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Wildlife Reports for April 2005
Christine Milton at 8.30am saw a small vixen strolling across her paddock at The Stables, School Road. She was aware of foxes visiting previously but this is the first one she has seen. Foxes may be the next most common mammal living in Rayne after ourselves but they are still rarely seen. She also noted two Goldfinches singing for mates in the paddock.Roger Martin, Duckend Green comments that he used to have up to fifty frogs spawning in his pond. The numbers diminished to none but this year they have increased back to ten frogs. This collapse in numbers could have been due to the disease called Red Leg. Last year there were several reports of this around the village and it is now accepted that this is a disease triggered by stress caused by increases in the frog population in small ponds. A warning for the human race perhaps? At present humans are dependant on medical advances to help combat disease in our increasingly over populated world. Luckily most populations do increase again after a collapse in numbers. Roger also saw a Yellow Hammer singing near Pound Farm but had not seen them on the road to Pudneys farm or in Pods Lane for some years. Since Roger's report a male has been singing on the wires along Pods Lane.
Roger Pertwee, Rayne Hall said the Little Egret was still present along Pods Brook during the second week of March and that he had seen more Goldfinches this year compared with other years. A Common Snipe flew off the set-aside land near his house.
Dick Stacey, Dunmow Road has counted 25 species of birds on and around his bird feeders. Dick who used to be the village grounds man cannot get about like he used to so the birds feeding outside his window are a real source of enjoyment. Dick feeds a range of food including fat balls. The day his daughter Carol phoned he had 5 Jays, a Coal Tit, a Goldcrest, 4 Goldfinches, a Partridge, Chaffinches and Greenfinches. Mark Giles has added more bird feeders in his garden and like Dick has had a range of species feeding on them. If you are considering putting feeders in your garden keep them near a shrub or tree so the birds have a means of escape from a passing Sparrow Hawk. It can be upsetting to find a bird that has become tame or has nested in the garden becomes just a puff of feathers on the lawn.
Andy Goodey, The Street had an apparently tame Red Legged Partridge often walking along Station Road and feeding on the nearby lawns. He was able to pass within feet of it. It also woke him in the morning on several occasions. He has had two further sightings of the Tree Creeper along the Flitch Way as reported last month. He also reports that a pair of rooks have built a nest on the phone pylon just east of the new footbridge over the A120. At least these pylons have some use. It will be interesting to see if the radio waves cook the rook’s eggs! Chiffchafs were singing along the Flitch Way from 20th March, Blackcap on the 23rd and Frog spawn in Andy’s pond from the 21st. On the 23rd March Andy also saw 5 Small Tortoiseshells and a Comma butterfly on the Flitch Way.
Harold Giles has seen a pair of Lesser Spotted Woodpeckers around the Duckend Green allotments. This is a woodland bird that has declined by over 80% in recent years and is now uncommon. It is also not an easy bird to observe in a woodland setting, as it is sparrow sized and always hides on the opposite side of the tree to where you are. I have only ever seen one in the parish and that was some years ago and I was talking coincidentally to Harold on the road by our farm entrance when a single bird flew into a poplar tree near where we were standing. Birders please keep a lookout for this bird so we can verify the record, the Essex Birdwatching Society will never believe it otherwise.
Not to be outdone by Bill Oddey and his phenology reports Robert Bucknall reported a Mallard with 6 ducklings on 3rd April. As there were virtually no insects around on the water at the time the ducklings would almost certainly not have survived. The mother does not feed her offspring like many other birds so the young are totally dependant on there being a ready supply of insects on the water. This is why the mother will make long treks with her newly hatched ducklings from the nest site to the nearest water for them to feed. I have often found ducklings calling in the middle of a large arable field having been left behind on one of these treks. Often the mother will arrive at her destination having lost most of her young on the way. The Mallard usually lays 12-14 eggs over the same number of days. She then incubates them for at least 28 days (it can be longer but that’s a long story). Robert’s duck must have been looking for a nest site at the end of January, early February. A very optimistic duck and a persistent one to continue sitting through the frosts we had late winter. The drake has no say in the search for a nest site, he just follows on behind the duck.
I have not reported every thing in full as, like the wildlife, my respondents have all come to life with the warmer weather. Roger Jiggins r.jiggins@btconnect.com. Tel. 01376 324 311
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