When a bird calls.......the latest from south Harefield

From the lockdown loftroom I've been hearing a bird call the last few days, that I couldn't quite identify. I knew the direction it was coming from was behind the far corner of the field, but couldn't see the bird. 

Deep mellow 'peeee peeee peeee' calls....

I tried googling bird calls and listening to the suggested birds, but all I could liken it to was a Kingfisher. Yet the pitch was wrong, and when I hear Kingfishers I tend to hear them calling as they fly, so the sound travels away from me. This bird call was always coming from the same place. I'm used to the Red Kite calling, but even that call sometimes seemed to come from behind the far corner of the field, and often happened when I was watching 'my' Red Kite (more about him/her later) perched in one of the tall trees. 

Today, despite the really heavy rain we had all morning, the calls kept coming, and the minute the rain stopped early afternoon I was off out with my camera to try and locate the bird and find out what it was. Identifying this bird could not wait a moment longer ! 

Beyond the inaccessible field is a small narrow orchard, and then the Grand Union canal, so I walked up the towpath until I got to where I thought the far corner of the field was. There was a handy log there to sit on, so I sat and waited. And waited. And waited....

…..and then the familiar song started again. It actually made me jump a little as it was (obviously) much louder than before, and along with the 'peeee peeee peeee' call, there was a rattle call, and then a mew like a Red Kite and then the songs would all intermingle and begin all over again....

and there, about 10ft away and on the other side of the canal, was this Song Thrush...

Getting a bit closer I realised this individual was not only singing, but in amongst the melodious tunes it was mimicking other birds. The Kingfisher, the Red Kite and what sounded like a Starling. Amazing ! 

same bird, same perch, different angle

I did make two short video recordings on my iPhone but Blogger is being a bugger and wont let me upload them. 

Waiting around wasn't that much of a hard ship. The views were pretty good ...

female Mallard and ducklings

Pochard - female or juvenile male - not sure

female Pochard and duckling

Coot and cootlings (haha)

juvenile Great Spotted Woodpecker

Mayfly - my first ever photo of one

I also had a Kingfisher fly past (with no call)

Having satisfied my curiosity I made my way back to the lockdown loftroom, stopping only to investigate a scrubby area by the side of Moorhall Road. 

I see and photograph loads of damselflies, but decided to try something new with this one...

...weird looking critters aren't they ? 

As mentioned in my most recent blog posts, ladybirds are being seen in various stages of their lives at the moment, and this small two metre long area of roadside scrub had signs of at least four species, and a big fat FIRST for me....

7-Spot adult

7-Spot larva

!4-Spot adult (tiny and fast moving)

and my first EVER 14-Spot larva (even tinier and faster)

14-Spot larva

14-Spot larva

2-Spot adult  (bigger than a 14-Spot but smaller than a 7-Spot)

Harlequin pupa shell case top left, and Harlequin larva bottom right - weirdly I couldn't find any Harlequin adults

My first ever 14-Spot larva !! I couldn't believe just how tiny it is, and it's hard to put the perspective into my photos. 

Back at the lockdown loftroom, the Red Kite that has been loitering around the tall trees at the back of the field was of course, still there. Below are three photos I took yesterday and this morning, with the times in caption....

17/06/20   3pm

17/06/20   7.30pm

18/06/20  11am - in the pouring rain !

I'm still not sure what is going on with this bird. Immature male ? Been booted off the nest whilst the missus broods eggs or chicks ? I really don't know, but watch this space for any updates. 

A mooch around south Harefield

I spent yesterday mooching from the fields around St Marys church, up to The Main and then back to the loft room to watch the goings on from the window. 

There is so much to see so apologies in advance for the onslaught of photos. 

As to be expected in mid June, the butterflies are very noticeable now. 

The little lane from London Gate up to the church was alive with one of my favourite butterflies, the characteristic Speckled Wood ...

The dappled shade up the lane is perfect for these territorial butterflies and if you disturb one, the chances are it will fly round in a circle then settle exactly where it first was. It will do the same thing no matter what goes through its 'patch'. 

The brambles all along the lane and by the side of St Marys church wall were alive with more butterflies. 

Meadow Browns are possibly the most drabby of the british butterflies. They are very adaptable and therefore seen almost everywhere from meadows and hedgerows to gardens and roadside verges. 

The one above with it's wings open is a male. The females have flashes of orange on each upper wing. Even on a cloudy damp day, these butterflies will still be out flying around, mating and feeding. They really are hardy little critters.

Nettle patches are favourites of Peacock (more about them further down my blog post) and Small Tortoiseshell butterflies. The patches in the field by St Marys are thankfully left to grow. I'm not a lover of too much neatness and tidiness. 

I'm not quite sure what has happened to the upper wing of the Small Tortoiseshell below. It may have not developed properly after emerging from its chrysalis, or it might be battle scars from fighting with another small tort, or it might even be the result of a bird trying to take a bite. It was flying fine though and so long as it creates a new generation, then it's job will be done ...

 The bramble banks are also popular with the moth-like Skippers. There are eight 'varieties' of Skipper, but I only saw the two most common ones....

Small Skipper - possibly Essex Skipper but my photo is not clear enough to say for sure

Large Skipper

Large Skipper

Small Skipper

Back to the nettle patch.....I found literally thousands of Peacock caterpillars yesterday. The majority of them were in the nettle patches by the side of St Marys church wall, and there were lots up at The Main as well. 

This is the empty webbing left behind after the caterpillars have gorged themselves and are big enough to wander off. Those aren't caterpillars, they are the shell of a growing caterpillar, it's shed skin. The little black dots are caterpillar pooh 

When they have eaten all the young nettle leaves within their web, they break through the silk netting and wander off to find fresh food...

more caterpillar poop

Each butterfly species has caterpillars suited to its habitat. Some butterflies lay only single eggs, yet others like the Peacock lay eggs in clusters. 

Another critter that I find fascinating is the humble Ladybird. As mentioned in my last blog post, they have four stages in their short lives...egg, larva, pupa and adult. I only spotted two species of ladybird yesterday, the common 7-Spot and the non-native Harlequin. 

7-Spot larva

7-Spot larva

Harlequin larva

7-Spot adult and pupa shell 

7-Spot adult

Loads of my favourite prehistoric looking Dock Bugs were out in the brambles and nettles too ...

And this beauty below was found on the thistles up on The Main. I think it is a Hawthorn Shieldbug but am happy to be corrected ...

It was a bit too warm yesterday for many hoverflies to be out. They general like conditions a little cooler but there are exceptions ...

the common 'Marmalade' fly - Episyrphus balteatus

Chrysotoxum bicinctum

The Main was alive with damselflies. They were on the paths, the plants and flitting everywhere. I could only see Common Blues, but I bet there are more species there....

Back at the loft room, I've mentioned before about a Red Kite that is consistently perching in the trees at the back of the field. It calls a lot, flies off a lot but always comes back to the same line of trees. It also seems to enjoy sitting in the rain, as my photo below shows....

and this is the same bird earlier today ...

The jury is out on whether this is an immature bird, maybe one of last years young. Or if it has a nest nearby and has a partner that is brooding eggs or chicks. Or if it is being fed somewhere nearby and is loitering waiting for 'dinner time' ….

Another regular seen from the loftroom window are the Muntjacs. There are two males in the field, both of which have lost their antlers. This is the younger of the two. The first three photos were taken yesterday evening, and the last three were taken earlier this morning (hence the light and photo quality) 

The House Sparrows that nest in the field seem to be having a very good fledgling season. There were loads of youngsters out last week, and this morning I was watching a very newly fledged chick being fed by it's Dad ...

A very enjoyable couple of days in Harefield, and it's going to get even better ! High season on The Main should be great for the butterflies as there are plenty of thistles and large globe thistles still to bloom.