More pipisterlle bat observations

I have continued to watch the pipistrelle bats. They circle right over our garden wall and it I stand still they fly past sometimes only a foot away.

The best chance of photographing the bats is when they circles the tree across the track, as it provides a chance to predict where they are likely to fly next. They are very fast and the pictures have to be taken wide angle. At times the bats are only a foot off the ground as they hunts. There are always moths around the Red Valerian, particularly silver y-wing moths. The pictures are not excellent but you can see many of the features such as the finger bones that support the wings.

The bats now appear at about 8.45pm as it gets darker earlier. They forage for about 30 minutes, flying back and forth, often turning above my head as our garden is at the end of the track.

Its such a treat seeing these fascinating little mammals up close.

Christian Moullec at the Shoreham airshow

This is Christian Moullec at the Shoreham airshow with his imprinted barnacle geese.

This is what baby geese usually do with their mother. Christian hopes to use what he learns to help rare geese (such as the white fronted geese) to migrate to new area starting new colonies in other areas.

They did look spectacular

Pipistrelle Bats

I have been watching the pipistrelle bats now most evenings. Now that its getting darker earlier they now appear about 9.00pm.

They are still foraging in the track that runs past our garden. When I stand by our garden wall they pass overhead by about a foot. This is the turning point before they fly back up the track. In fact one came so close the other day I felt the wind on my face.

Photographing the bats is very tricky because they are so fast and the shutter often delays even with a flash. The picture below makes the bat look like a ghost.

The other evening I saw 2 bats performing what looked like courtship. This occurs between end of July and beginning of October.

The bats continue to feed for about 30 minutes and then they move onto to another location. Last night I noticed one of the bats foraging around the apple tree that overhangs our back garden.

I have not seen much of the foxes lately. The cubs usually leave the den in September to find their own territory. Their single cub was still looking under developed when I saw it last a week or so ago.

Ant mating flight

Another ant mating flight, not quite as spectacular as the previous one. The ants on the rockery undertook their second mating flight first at 2.20pm

At about 6.30pm the main nest in the front garden had their second mating flight (and the ants just outside the gate).

But of course many of them do not survive the mating flight as they face predators in the air...

and on the ground.

Some become trapped in spider webs...

...or meet their end in other ways, this one drowned in the bird bath.

At 7.15pm I noticed that the yellow field ants that live underneath the bird bath also started their (first) mating flight.

This is the first time I have seen the yellow ant mating flight.



Butterflies on a sunny day.

A sunny day and a good good day for butterflies, These included marbled white butterflies.

Red admiral butterflies

At the back of the garden a tortoiseshell visited the red valerian

Wasp eating carrion

Last night a fox caught and eat a juvenile herring gull and we found the wings on the back lawn.

It was probably killed down the track where there were gull feathers and maybe brought to our garden as it was more secluded.

Possibly a juvenile that attempted its first flight and ended up on the ground. I checked the two nests I have been watching and the juvenile was not from either nest. 

The black ants had already moved in. The wings were laying underside up and I turned them over to check they were from a juvenile.

A minute later a wasp appeared and landed on the wing it then made its way to the base of the wings where some flesh was attached.  

The wasp proceeded to chew away at it before flying off - I guess to feed wasp larvae.

While this was the first time I had witnessed this apparently it is not uncommon for social wasps to visit carrion in this way.

Overzealous clearing of the track adjacent to our house

Its happened again, a group from community services have returned and started 'clearing!' the track. Last year they came and cleared it on 20th June cutting down bramble in full flower - covered in bees, butterflies etc, wild flowers such as mallow and sting less nettle  and any overhanging branches. When I mentioned the wildlife in the track they said they had checked for wildlife before they started!!!

This time they were directed to our house by the neighbourhood watch contact for the road, after we moaned last year about the problem - but then we had been out all day and it was all done before we got home. They wanted to speak to me and ask what they shouldn't touch down our end of the track - but I was away running a wildlife course in Shoreham. I spoke to my wife at lunch time by telephone and she passed on my message.

While we were able to protect the bramble and wild flowers at our  end of the track ...

...they seem to have decimated whole areas with no apparent plan.

This tree has been cut down and the foliage on the bank has also been removed - a favourite hunting area for the foxes and also used by blackbirds and sparrows.

As with last year the track is full of wildlife, bees, butterflies, hoverflies ladybirds, beetles, crickets, lacewings etc as well as birds, the foxes of course and also pipistrelle bats that use the track as part of their foraging route.

At least we have been able to reduce the 'damage' done this year although this was also due just as much to the rain - hopefully they won't be back this year.

When challenged last year they said they were doing a good service for the community - but they don't seem to have checked beforehand. Also, as they chopped down the foliage, empty bottles, cans and other litter were revealed. These were not removed last year or this year, so I am not sure which part of clearing the track for the benefit of the residents that comes under!

Towns and villages provide a patchwork of habitats for wildlife inlcuding parks and our gardens and tracks like this one are surely vital parts of this patch work and should be managed more sensitively.