Friday 24 July 2015

Hedgehog in Bourn Bridge Road

David had a visitor outside his back door last night (23rd July). Apparently, he seems very healthy.

Tuesday 21 July 2015

Emerald Damselfly

Jennifer took this photo of an Emerald Damselfly on a lily pad on her pond on 21st July.
It is very beautiful, smaller and slimmer than the other damselflies we usually see.

(click to enlarge)

Friday 17 July 2015

Wildflower Walk & Bug Hunt at Granta Park - 17 July

Naturewatch was invited to join a Wildflower Walk & Bug Hunt in Granta Park, led by Iain Webb from the Wildlife Trust, over lunch-time. We used nets to search for bugs on the wild-flower meadow and the woods. We caught many small bugs and also saw a summer chafer and a lesser stag beetle.

These are just a few of the bugs we found:

Leaf Beetle

Frog Hopper

Robber Fly

Lesser Stag Beetle
Rosemary noted the following bugs: Crab Spider, Leaf Beetle, Speckled Bush Cricket, Froghopper, Sawfly larvae, Meadow Damsel Fly, Flea Beetle, Summer Chafer, Robber Fly.

There were plants that included Ladies' Bedstraw, Wild Carrot, Betony, St John's Wort & Scarlet Pimpernel.

It was a beautiful summer day and we also saw lots of butterflies: 4 Commas on one tree, Peacocks, Meadow browns, Gatekeepers, a Brimstone & many Large whites.

Sunday 12 July 2015

Bees and butterflies in the High Street

Jennifer's lavender has been full of bees and a few butterflies, when the sun has been out in the last few days...

Bumble bee

Bumble bee

Red-tailed Bumble bee


Carder bee and 2 Bumble bees       

Small Tortoiseshell

Meadow Brown

Meadow Brown and Small Tortoiseshell (undersides)

Small White

Naturewatch Visit to Lakenheath Fen - 11th July 2015

Derek organised a trip to Lakenheath on Saturday 11th July 2015. Ten people enjoyed the visit and observed the following bird species. The sighting of the Bittern was very special - such a long flight!

  1. Bearded Tit
  2. Bittern (extended view of Bittern in flight over reed beds)
  3. Blackheaded Gull
  4. Blue Tit
  5. Carrion Crow
  6. Cetti's Warbler (H)
  7. Chaffinch
  8. Common Tern
  9. Coot
  10. Cormorant
  11. Goldfinch
  12. Great Crested Grebe
  13. Great Spotted Woodpecker
  14. Great Tit
  15. Greenfinch
  16. Grey Heron
  17. Greylag
  18. Jay
  19. Kestrel
  20. Kingfisher
  21. Little Egret
  22. Longtailed Tit
  23. Magpie
  24. Mallard
  25. Marsh Harrier
  26. Moorhen
  27. Mute Swan
  28. Pheasant (H)
  29. Pied Wagtail
  30. Reed Bunting
  31. Reed Warbler (H)
  32. Sedge Warbler
  33. Shoveler
  34. Sparrowhawk
  35. Stock Dove (H)
  36. Swallow
  37. Swift
  38. Tufted Duck
  39. Whitethroat
  40. Woodpigeon
  41. Wren
 41 bird species. Those marked (H) were heard only.

In addition to birds, there were good sightings of Dragonflies and Damselflies.



Friday 10 July 2015

Southern hawker dragonfly in High Street

Audrey took this photo of a Southern hawker dragonfly, with its exuvia, on 6 July on the wall of her garden.



Thursday 9 July 2015

Small Tortoiseshell butterflies in High Street

Jennifer had a small tortoiseshell day on 9th July – there were lots in her garden and in other gardens, mainly on lavender as these were.



Southern Hawker dragonfly on South Road

Anne spotted this dragonfly (a Southern Hawker) in vegetation at the edge of their pond on 7 June – its wings were crumpled glistening gauze at first, and then over about 5 hours the wings and body filled out, and eventually the wings were held horizontally. It had disappeared by dusk.



Wednesday 8 July 2015

Hedgehog footprints

Derek & Sally used a Footprint Tunnel to collect some Hedgehog footprints in their garden:


Sunday 5 July 2015

Wicken Fen outing - 27 June 2015

Jennifer arranged an outing to Wicken Fen on Saturday 27 June, primarily to see the dragonflies and damselflies for which the Fen is renowned. We were blessed with a lovely June morning, just the right weather for these insects. Ten members and two grandchildren came.

We were fortunate that an expert from the British Dragonfly Society talked to us at the start about the life cycle of dragonflies and how to differentiate between some of the blue damselflies.

Then we walked round the Fen on the boardwalk and saw many dragonflies and damselflies at close quarters in their exquisite colours. 

Barry took these photos:

Small Skipper
Four-spotted chaser dragonfly  

Azure damselfly
Blue-tailed damselfly
Marsh orchid
Marsh orchid


Friday 3 July 2015

Nuthatch in High Street

Jennifer saw a nuthatch in her garden on the morning 29th June and managed to get a quick photo.



Curlew over Great Abington

Andy was enjoying the summer evening (on 29th June) with his camera to hand and "saw a larger bird lazily flying over - just a dot in the sky really!"  He took a few pictures, 'blew-up' the 'dot' on the computer,

He's fairly sure it was a Curlew ... now who would have thought it!


The Aims of Abington Naturewatch

At their meeting on 9 April 2005 the members approved this revised version of the aims of Abington Naturewatch:

  • To monitor and record the wildlife (fauna & flora) within the borders of the Abingtons;
  • To encourage protection of our wildlife, maintain its quality and foster its diversity;
  • To promote awareness of the richness, potential and problems of the natural environment of the Abingtons;
  • To cooperate in improving access to the local natural environment for the benefit of all Abington villagers.

Pat Daunt, Founder

The organisation is informal and communication is by email if possible; members are notified of events from time to time. Contact details are maintained by a small "project team". There is currently no membership fee as costs are covered by voluntary contributions at events.

Members are encouraged to report notable sightings of flora and fauna within the Abingtons to the appropriate sector coordinator and an illustrated record is published annually.

A map of the area covered, with some features noted, is available here: http://maps.google.co.uk/maps/ms?ie=UTF8&hl=en&msa=0&msid=213774935674882866424.00000111dca2be9f06ab8&z=13>

For more information or to join, please contact David Farrant on (01223) 892871.

Contributions to our records should be sent to sector contacts or either of the above. Photographs may also be submitted to Andy Merryweather (amerryweather61@gmail.com)