Thursday 7 July 2016

Tree Following for June and early July 2016



 Welcome to my Tree Following post for June and early July 2016. 


These tree posts form part of a wider project initiated by Lucy Corrander from the Loose and Leafy blog and continued by Pat at The Squirrelbasket. 

I am based in Suffolk, UK, where I have been keeping an eye on a Silver birch, B. pendula. I have added in a small Cherry sapling, Prunus avium Sylvia, for my second tree.

You will find the other Tree Follower links by clicking through to the Mr Linky button here ... so do take the chance to have a look at the new posts!

***

Even in the bluest noonday of July,
There could not run the smallest breath of wind...

Robert Louis Stevenson


So here we are, past the longest day - and already the evenings are beginning to draw in ... just a little. The following is an update on my list of wild things seen in, on or around my two trees. 

Above and below: the Silver Birch in summer, with signs of ripening seeds

The tiny cherry tree has finished flowering. A lot of foliage has grown up round it, so I continue to wonder whether we should attempt to move it before the winter sets in. Some insect has been nibbling the leaves.

Ornamental cherry tree

I was away for part of this last month, which is probably why there are less sightings than I might have expected at this time of year. A number of my #gbb16 Bioblitz records from last month have been verified on iSpot and iRecord and added to my list below. 

I saw my first dragonfly in the garden of 2016 a few days ago, but it flew off before I could get close enough to attempt an ID. The cockchafer beetles - I always assumed they were bugs - have been flying busily around the silver birch on mild(er!) evenings, but the most exciting visitor this last month has been the hedgehog. The photo below actually shows one we saw last year as the camera failed to flash when David tried to take a picture of the 2016 hedgehog visitor last night.


The Silver Birch is full of sap, which is presumably what is attracting the Cockchafers. Apparently the larvae can damage the roots of trees, so perhaps we should not be so excited by their annual appearance! Here's one who came in through the french window and landed on the carpet.



Avian sightings seen at any time since I began the Tree Following project are shown in pink.

I have marked the 'wild things' seen during this last month in yellow.

  • TFb1   Great Spotted Woodpecker (a male and female)
  • TFb2   Great tit (several, often on feeder) 
  • TFb3   Long-tailed Tit (large family, including juveniles)
  • TFb4   Blackbird (several)
  • TFb5   Song Thrush   
  • TFb6   Blue tit (several frequently on feeder, including juveniles)
  • TFb7   Robin (the feisty Robin has put in frequent appearances)
  • TFb8   Magpie (several)
  • TFb9   Wood Pigeon (up to ten perching around the feeder area)
  • TFb10 Dunnock (two, and sadly a dead fledgling)  
  • TFb11 Starling (several noisy juveniles, one particularly pale)
  • TFb12 Carrion Crow 
  • TFb13 Goldfinch 
  • TFb14 Jay
  • TFb15  Green Woodpecker
  • TFb16  Wren 
  • TFb17  Bullfinch (no more sightings since last month's single visit from a male)
  • TFb18  Sparrowhawk (has been seen in the area, but has not been in our garden this month)
  • TFb19  Mallard
  • TFb20  House Sparrow (for the first time since we moved here, about five at once, just below the silver birch)
  • TFb21  Chaffinch
  • TFb22 Grey Heron (one flew over the Silver Birch yesterday). 
  • TFb23 Collared Dove (a pair)
  • TFb23 Coal tit

Mammal sightings include ...


  • TFm1 (?Wood) Mouse
  • TFm2 Bat ... first 2015 garden sighting 7 May 2015 [Apr/May 2015]
  • TFm3 Shrew
  • TFm4 Grey Squirrel  [Jan/Feb 2016] [Feb/Mar] [Mar/Apr]
  • TFm5 Stoat
  • TFm6 Hedgehog (seen last night, an adult, possibly a young adult)
 No new mammals this month.


Insect sightings include ...

  • TFi1 Small Tortoiseshell Butterfly [March 2014]
  • TFi2 Buff-tailed Bumblebee [March 2014] [Jan/Feb 2016] [Mar/Apr 2016]
  • TFi3 Brimstone Butterfly [April 2014]
  • TFi4 7-spot Ladybird [April 2014] [October 2014] [Apr/May 2015] [Jul/Aug 2015] [Sept/Oct 2015] [Mar/Apr 2016]
  • TFi5 Skipper Butterfly [July 2014]
  • TFi6 Meadow Brown Butterfly [July 2014] [Jul/Aug 2015]
  • TFi7 Large White Butterfly [July 2014]
  • TFi8 14-spot Yellow Ladybirds [July 2014]
  • TFi9 Small White Butterfly [May 2014] [Apr/May 2015] [Sept/Oct 2015 - caterpillars]
  • TFi10 Orange tip Butterfly [May 2014]
  • TFi11 Harlequin ladybird  [May 2014] [October 2014] [Sept/Oct 2015 - three on Acer negundo!]
  • TFi12 Garden Chafer (Phyllopertha horticola) [June 2014] [June/July 2016 - several after the silver birch sap on mild evenings]
  • TFi13 Ruby-tail Wasp [June 2014] [May/June 2015] [May/June 2016]
  • TFi14 Blackfly [June 2014] 
  • TFi15 Marmalade Hoverfly [July 2014] [Jul/Aug 2015]
  • TFi16 Shield bug [July 2014] [Apr/May 2015]
  • TFi17 Migrant Hawker dragonflies [July 2014]
  • TFi18 Unidentified Damselfly [August 2014]
  • TFi19 Comma butterfly [August 2014] [June/July 2016]
  • TFi20 Red Admiral butterfly [August 2014] [October 2014] [Jul/Aug 2015]
  • TFi21 Peacock butterfly [August 2014] [Jul/Aug 2015] [Nov/Dec 2015] - flew past window
  • TFi22 Green bottle flies [August 2014] [May/June 2015]
  • TFi23 Ants [August 2014] [Apr/May 2015]  [May/June 2015] [Jul/Aug 2015] [Sept/Oct 2015 Acer negundo] [Jun/July 2016]
  • TFi24 Squashbug aka Dock Bug, Coreus marginatus [August 2014]
  • TFi25 Birch Shieldbug (late instar?) [September 2014]
  • TFi26 Lacewing [October 2014] [Sept/Oct 2015]
  • TFi27 Cereal Leaf Beetle [Apr/May 2015]
  • TFi28 Unidentified Moth [Nov/Dec 2014] [Feb/Mar 2015] [Jul/Aug 2015] [Sept/Oct 2015]
    [Jan/Feb 2016] [June/July 2016]
  • TFi29 Rosemary Beetle [[Sept/Oct 2015] [May/June 2016 - four]
  • TFi30 Hawthorn Shieldbug [May/June 2015] 
  • TFi31 Forest Shieldbug (Pentatoma rufipes) [Sept/Oct 2015] 
  • TFi32 Early Bumblebee [Mar/Apr 2016] 
  • TFi33 Species of Miridae [Mar/Apr 2016]  
  • TFi34 Cranefly [May/June 2016] 
  • TFi35 Crossocerus, a genus of wasps belonging to the family Crabronidae [May/June 2016] 
  • TFi36 Wasp Beetle (Clytus arietis) [May/June 2016]
  • TFi37   Tree Bumblebee (Bombus (Pyrobombus) hypnorum) [May/June 2016] 
  • TFi38  Moth Least Black Arches (Nola confusalis) [May/June 2016] 

Molluscs


Arachnids



I saw a Comma yesterday near the Cherry Tree.

I wonder what the next few days will bring ...


#gbb16
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1 comment:

Anonymous said...

What a wonderful variety of wildlife you have - I especially like the comma - I haven't seen one for years.
Thanks for following your trees :)

9 July 2016 at 12:21

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