth Station Pools and area).

2)      Blackbird (1^st January – Yarmouth Station Pools and area).

3)      Shoveler (1^st January – Yarmouth Station Pools and area).

4)      Mallard (1^st January – Yarmouth Station Pools and area).

5)      Pintail (1^st January – Yarmouth Station Pools and area).

6)      Carrion Crow (1^st January – Yarmouth Station Pools and area).

7)      Blue Tit (1^st January – Yarmouth Station Pools and area).

8)      House Sparrow (1^st January – Yarmouth Station Pools and area).

9)      Wigeon (1^st January – Yarmouth Mill Pool).

10)  Gadwall (1^st January – Yarmouth Mill Pool).

11)  Oystercatcher (1^st January – Yarmouth Mill Pool).

12)  Mediterranean Gull (1^st January – Yarmouth Mill Pool).

13)  Black-tailed Godwit (1^st January – Yarmouth Mill Pool).

14)  Teal (1^st January – Yarmouth Mill Pool).

15)  Redshank (1^st January – Yarmouth Mill Pool).

16)  Rook (1^st January – Western Yar Estuary).

17)  Great Black-backed Gull (1^st January – Western Yar Estuary).

18)  Cormorant (1^st January – Western Yar Estuary).

19)  Brent Goose (1^st January – Western Yar Estuary).

20)  Shelduck (1^st January – Western Yar Estuary).

21)  Little Grebe (1^st January – Western Yar Estuary).

22)  Lapwing (1^st January – Western Yar Estuary).

23)  Golden Plover (1^st January – Western Yar Estuary).

24)  Dunlin (1^st January – Western Yar Estuary).

25)  Little Egret (1^st January – Western Yar Estuary).

26)  Coot (1^st January – Mill Copse Pool).

27)  Greenshank (1^st January – Mill Copse Pool).

28)  Grey Heron (1^st January – Mill Copse Pool).

29)  Kingfisher (1^st January – Mill Copse Pool).

30)  Wren (1^st January – Mill Copse Pool).

31)  Curlew (1^st January – Mill Copse Pool).

32)  Pheasant (1^st January – Mill Copse Pool).

33)  Magpie (1^st January – Mill Copse Pool).

34)  Moorhen (1^st January – Mill Copse Pool).

35)  Grey Plover (1^st January – Western Yar Estuary)

36)  Wood Pigeon (1^st January – Mill Copse)

37)  Robin (1^st January – Mill Copse parallel hedgerow)

38)  Stock Dove (1^st January – Mill Copse).

39)  Mute Swan (1^st January – Yarmouth Mill Pool).

40)  Kestrel (1^st January – Yarmouth Mill Meadow).

41)  Jackdaw (1^st January – Yarmouth Green).

42)  Herring Gull (1^st January – Yarmouth Green).

43)  Pied Wagtail (1^st January – Fort Vic).

44)  Goldfinch (1^st January – Fort Vic).

45)  Feral Pigeon (1^st January – Fort Vic).

46)  Great Tit (1^st January – Bungalow feeder/Fort Vic).

47)  Starling (1^st January – Golden Ridge, Freshwater).

48)  Barn Owl (1^st January – Heathfield Road box).

49)  Ringed Plover (1^st January – Norton Spit).

50)  Turnstone (1^st January – Norton Spit).

51)  Rock Pipit (1^st January – Norton Spit).

52)  Common Gull (1^st January – Yarmouth Mill Pool).

53)  Buzzard (1^st January – Mill Copse).

54)  Red-breasted Merganser (1^st January – Bouldner Forest).

55)  Canada Goose (1^st January - ?? Field).

56)  Knot (1^st January – Freshwater Causeway).

57)  Jay (1^st January – All Saints Churchyard).

58)  Sparrowhawk (1^st January – All Saints Churchyard).

59)  Goldcrest (1^st January – All Saints Churchyard).

60)  Firecrest (1^st January – All Saints Churchyard).

61)  Dunnock (1^st January – All Saints Churchyard).

62)  Redwing (1^st January – All Saints Churchyard).

63)  Stonechat (2^nd January – Freshwater Bay cliffs).

64)  Meadow Pipit (2^nd January – Freshwater Bay cliffs).

65)  Fulmar (2^nd January – Freshwater Bay).

66)  Chiffchaff (2^nd January – Causeway field hedgerow).

67)  Green Woodpecker (2^nd January – calling by Afton Marsh).

68)  Chaffinch (2^nd January – Yarmouth Mill Stream garden).

69)  Song Thrush (2^nd January – Yarmouth Mill Stream garden).

70)  Greenfinch (2^nd January – Mill Copse).

71)  Common Snipe (3^rd January – Rofford Marsh).

72)  Linnet (4^th January – Tennyson Down).

73)  Gannet (5^th January – Freshwater Bay).

74)  Guillemot (5^th January – Fort Vic)

75)  Great Crested Grebe (5^th January – Fort Vic).

76)  Greylag Goose (8^th January – Mill Copse Pool)

77)  Reed Bunting (8^th January – Western Yar Estuary).

78)  Goldeneye (8^th January – Western Yar Estuary).

79)  Peregrine Falcon (8^th January – Western Yar Estuary).

80)  Long-tailed Tit (10^th January – Freshwater Causeway).

81)  Grey Partridge (10^th January – Western Yar East fields).

82)  Shag (6^th January – Freshwater Bay).

83)  Tufted Duck (11^th January – Yarmouth Station Pools).

84)  Water Rail (13^th January – Freshwater Causeway).

85)  Great-spotted Woodpecker (16^th January – Western Yar).

86)  Collared Dove (16^th January – Western Yar).

87)  Bullfinch (16^th January – Western Yar).

88)  Skylark (17^th January – King’s Manor Farm)

89)  Green Sandpiper (29^th January – Freshwater Causeway).

90)  Red-legged Partridge (3^rd February – Causeway Field).

91)  Yellowhammer (3^rd February – Lee Farm, Thorley).

92)  Long-eared Owl (6^th February – Western Yar).

93)  Raven (7^th February – Golden Hill CP).

94)  Eider (8^th February – Fort Vic).

95)  Lesser Black-backed Gull (25^th February – Yarmouth Mill Pool).

96)  Cetti’s Warbler (4^th March – Rofford Marsh).

97)  Woodcock (5^th March – Afton Marsh).

98)  Mistle Thrush (7^th March – Fields off Wilmingham Lane).

99)  Coal Tit (12^th March – Afton Marsh).

100)                      Black Redstart (14^th March – 7 Golden Ridge).

I've done very little sea-watching this year, so the list is lacking any of the Divers, plus Razorbill and Common Scoter, which I would have expected to come across without too much trouble. It's also meant that I've not seen any Kittiwakes yet after seeing so many last winter. Other big surprises are the lack of Treecreeper, Fieldfare and Little Owl. The big disappointment is missing the 4 Spoonbills that spent a bit of time circling over Yarmouth a few days ago - it's still a bird that I'm yet to encounter in the UK. Although much of my time over the coming months will be taken up pursuing 6-legged fare, I'll still be on the lookout for new bird species, particularly as the migrants begin to arrive!

Afton Marsh at Night

A few nights ago I left the Trailcam out next to a pool surrounded by trees at Afton Marsh. I was quite pleased with the footage:


It looks like a dog Fox and vixen spent much of the night, on and off, enjoying the morsels I had put out. I'm pretty sure that the stockier-looking, broad-faced individual is a male, and the other one is certainly a vixen, as evidenced by the way in which she leaves her calling card towards the end of the clip. There's a bit of dominant behaviour witnessed right at the beginning of the sequence and the male is also seen drinking from the pool. At one point a Badger trundles by, but doesn't show too much interest in the food that is left. It certainly needs a tail trim!

The first Sweet Violets are now flowering in various places, including the roadside at Afton Marsh, the only one of our Violet species that is scented, hence the Latin name, Viola odorata. The Reader's Digest field guide to wild flowers points out what I think is the most fascinating piece of information about this flower:
'In less sanitary days the flowers were strewn on the floors of cottages and churches to sweeten the air and conceal the musty smell of damp - even though the scent of Sweet Violet is lost almost as soon as it is detected. It was, indeed, this very property that made it so effective: the flower produces with the scent a substance called ionine, which quickly dulls the sense of smell, so that not only does the scent of Violets vanish, but other odours too. This can be proved by sniffing the flower until the scent is lost, then holding it away for a moment before sniffing again: the scent will return until the ionine does its job once more.'

This afternoon I disturbed a Woodcock on the reserve, the first one I've seen here.