PEACOCKS AND POCHARD

There was a real sense of spring in the air with lots of sunshine on Thursday 3rd. The first butterflies of the spring were seen at the park with 4 peacock butterflies and one comma seen in various spots. This peacock above is looking a little faded and worn round the edges after its hibernation.

Eight pochard were present at the park pond which is a notable count for the area, as there are never more than a couple of pairs seen here. Also present were the 10 tufted duck, so it was a good day for seeing diving ducks on the pond. Hopefully some of them will breed in the area later in the spring / early summer.
The mute swan has made her nest on one of the islands and will be thinking about laying eggs shortly.

One of the large sallow trees near the pond was alive with bees visiting the catkins. It was almost deafening standing beside the tree, hearing the continual buzzing from the bees. Most were honey bees but a few were mining bees and bumble bees too.

Also in the area of the sallow at the back of the pond was a chiffchaff singing loudly, with two others heard calling from nearby hedgerows.
Flying high over the pond were two adult Mediterranean gulls, calling to each other, their very white wings showing up well in the bright sunshine.

Seven adders were seen basking in their usual locations with a further two missing from their regular spots.

The moth trap was run through Wednesday night at the park and in the morning a slightly better haul than recent nights with about 30 moths of 11 species. The red chestnut pictured above, is quite common but it really lives up its name when seen in the sunshine.


This is one of two early thorns seen, a typical time of the year for this moth that holds its wings more like a butterfly. The only other new moth for the season was the shoulder stripe.