Look around .... by Brian Taylor
if you have any questions or sightings you'd like to report email [email protected]
if you have any questions or sightings you'd like to report email [email protected]
JULY
Well hello again ... we are now past the longest day and into "proper" summer .. so called .. but sadly still few days of warm sunshine and certainly below average July temperatures.
Whilst attending the wonderful new Honington village sign unveiling ceremony I was also able to watch some 4/5 pairs of Common Swift back to their usual under tile nesting sites ... and what a welcome sight. The frenzied group screaming flight is what, for me, makes a real summer. An every day wonder in continental Europe but with declining numbers coming across the channel their return is great to see. They really like our Suffolk traditional S shaped roof tiles so we have the perfect housing stock in many of our villages. Sadly in stark contrast to the poor numbers of Barn Swallows and House Martins; hopefully they are just a bit late arriving after a series of cold weather fronts.
Another wonderfully evocative sound is the call of the Eurasian Curlew. A single bird calling strongly flew low over Rymer Point from the direction of RAF Honington. A previous hot spot for Curlew breeding success locally .. actually on the airfield; the enclosing high perimeter fencing providing good protection from most predators .. critical for these ground nesting birds. The clever fox can of course seek to creep in through the main gate at night but generally the airfield site is a safe haven. Whilst on the subject of predators .. both the Common Buzzard and Red Kite are almost daily visitors to our skies in Honington and Sapiston .. the latter almost guaranteed to get people looking up at the graceful flight of this particular raptor. I vividly remember being so excited back in Covid days when they first started to appear .. now a very common sight .. if you are not sure on identification just look at the long deeply forked tail and slow flapping flight. The buzzard has a short broad tail and holds its wing in an obvious V shape when it flies. Whilst cycling recently through Ixworth I was lucky enough to witness a skirmish directly over the High Street with the inevitable "loser" .. the Kite wheeling away in a panic. The Buzzard is a much larger and stronger bird and if they do get into a fight there are well documented records of the Red Kites being killed by the Buzzard
Despite these poor summer days nature is still throwing up some joyous moments. Maybe 3 weeks ago I was locking up around 9.30 in the evening when I discovered an adult Hedgehog crossing our gravel drive heading for cover. A first for over 11 years!!! The body seemed longer than I could remember and low slung. An experienced friend suggested that it might well have been a pregnant female searching for a nesting site. Today the 15th of July I was clearing up after some decorating and suddenly noted some movement in the border. Often the Wren forages for insects and at ground level. But to my astonishment out walked a tiny Hoglet !! Baby hedgehogs on our land .. I could not believe it !! Later a second smaller baby also appeared around the other side of the house. So at least two have been born and are very much out and about! Fingers crossed that they will survive. Apparently there have been a number of first time sightings this year so do be aware.
Can the next month really be August ... surely this weather will improve ?
Well hello again ... we are now past the longest day and into "proper" summer .. so called .. but sadly still few days of warm sunshine and certainly below average July temperatures.
Whilst attending the wonderful new Honington village sign unveiling ceremony I was also able to watch some 4/5 pairs of Common Swift back to their usual under tile nesting sites ... and what a welcome sight. The frenzied group screaming flight is what, for me, makes a real summer. An every day wonder in continental Europe but with declining numbers coming across the channel their return is great to see. They really like our Suffolk traditional S shaped roof tiles so we have the perfect housing stock in many of our villages. Sadly in stark contrast to the poor numbers of Barn Swallows and House Martins; hopefully they are just a bit late arriving after a series of cold weather fronts.
Another wonderfully evocative sound is the call of the Eurasian Curlew. A single bird calling strongly flew low over Rymer Point from the direction of RAF Honington. A previous hot spot for Curlew breeding success locally .. actually on the airfield; the enclosing high perimeter fencing providing good protection from most predators .. critical for these ground nesting birds. The clever fox can of course seek to creep in through the main gate at night but generally the airfield site is a safe haven. Whilst on the subject of predators .. both the Common Buzzard and Red Kite are almost daily visitors to our skies in Honington and Sapiston .. the latter almost guaranteed to get people looking up at the graceful flight of this particular raptor. I vividly remember being so excited back in Covid days when they first started to appear .. now a very common sight .. if you are not sure on identification just look at the long deeply forked tail and slow flapping flight. The buzzard has a short broad tail and holds its wing in an obvious V shape when it flies. Whilst cycling recently through Ixworth I was lucky enough to witness a skirmish directly over the High Street with the inevitable "loser" .. the Kite wheeling away in a panic. The Buzzard is a much larger and stronger bird and if they do get into a fight there are well documented records of the Red Kites being killed by the Buzzard
Despite these poor summer days nature is still throwing up some joyous moments. Maybe 3 weeks ago I was locking up around 9.30 in the evening when I discovered an adult Hedgehog crossing our gravel drive heading for cover. A first for over 11 years!!! The body seemed longer than I could remember and low slung. An experienced friend suggested that it might well have been a pregnant female searching for a nesting site. Today the 15th of July I was clearing up after some decorating and suddenly noted some movement in the border. Often the Wren forages for insects and at ground level. But to my astonishment out walked a tiny Hoglet !! Baby hedgehogs on our land .. I could not believe it !! Later a second smaller baby also appeared around the other side of the house. So at least two have been born and are very much out and about! Fingers crossed that they will survive. Apparently there have been a number of first time sightings this year so do be aware.
Can the next month really be August ... surely this weather will improve ?
JUNE
I like to cycle deliberately early on a weekend morning when the birds are very active and you sit much higher up than in a car. The only sound is the soft, hardly audible, hum of the tyres which often allow for very special close views when you glide up silently and unannounced. Thankfully, my hearing is still good and I have the ear for picking out most of the common species around us in the wider countryside as I ride out on my chosen circuit. Just minutes from home towards Great Barton it has been a cacophony of song .. Skylarks, Blackcaps, Yellow Hammers, Linnets, Blackbirds and Common Whitethroat.. the latter a summer migrant visitor from Africa .. seemingly holding territory every 70 - 80 metres apart along the field hedgelines. Last Sunday another treat and completely unexpected. Most of us as motorists here in East Anglia have to slow down regularly at this time of year to avoid Red-legged Partridges (aka Frenchies) scuttling along ahead on clockwork legs and this pair were certainly scuttling. However, as I got closer , it became evident that the legs were much too long for a Frenchie and when I got along side, to my delight, I was looking at a recently fledged pair of very young Oystercatchers ... with the mother appearing overhead and calling loudly. I stopped and gently ushered them into the tall verge grass. Oystercatchers are not just members of the wader family that you would see close to water.. they are also an annual breeding bird in the dry fields all around Sapiston. Black and White with long blood red bills.. a really beautiful bird on our doorstep
One last sighting was heart warming but also a worry. As I drove out on the A1088 an adult male Barn Owl flew over .. left to right and thankfully high .. at 9:22am on the section between Honington and Ixworth Thorpe. A wonderful sight .. I just love all owls .. but the timing a real worry. The bird should have been long since back in the nest hole or box fast asleep by dawn or shortly after. It obviously needed to stay out hunting because of the well documented dearth of mice and voles due to this cold and wet Spring and early Summer .. which at the time of writing seems to go on and on! Hopefully, readers will NOT see more hunting Barn Owls in daylight .. We need this stunningly beautiful Owl to survive and increase in numbers from their current low tally throughout the county.
Good watching .. more news next month
I like to cycle deliberately early on a weekend morning when the birds are very active and you sit much higher up than in a car. The only sound is the soft, hardly audible, hum of the tyres which often allow for very special close views when you glide up silently and unannounced. Thankfully, my hearing is still good and I have the ear for picking out most of the common species around us in the wider countryside as I ride out on my chosen circuit. Just minutes from home towards Great Barton it has been a cacophony of song .. Skylarks, Blackcaps, Yellow Hammers, Linnets, Blackbirds and Common Whitethroat.. the latter a summer migrant visitor from Africa .. seemingly holding territory every 70 - 80 metres apart along the field hedgelines. Last Sunday another treat and completely unexpected. Most of us as motorists here in East Anglia have to slow down regularly at this time of year to avoid Red-legged Partridges (aka Frenchies) scuttling along ahead on clockwork legs and this pair were certainly scuttling. However, as I got closer , it became evident that the legs were much too long for a Frenchie and when I got along side, to my delight, I was looking at a recently fledged pair of very young Oystercatchers ... with the mother appearing overhead and calling loudly. I stopped and gently ushered them into the tall verge grass. Oystercatchers are not just members of the wader family that you would see close to water.. they are also an annual breeding bird in the dry fields all around Sapiston. Black and White with long blood red bills.. a really beautiful bird on our doorstep
One last sighting was heart warming but also a worry. As I drove out on the A1088 an adult male Barn Owl flew over .. left to right and thankfully high .. at 9:22am on the section between Honington and Ixworth Thorpe. A wonderful sight .. I just love all owls .. but the timing a real worry. The bird should have been long since back in the nest hole or box fast asleep by dawn or shortly after. It obviously needed to stay out hunting because of the well documented dearth of mice and voles due to this cold and wet Spring and early Summer .. which at the time of writing seems to go on and on! Hopefully, readers will NOT see more hunting Barn Owls in daylight .. We need this stunningly beautiful Owl to survive and increase in numbers from their current low tally throughout the county.
Good watching .. more news next month
In your gardens, on your walks, with the kids ... nature has so much to offer. Some in the village may remember the Nature Diary that I penned for the monthly newsletter during the Covid lockdown. A difficult time for all but as we live in an isolated rural part of the parish it was always possible to get out for long daily walks without breaching any necessary restrictions or even make human contact. With an experienced fieldcraft eye, I was able to find much more wildlife in those quiet days than now. But I never stop looking and discovering!
Any serious naturalists will tell you that you never stop learning and marvelling at our amazing planet. Do look back here regularly and can I encourage you to Google (other platforms are available!) online to find the bird, butterfly, dragonfly, animal or insect that you have witnessed. If possible use your mobile to get a photograph. There is a mass of detailed information at your finger tips; enjoy the satisfaction of correctly identifying what you have seen. I have deliberately not added wild plants; I am no botanist but of course use the internet to help with identification.