Wildlife Reports for September 2005

Linda Gates Capel Road brought us a specimen of The Vapourer moth caterpillar. The female moth is wingless and a very nondescript insect, the male moth is about 1.5cm orange brown with two white spots on its wings. The flightless female hatches from her cocoon and sits waiting for the male to mate with her, then lays her eggs and presumably dies, her life’s mission completed. The caterpillar, unlike the moths, is spectacular. It has a row of red spots along its body, four yellow tufts coming out of its back, a long feathery black tuft coming from its rear end and two similar tufts coming from its head, which look like antennae but are not. It had been found on a windowsill, almost certainly on its way to pupate.
Matt Hicks Elm Walk sent me excellent photographs of a Privet Hawk Moth, which he estimated at 2.25 inches long. It was found clinging to the side of his garden shed. It has been a very good year for moths and particularly the large and spectacular Hawk Moths. He also has a Bumble Bees nest in his allotment compost heap. In our garden I think the Badgers have dug out and eaten the brood of all our Bumble Bee nests.
Andy Goody had a Hummingbird Hawkmoth on Buddleia in his garden for most of a day. This immigrant moth is one of my favourites even though I have not yet been able to get a good photograph of it. So I am envious of Andy having one for so long. Andy also reported three Siskens over Pods Lane and a group of migrating Swallows going southeast. As I write this a few remaining juvenile Swallows and House Martins are feeding around the farmyard but they will soon be leaving for Africa. Some will migrate as far as southern South Africa.
Denise Lucia saw three Fallow Deer hinds cross the road when on the way to work just before the entrance to Old Hall Farm yard, they were heading for the farm. She was amazed at their jumping gait and the last one to cross the road was lucky that Denise was driving. There are now a large number of accidents involving deer in Essex and not only does the deer suffer but also the car is often a write off. This is the first time Denise has seen deer in Rayne but despite a high culling of deer in Essex for the oven numbers are still the highest they have ever been in recorded history.
Veronica Pollit Duckend Green saw a young Grass Snake on her drive, proof they are breeding in the area. Then to add proof to this supposition we found under the cover on our compost heap a nest of thirty-five snake eggs stuck together in a group. These will not hatch this late in the season as the compost heap is now cold and the sun does not warm the surface enough. I opened one of the eggs and inside it had a small snake attached to its yolk sac still alive. We are now looking for someone willing to hatch and feed some young snakes through the winter.
Harold and Mark Giles have given me accounts of the adult Kestrels and three juveniles that have been on the Duckend Green allotments this summer. They must have nested in the area as they were first seen while still ‘tame’ and approachable. Harold also saw a pair of bullfinches on the allotments; I hope they stay there as when we first lived at Goulds the fruit trees were stripped of flower buds every winter.
Ben Rawlings has now had confirmation that he was correct in identifying up to 15 Common Lizards in the schools wildlife area. This is the largest number I have heard of in Rayne. David Scott the county recorder was involved in relocating over 700 from a 1.25 acre Barratt building site in Bishops Stortford. Perhaps the school playing field could be better used as a Lizard sanctuary in the future.

Roger Jiggins 01376 324 311, email <r.jiggins@btconnect.com> (use Wildlife or similar in the subject box or my Mailwasher will delete and bounce the email)

Syl and I are giving a talk with slides for the Rayne Village Society on the Wildlife of the Galapagos in the Old School Room, Shalford Road, on Friday 4th November at 7.30pm