Spring appears to have Sprung on the Patch!

After what has been a very long and drawn out winter, it appears that spring has finally sprung on the patch. Blackcaps and chiffchaffs are seemingly now settled on their respective territories and a steady arrival of migrants saw my first willow warblers of the year on 14th April at Botley Wood.

Willow Warbler - Botley Wood April 2013

Near daily visits to the patch produced a white wagtail, also on 14th April, a male redstart on 15th, a nightingale on 16th and two whitethroats on 19th April. Other resident species have established their territories and are singing from the tree tops, some being more prominent than others. A green woodpecker was happy to call its distinctive yaffle, but was not too keen being watched do it and spent most of the time hiding behind the trunk.

Green Woodpecker - Botley Wood 

Butterflies were also evident, although still in small numbers, comma, peacock, brimstone and small tortoiseshell were all recorded on the patch. Hedgehog evidence (droppings) was once again present in the garden, it has been a while since I saw that.....

Comma - April 2013

       
                   ...and common and soprano pipistrelle bats were out foraging around Manor Farm.

Two More Pips and a Greedy Robin...

The last two days have been spent out of the office working on buildings covered by European Protected Species bat licences. Yesterday I was right on the coast in West Sussex, on a glorious spring day in full sunshine, whereas today I was working near Andover, on a dull and dreary day, shrouded in fog. With the amazing spring weather yesterday I was expecting to see some new migrants whilst working, but all I got was an occasional passing Mediterranean Gull and my first sunburn of the year....and no bats!!

Today, with the murky conditions, there was no chance of any sunburn as it was nowhere to be seen, but I was confident of some bats. I was working next to a patch of mature woodland, with an active rookery, and so my morning was spent listening to the bizarre array of calls these birds make whilst nesting. My job today was to strip an area of hanging tiles from part of a roof in search of bats, before the builders arrived to do their bit.

Common Pipistrelle

I began stripping the tiles, slowly and carefully, and before long found my first bat. This little critter was nestled in a corner hoping not to be noticed as I removed tiles, but seemed decidedly unperturbed by the experience.

Common Pipistrelle

I gathered this little bat up and popped it into one of the bat boxes I had previously erected, and left it to continue sleeping. Continuing on with my work it was not long before I had found a second bat, again another Common Pipistrelle, which I again placed in a bat box to continue sleeping.

Common Pipistrelle

I always enjoy working on buildings and seeing how bats use them, but this particular site had a few other species present as well. At the apex of the roof an old House Martin nest was present, and as I striped tiles I noticed loads of small black beads dropping to the floor. I have seen these beads before in Common Swift nests.....they were the pupae of Hippoboscid Flat Flies!! There must have been more than 100 pupae beneath the tiles, so I hope that by removing the tiles, and the parasite, I have made life a bit easier for the House Martins when they return later on the year.

Robin

Other species that were abundant were the invasive Harlequin Ladybird, which in recent years seems to have taken over the UK, and loads of Cluster Flies and Green Lacewing. The latter two species proved to be an irresistible attraction for one of the resident Robins. This individual was so tame that it was removing flies from the tiles before I had put them on the floor.  

With my work complete for the day I headed back home, but not before a quick stop at Longwater Bridge for some patch listing. And I was not to be disappointed with a lone Shelduck on the lake to the south, a new addition to my patch list.

Pipstrelle Bats and a Colour-ringed Oystercatcher

After the extremely mild and spring like conditions of the last week, it was back to winter with a changeable weekend weather wise, rain then wind on Saturday and then more rain and wind on Sunday! So with no chance of doing any bird ringing I headed down to a small barn to check on the local bats. I have been keeping an eye on this barn (well its bats) since 2007, and have recorded five species, Brown long-eared, Common and Soprano Pipistrelle, Serotine and Natterer's, during that time. The bats use the barn in different ways, with the Pipistrelle's tending to use it for hibernation and the Long-eared's using it mainly for breeding, with a few staying on to hibernate.

The last time I looked in the barn was January 2012, when I located single Brown long-eared and Serotine bats and seven Pipistrelle species. This time I located 13 Pipistrelle bats, which is the most of this species I have ever recorded in the barn. I have previously left a remote bat detector in this barn and have found that of the two Pipistrelle species, the Common Pipistrelle is the most regular and therefore I suspect that these bats are all that species.

Pipistrelle Bat (most likely Common Pipistrelle)

All of the bats were located in small crevices in the lower part of the barn, and were very awake, which is probably a result of the recent mild weather, although they will be in for a shock if they venture out tonight!!

Two Pipistrelle bats in a small Crevice

The bats were mainly clustered together in small groups with the largest group numbering four bats, but the most visible were a group of two just inside the entrance door. The Common Pipistrelle is one of the UK's commonest bats which on average can weigh between 4 - 8 grams and has been recorded living to the grand old age of 12 years.

Colour-ringed Oystercatcher, Bunny Meadows

By the time I had finished in the barn the weather had cleared and the sun was shining, so I popped down to Bunny Meadows. It was bitterly cold so didn't stay out too long, but did find a colour-ringed Oystercatcher on the inter-tidal. Two of the rings were discoloured but I think I eventually managed to get the correct combination. All of the previous colour-ringed Oycs I have seen here were originally trapped at Hamble Point on the other side of the water, so I am guessing that is where this bird was ringed.....but I will keep you posted.