Teal meat again...or not

These Teal were inadvertently put up from one of our ponds, attracting the attention of a Peregrine. The Peregrine performed a half hearted dive but didn't carry out a full blooded attack, obviously it had already eaten ! We regularly see Peregrine in the winter but not so close to the house, more often they are perched sentinel like in a ploughed field.

The moth trap is now up and running again thanks to good old 'farm tech' and Evo-Stik. As expected the number of species at this time of year are low, Spring Usher, Early Moth, Satellite, plus these two diving beetles, Dytiscus semisulcatus, sometimes referred to as Black Bellied Diving Beetle. Interestingly one was a female and the other a male. These beetles can easily be sexed, the female has many ribs running along the wing cases, whereas the males are quite smooth and shiny. They are carnivorous beetles and are active throughout the year, though become dormant in the colder months and often make flights in search of new ponds when the temperature rises.





Do they know something we don't ?

This morning started differently, from the bedroom a Robin could be heard singing, through the window Collared Doves could be seen collecting twigs and calling. Not too far away the distinctive 'jangling' of Corn Buntings came from the overhead wires. What is the catalyst that could start off different species in their quest to reproduce at the same time ? To cap it all off Tree Sparrows were frustratingly observed inspecting nest boxes, something they have done for the last three years, but so far nothing has come of this, will they ever breed in north Essex again ? fingers crossed. 

Last weeks high winds have put paid to running the 125w MV Robinson moth trap for a while, as it rolled like tumble weed to the other end of the garden, thankfully the electrics remained intact, but fiddly repairs to the rainguard and supports have been called for. In compensation a scarce micro moth Mompha jurassicella was discovered on one of the windows. This moth is a proposed Red Data Book species whose larva feeds on Great Willowherb, a plant that can be found around our pond . In recent years it has only been recorded at one other site in Essex, but has occurred here in the past three. 



Those same winds also brought down some dead Elm trees. This allowed for a close inspection of larval feeding tunnels under the bark, these belonged to the Elm Bark Beetle, the carrier of Dutch Elm Disease which ultimately killed these trees and many others in this area.

Ring in the new !

 It's the second week in January and this colour rung Spoobill became the 56th bird to be seen from the garden in 2012, as it circled over the saltings before settling down on St Osyth marsh. From the combination of colours on the rings, we can tell that it was rung as a chick in Germany in July 2011, after which it visited Havergate Island in Suffolk and Holland Haven Country Park in October.

This week has seen some spectacular displays of colour at dawn and dusk, looking west from the garden Bradwell Power Station was lit up with an ominous glow !