Summer at Cranford Park (and a few other bits and pieces)

I carried out two UKBMS transects at Cranford Park recently, with very differing results as you can see from the figures below. Some species of butterfly emerge at different times to others, so my records often flag up something I havent seen for a year, or show when a season has ended for another. Temperature also plays a part in records, and even wind direction can affect how many are seen and counted. 

20/07/21 temp 27c

Small / Essex Skipper * x 37

Large Skipper x 4

Large White x 28

Small White x 10

Small Copper x 5

Common Blue x 1

Brown Argus x 1

Red Admiral x 4

Peacock x 3

Comma x 3

Speckled Wood x 9

Gatekeeper x 16

Meadow Brown x 46

Total 164 butterflies of 12 species

04/08/21 temp 20c

Small / Essex Skipper * x 3

Large White x 10

Small White x 1

Green-veined White x 2

Brown Argus x 1

Holly Blue x 3

Red Admiral x 9

Peacock x 5

Comma x 3

Silver-washed Fritillary x 1

Speckled Wood x 6

Gatekeeper x 38

Meadow Brown x 33

Total 115 butterflies of 13 species

* Small and Essex Skippers can only be told apart by the colour of their antennae tips so are often grouped together for count purposes

You'll notice I have high-lighted the Silver-washed Fritillary. That is because this is only the 4th record since the UKBMS scheme began at Cranford Park in 1999. Alison Shipley recorded one in August 2006 and I recorded two in August 2018. All of the ones recorded have been male. Hopefully one day a female will appear too, and we could have a beautiful breeding colony. 

The Silver-washed Fritillary is the largest of all the fritillaries and a little bigger than our commonly seen Red Admirals. They are strong flyers, and the one I watched yesterday often flew off above one of the nearby oak trees before swirling back down again. There are three different coloured buddleias at Cranford Park and this butterfly made a beeline for the white one nearly every time. Sadly it wasnt really in the mood to have his photo taken so the only captures I got were when it perched high in the buddleia and I had to stand on tip toe to get any image at all. 

So stand by for an influx of butterfly photos with identifications on each pic ...

tatty aged male Small Skipper

fresh female Essex Skipper

female Green-veined White

Brown Argus

Red Admiral

fresh Speckled Wood

back lit Speckled Wood

tatty Speckled Wood

Comma

male Silver-washed Fritillary

There is a lot of ragwort growing in the meadows at the moment, but very few Cinnabar moth caterpillars to be seen. These are guaranteed sights every summer, but our spring was a bit odd weather wise, so that may have had an impact. 

caterpillar of the Cinnabar moth

One year I will record every species of hoverfly I find at Cranford Park, but for now here are two of the largest that can be seen at this time of year. They may look large and scary, but they are completely harmless and a great indicator of the health of our enviroment. They are short-lived and fast breeding. 

Volucella zonaria

Volucella zonaria

Volucella pellucens

It has been a good summer for some of the breeding birds at Cranford Park. Song Thrushes made homes both near the wildife pond and the subway entrance. I witnessed one in July on the subway pavement, smashing a snail repeatedly against the kerb until the shell shattered. The photo below is of the successful Thrush with it's prize shell-less snail ..

A couple of weeks ago I sound recorded a bird calling with in the woods. I also managed one very poor photo. It turns out we had a family of Hobbys. This is really exciting as I havent recorded Hobbys nesting at Cranford for a few years now. They used to regularly breed at the park, but there favoured tree came down one year and they werent spotted for a very long time. Below is the terribly bad photo of a juvenile Hobby checking me out below it ... 

Red Kites have bred at Cranford Park this year, but at the Cranford Lane end of the park for a change...

Common Buzzards did build a huge nest within the woods, and I have seen them regularly flying and calling over that area, but I cannot confirm they actually bred (although I like to think they did). 

Usually in July I find our resident Kestrels in the meadows, teaching their youngsters how to hunt crickets and grasshoppers on the grassy paths, but this summer I havent spotted them (although a juvenile bird was seen in Avenue Park by the iron bridge recently). I have also not seen or heard the Little Owls for a couple of years now, something I always saw in late June or early July. 

Nearer to where I live at the moment (Harefield) Red Kites can often be seen from the lockdown loftroom window, and for the second year running there have been juveniles perched in the trees that line the Grand Union canal ....

and last week a male Sparrowhawk appeared in the back garden ....