Breeding Bird Survey!

Today I did my BTO Breeding Bird Survey in the Montpelier, St Andrews and St Pauls area. There were no surprises but I was very happy with the numbers of Starlings this morning, and House Sparrows continue to be doing OK on the patch.
Lesser Black-backed Gull 3
Herring Gull 3
Woodpigeon 15
Collared Dove 5
Swift 1
Wren 4
Dunnock 2
Robin 9
Blackbird 11
Blackcap 1
Blue Tit 3
Great Tit 5
Jay 1
Magpie 4
Carrion Crow 7
Starling 10
House Sparrow 20
Goldfinch 4
Feral Pigeon 19

Later, a Common Whitethroat was singing near St Werburghs City Farm.

Starling Invasion!

I was delighted to see a large group of up to 10 Starlings at the station this afternoon, I think there were young ones amongst them. This is a bird that has been lost to many parts of the neighbourhood so it is wonderful to see that they are still hanging on at this particular spot.

Starlings

There's a nice patch of vegetation further down Station Road, near the school, which includes Hogweed, Welsh Poppy, Lesser Burdock* (* now identified as a Hollyhock) and Smooth Sow-thistle. The latter had its leaves lined with leaf mines caused, I think, by a species of fly.

Hollyhock

Welsh Poppy

Smooth Sow-thistle

Leaf mines 

Insects seen today included a Cheilosia hoverfly and a splendid weevil called Liophloeus tessulatus, the latter trundling along the wall at the station.

Cheilosia hoverfly

Liophloeus tessulatus

St Andrews Park - Again!

The sun shone this afternoon after a wet and windy start, so I had a stroll round the park. There were about half a dozen Starlings in their usual tree but very flighty on my approach. Also lots of Goldfinches everywhere but not surprisingly, most birds kept a low profile in the brisk wind.

Goldfinches

Good to see lots of Frogspawn in the pond with little bits of Toadspawn too. The willow catkins next to the pond were being visited by Bumblebees but they were too high up to identify so I'm guessing they were Buff-tailed Bumblebee queens.

Frogspawn and a tiny bit of Toadspawn

I peeled away some lichen from a branch and found some tiny larvae which are probably fly larvae.
The lichen is probably Xanthoria parietina.

Fly larvae

Xanthoria parietina

It was lovely to see a few Daisies and Lesser Celandines in flower. A couple of Marsh Marigolds were in flower on the pond.

Lesser Celandine

Daisies

Marsh Marigold

Spiders, hoverflies and Starlings!

This morning at the station I was checking the wall for spiders and found a Theridion sp., a small blackish spider with a pale pattern on its abdomen. I thought it might be an odd-looking Zygiella at first but the spider experts on Facebook put me right. Nearby a Myathropa florea hoverfly was on  Hogweed near the tracks and a Marmalade Hoverfly was basking on some Ivy. I could hear baby Starlings calling but couldn't  see them. Oh well, maybe tomorrow...

Theridion

Marmalade Hoverfly

Myathropa florea

Swallows and Brimstones!

There was a real taste of spring at the station this morning - a fly-over Swallow was nice to see in such an urban location. It was flying north, no doubt to its more rural nesting site! A male Blackcap was really showing well again and singing its heart out along with 2 Wrens. A Starling looked a bit lonely at the top of a tree and a Collared Dove regarded me with interest. On the disused platform across the track a Brimstone butterfly was basking - sadly the resulting photo was a bit naff due to its distance from me - that's my story anyway.

Collared Dove

Starling

Male Brimstone

Fox and Marmalade!

A very sad specimen was at the station this morning - no, not me - but a badly mange-affected Fox. The tail was eaten away and the haunches horribly bare. On a lighter note, a Marmalade Hoverfly was basking in the sun nearby. A Great Tit, 2 Long-tailed Tits, a couple of Chaffinches and 2 Starlings were also knocking around the station.

Fox

Marmalade Hoverfly

Montpelier Station!

This morning a couple of Robins were feeding together on the railway tracks - they must be a pair as they would not tolerate each other otherwise. There was a brief snatch of Blackbird song nearby. There were a few Starlings around too. I returned in the afternoon sunshine and there was lots of bird activity - Great, Blue and Long-tailed Tits were feeding and a Dunnock was singing on a branch. My first hoverfly of the year was basking on a leaf - a Meliscaeva auricollis. Spring has arrived!

Long-tailed Tit

Robin

Starling

Meliscaeva auricollis

At Picton Lane I disturbed a Pied Wagtail. In Richmond Road some Bittercress was in flower - maybe Hairy Bittercress.

Bittercress

Montpelier Park!

Not too much to get excited about in the park this morning other than a Pied Wagtail, Blue Tit, Blackbird, Robin and Collared Dove. A few White Deadnettle plants in flower.

Blackbird

White Deadnettle

Pied Wagtail

At the station there were a few Chaffinches and 3 Starlings, a singing Dunnock and Robin.

Starling

St Andrews Park!

A quick stroll around the park this lunchtime produced a few Redwings, lots of Goldfinches, Blue Tits, 7 Starlings, several Blackbirds and a rather imperious cat!

Redwing

Cat

Blackbird

Back in Montpelier, a Coal Tit was singing in the park (now why couldn't it have been singing in yesterday's Big Garden Birdwatch?) and at the station the feeders were dominated by Feral Pigeons but there were also several Chaffinches and a Blue Tit and Starling.

Female Chaffinch

Feral Pigeons

St Andrews Park!

In the park this morning were several Redwings, a couple of Robins, a Jay, 4 Herring Gulls, 1 Lesser Black-backed Gull, a Black-headed Gull, a singing Coal Tit and several Goldfinches and Starlings. A Pied Wagtail was just outside the park. I had a look at the dead wood habitat and found a Millipede which is a Cylindroiulus species, possibly C. britannicus.

Blue Tit at St Andrews Road, Montpelier

Goldfinch

Redwing

Herring Gull

Jay

Cylindroiulus

Starling

In Montpelier there was a party of Blue and Long-tailed Tits at the top of St Andrews Road along with a couple of Redwings.

St Andrews Park!

We did a winter walk in the park this morning and saw or heard the following birds:
Goldcrest
Blue Tit
Great Tit
Goldfinch
Redwing
Starling
Blackbird
Woodpigeon
Herring Gull
Black-headed Gull
Pied Wagtail
Dunnock
Robin
Jay
Feral Pigeon
Carrion Crow
Magpie

Pied Wagtail

Non-bird interest was provided by some nice Silverleaf fungus on a dead tree and another as yet unidentified fungus. There were also leafmines on Holm Oak leaves created by the moth Stigmella suberivora.  

Unidentified fungus

Stigmella suberivora

Silverleaf fungus

Baby Starling invasion!

This evening at the station there were up to 10 young Starlings flying and perching in trees waiting to be fed by their parents - this is a vast improvement on previous years. Also 4 or 5 Swifts seen distantly beyond the TV mast.

'Feed me!'

A Blackcap was singing in the garden this morning.

A couple of moths in the flat last night - a Cabbage Moth and a pug species which I think might be a Mottled Pug. Also a couple of as yet unidentified micro-moths and a Crane-fly.

Cabbage Moth

Mottled Pug