October - December Nature Notes

The project: The Management Committee is considering proposals to improve aspects of the website, to simplify management and to provide more on-site feedback on data added to the website. Brian has started to analyse the Wildlife Diary records from each parish looking for trends over the years 2004 to 2008.

Events in the period. See the Home Page & look out for further woodland walks to search for nuts opened by dormice (Go Nuts for Dormice this Autumn!)

What to Look for this quarter: Birds, Butterflies and Moths, Amphibians, Mammals (Bats) and Plants

Birds. Most of summer bird migrants (S) have left us, so there will be a marked change in the bird song, but look out for the Winter migrants marked as (W) in the species lists, especially Fieldfare, Redwing, Lapwing, Golden Plover and Starling, probably as the first spells of harsh winter weather set in - birds driven from Britain's northern parts and from Scandinavia come looking for food. Some warblers may well stay with us. Large flocks of wintering birds, with the exception of Starlings, do not always get as far south and west as Cornwall, so we are very interested to know what YOU find. I have heard Chiffchaffs in subdued song as late as September. It is fascinating to see groups of starlings building up in numbers as they reach their roosting grounds. In our area of North Cornwall, Davidstow is one such area. If you have not seen this before, it is worth a visit. There are also other things to look out for: 

The appearance of Siskins at bird tables
Skylarks can be seen in flocks feeding mainly on tilled fields, as European immigrants join our few resident birds.
In the hedgerows, mixed flocks of small birds, such as Long-tailed, Blue, Great and Coal Tits, accompanied by the bulkier, but very suave Nuthatch and the diminutive Goldcrest as they forage through the trees for food. Look carefully, as sometimes these groups hold some surprises in the form of Marsh Tits and even a Lesser-Spotted Woodpecker. 
Avocets begin to build up on the Lynher and Tamar, south of our survey area.
The over-wintering of Summer Visitors. As the winter season warms, more Blackcaps and Chiffchaffs are staying with us, so look out for them in your gardens 

If you notice any of the following birds around the parish, then record the details on your special events form:
Yellowhammer, Green Woodpecker, Kingfisher, Dipper, any birds of prey other than Buzzard

The poor health of our garden birds. This seems to have been more prevalent during the cloudy & humid weather that we've had this summer. Hygiene is vital if we are to protect birds feeding & drinking at our feeding stations in the garden. Greenfinches seem to be most at risk. The basic advice is to remove stale food, husks & droppings from the feeding area; move the feeding area to another location; disinfect feeders and trays with veterinary disinfectant or a weak (1 part to 10 of water) bleach solution; change water in bird baths daily.

Butterflies and Moths. Keep an eye open in October for the giant caterpillars of the Hawk Moths - Elephant, Privet and Convolvulus Hawkmoth. We see them regularly in most of the parishes. Don't be surprised at the size of them - 7cm is not unusual.

You are still likely to see several butterflies in this quarter: Wall, Small Copper, Red Admiral and Painted Lady (seen in large numbers this year), Large White, Speckled Wood, Comma, Brimstone, Peacock and Small Tortoiseshell. The last sightings should be recorded. Ivy flowers are particularly good for butterflies in this period. 

Butterfly species differ in how they survive the winter - as eggs (Hairstreaks), caterpillars (Small Copper, Common Blue, Gatekeeper, Meadow Brown, Ringlet, Silver-washed Fritillary, Speckled Wood and Wall), pupae (Holly Blue, Specked Wood) or adult butterflies (Small Tortoiseshell, Peacock, Comma, Brimstone). The ones we see later in the autumn are likely to hibernate as Adults and these are obviously the first butterflies to look for in the New Year. A warm day may encourage them to emerge briefly, even in December

Amphibians. Frogs, Toads and Newts return usually before the end of the year to breed.  Frogs can often be heard croaking in ponds very early even in this quarter, so listen out for them at night and take a note when you first see Spawn. Watch your ponds at night with a torch to see Newts coming to the surface to breathe.

Mammals. December is the mating time for Red Foxes. Listen out for their calls after dusk - the male makes a short loud bark hoping to hear the eerie scream of the female. If you get the chance to see either of them, notice the winter coat, which is darker and thicker in the winter months.

The European Mole (Talpa europaea) remains active throughout the winter. This time of year, the diet is almost exclusively earth worms. Look out for the tell-tale signs of activity on your winter walks. You will see distinct groups of mole hills in open fields. I wondered if these were family groups, but in fact Males and Females occupy different burrow systems.

The Common Dormouse (Muscardinus avellanarius) will be hibernating from early November but will be feeding up on autumn seeds, fruits and nuts and leaving empty hazel nuts shells, with distinctive holes (dormice open hazel nuts in a unique way) on the ground under the canopy. These give us valuable records of where dormice are feeding so please collect up in envelopes marked with the date & location and pass on to your parish coordinator. Even if other mammals have opened them, these will give records for the Cornwall mammal Atlas project. More details and links on the Dormouse pages or ask us for a pack.

Bats hibernate from December through to late March - April after a sleepy period (torpor) in November, but they can be seen flying from time to time, even in this quarter and often in broad daylight. Please record on your Special Events Form whenever you see bats flying.

Plants. If you have a booklet of the most common plants, then keep recording the species and which tetrads they are in. There are a few things other to look out for:

• Berries are a good pointer to both plants and shrubs. Look out for Guelder Rose, Black Bryony and Lords and Ladies.
• Fungi reach a peak so enjoy those that you are confident to eat, while getting to know a few more that you see on your patch.
• Trees fruit in the autumn and then drop their leaves. Look out for leaf fall of Ash (October) Beech and Horse Chestnut (late October), Oak and Sycamore (November)

Please keep sending your records and add images, nature notes and discussion notes to our website and do send us any suggestions for walks or visits & meetings you would like us to set up.