I suffered from terrible jet-lags but somehow arriving in the UK at about 8.30 pm made life a bit easier. On the way home, we stopped at our favourite chippy for good ole traditional meal, fish and chips with mushy peas. What a welcome eh. I didn’t call my father because it was about 5 am in Malaysia. After a nice, warm shower, it was time to hit the sack. Thankfully, I managed to fall sleep and was up early the next day. After calling Malaysia, I tackled the laundry and looked outside the window for the first time in three weeks. Everything in the garden had gone whoosh, wild and very overgrown.
When I was away, a sweltering plume from the Continent swept in enveloping the UK with tropical warmth. The weather here was nearly the same as in Malaysia!!! There were blue skies and blazing sunshine with soaring humidity. The volatile atmospheric conditions brought with it thunderstorms and torrential downpours which was surprisingly missing when I was abroad. The mercury rocketed into a blistering start to a sizzling summer and a month long scorcher. All my hanging baskets dried out and the rest of my potted plants barely survived. Since I took 2 extra days to recover from my trip, I spent the day consoling my plants
We drove over to Draycote Meadows for a walk as I needed to stretch my legs after the 13 hour journey. We wanted to see if the butterflies were out and about. Babe had been earlier in the month but nothing was flying due to the intense heat. Thankfully, the thunderstorms and downpours had perked things up and the meadow looked stunning in the sunshine. Twenty species of grass had formed a sea of tawny green with bursts of colour from the Yellow Rattle, Adders tongue, Green-flowered Twayblade, Meadow Buttercups, Meadow vetchling and Knapweed. The diversity of flowers supported a huge range of butterflies, insects and bees seen waltzing across the meadow.
But before we could walk along the middle path, we spotted a Kestrel hovering. Known as ‘wind-hoverers’, it was hanging in the air, seeking out preys like mouse, shrews or voles, hiding beneath the vegetation. To maintain this posture, it flew into, and at the same speed, as the oncoming wind and the current of air passing over its wings provided the lift it needed. To maintain the lift, it extended the tips of the wings and fanned its tail feathers, and when the wind dropped, it flapped its wings to increase air movement. It coped with the energy demanded of hovering by including tiny pauses, stretching the neck forward to offset being blown backwards, while keeping the head in position.
Like most birds of prey, Kestrels had keen eyesight enabling them to spot a prey from a distance. While hovering in the air, it wasn’t necessary looking for the animal itself but for its urine trail. They were capable of seeing ultraviolet colours, which were found in the urine and were able to detect the hidden prey. Sometimes, they would break from a hover, dropped down slightly and resumed hovering again. Once prey was sighted, they made a short, steep dive towards the target and seizing it with their talons.
After the Kestrel flew away to search for another patch, we continued our search for the piece de resistance to this oasis. It was the Marbled White Butterfly, a distinctive medium-sized white butterfly with a black-chequered marking. It was called ‘Our Half –mourner’ by James Pettiver, fellow of the Royal Society; ‘The Marmoris’ by the naturalist Benjamin Wilkes and ‘The Marmoress’ by the entomologist Moses Harris. Despite these names, they were more closely related to the subfamily known as the ‘browns’. They seemed to show marked preferences for purple flowers such as the thistles and knapweeds. We often found them, well camouflaged, roosting halfway down the tall grass stems and was flushed as we walked through.
As usual, we walked on the main path that divided the meadows. We scanned the grasslands and couldn’t see them at first. But other summer grassland butterflies such as the Ringlets, Small coppers, Common Blues, Small tortoiseshells, Meadow Browns, Speckled wood, Burnets, Skippers, Brimstone and Gatekeepers were fluttering effortlessly through the meadows with grace and serenity. Their delicate, colourful wings allowed them to silently soar through the air like confetti floating in the wind. Since ancient times, butterflies had been considered symbols of the soul, so it was no surprise that these flitting beauties had somehow managed to soothe any sad spirits.
The butterfly was young
Her vibrant wings of delicate lace
Such grace such poise
A charming butterfly
Butterfly fluttered by till upon a rose
Spreading her wings a dainty show
Slowly sipping sweet nectar
Butterfly in a trance
Fluttering her wings lovely
Too charming
Too tempting
Butterfly in a spell
Too late to break
Lovers forever
Strange couple though
Yet lovely
Yet happy
Suave cricket, Princess Butterfly
Flutterby, flutterby.......
~Bella Ravenstar~
To continue the break, we made a trip to Slimbridge WWT. It was a breezy, sunny morning when we left the casa at 10.42 am. As usual we headed straight to Rushy Hide and although it was full, we managed to squeeze in and I managed to stand on the steps. Right in front of us, a juvenile Grey wagtail was busy feeding along the drain. It was feeding on a variety of insects that was caught from the shallow water or on the ground while walking or running. Whilst feeding, it constantly wagged its long black and white tail. It was a territorial display to other wagtails that the particular stretch of water was occupied.
Nearby, the family of Shelducks had woken up from a siesta and heading towards the lake. We gave up counting the juveniles as they’d blended into each other as they walked in a group with one of the grown-ups escorting them. They were looking similar to the adults except their colouration was duller and lacked the pectoral band. They’d a whitish face and fore-neck. The plumage was washed greyish overall, and lacked the green glossy secondary feathers. In the shallow water, they foraged for small invertebrates including insects, molluscs and crustaceans by upending and dabbling.
Suddenly an Avocet started chasing a few juvenile Shelducks that wandered close to the mudflat. We looked closer and saw an Avocet chick confidently feeding along the shore. The chicks could run about and fed themselves within a few hours of hatching and both parents cared and brood them. They fledged at around 35-42 days but remained dependant on the parents for some time afterwards. We were quite surprised to see a chick this late because Avocets were single brooded but then, they would lay again if the first clutch was lost before hatching.
We were delighted to see a large group of Tufted duck ducklings at the far end of the lake. They looked like little corks bobbing along in the water. As with most species of ducks, the drake played no part in the incubation of the eggs or the rearing of the youngsters. The ducklings quickly learnt who their mother was, and followed her everywhere. They left the nest as soon as the last egg had hatched and find food for themselves whilst the mum acted as guardian. Once the ducklings had fledged their first true feathers, after about 50 days, they were independent.
We heard a familiar call ‘teu-hoo’ and a medium sized wader landed on the mud-flat in front of the hide. The dark wings with white trailing edges were visible in flight. As its name suggested, a Redshank’s most distinctive features were its bright orange-red legs. It had a medium-length bill with an orange base to match, brown speckled back and wings and paler belly. It was feeding in the shallow water by probing its bill into the soil and mud for insects, earthworms and crustaceans. It was an energetic forager, often up to its flank in the water rapidly feeding with sideway movements. It was a wary and noisy bird, alerting everything else with its loud piping calls.
”Tis not to know my old delight
To startle a Redshank into flight”
~Walter Wingate ‘My morning walk’~
We didn’t bother checking the rest of the hides as the tack piece was virtually empty. When we walked past the duck house, we noticed a sign to be aware of Swallow chicks in it. When we looked in and as our eyes adjusted to the dark interiors, we saw 2 pairs of eyes watching solemnly at us. Actually, there were 3 of them and one was on the opposite wall. They were waiting patiently for their parents to feed them. We left them alone and as soon as we moved from the doorway, one of the parent immediately swooped in and out again. It was difficult to judge when they fledged, as they would be enticed out of the nest after 3 weeks by their parents but they frequently returned to the nest afterwards to roost.
Outside in the sunshine, juvenile Swallows were sitting on the tree branches, all chattering to one another but still keeping an eye in the sky. They were still waiting to be fed and as soon as they spotted one of the parent swooping in, begging calls were heard, soliciting food from their parents. They were fed a bolus of food comprising hundreds of insects. Soon they would have flying lessons in the evenings and swooping down low across the reserve learning to catch midges and flies on the wing.
The swallow of summer, she toils all the summer,
A blue-dark knot of glittering voltage,
A whiplash swimmer, a fish of the air.
But the serpent of cars that crawls through the dust
In shimmering exhaust
Searching to slake
Its fever in ocean
Will play and be idle or else it will bust.
The swallow of summer, the barbed harpoon,
She flings from the furnace, a rainbow of purples,
Dips her glow in the pond and is perfect.
But the serpent of cars that collapsed on the beach
Disgorges its organs
A scamper of colours
Which roll like tomatoes
Nude as tomatoes
With sand in their creases
To cringe in the sparkle of rollers and screech.
The swallow of summer, the seamstress of summer,
She scissors the blue into shapes and she sews it,
She draws a long thread and she knots it at the corners.
~Ted Hughes~
Than we heard a loud ruckus of shrill peeping and piping calls ‘kleep’ and ‘ke-beep’ like someone squeezing a bath-tub full of rubber ducks. The calls started with accelerating trills and slowing down gradually. It was often used in aggressive behaviour between neighbour, in defence of territory or for establishing and maintaining hierarchies. We looked up and saw 3 Oystercatchers having an argument on top of the roof of Peng observatory. I think it might be an adult with two juveniles who were begging for food. Parental feeding often extended well after the youngsters had developed independent flight. They remained with their parents up to six months.
From here we headed to Discovery Hide overlooking South Lake. I was delighted when I spotted the Common Crane family out in the open. Bart and Ruby had done well, protecting their chicks from predation and teaching them how to find the food they needed to grow. Common cranes foraged on land or in shallow water, probing around with their bills for any edible organisms. They were omnivorous largely eating plant matter and animal foods such as earthworms, insects, snails and rodents. They dug in the soil for food items and uprooted tufts of grass to access any invertebrates to feed on.
The chicks were looking well. Each chick was looked after by one of the parent which was good news as this gave each of them a better chance of surviving. The initial down had been replaced by a second coat of down and soon this would be replaced by feathers. When they approached 3 months old, their first set of flight feathers would be completed. The parents would then run and flapped their wings to encourage the chicks to fly. It was so cute watching them using their wee wings to stabilise while running. By 9 weeks they could fly short distance. We watched them prancing about until they disappeared back into the undergrowth. Then it was time to head home.
While I was in Malaysia, Babe had a wonderful time with the natives at our favourite playground. At the car-park, he was greeted by a family of Sand Martins perched on the overhead wires enjoying the sunshine. They were the smallest European hirundines with dark brown upper parts and dark under wings contrasting with pale under parts divided by a distinctive dark chest bar. Newly fledged juveniles had a browner beak and browner legs than the adult. After fledging, the young were dependent on their parents for about a week.
Sand Martins were summer visitors to the UK and were one of the first spring migrants to appear, arriving in mid-March with late arrivals up until June. They were gregarious in the breeding season and in winter. Here in Brandon Marsh, two artificial nesting banks were erected for them opposite the Baldwin Hide. They were sociable in their nesting habits, from a dozen to hundred pairs nesting close together. The white eggs were laid in late May or early June and both parents take turns to incubate them for about 14 days. All eggs hatched at the same time and they fledged when 19-24 days old.
Sand Martins were agile fliers, feeding mainly over water for invertebrates taking on the wing. Their twittering song was continuous when they were flying, a chorus of twitters, tweets and rattles. They had a fast flight, with distinctive shallow, fluttery wing beats. As the breeding season comes to an end, the adults and young gathered in large flocks, before departing on the southward migration. In late July they will fly off to winter in the Sahel, the zone south of the Sahara, where they fed in damp places that offered plentiful supplies of flying insects.
Babe’s photographs of the Sand Martins feeding its young caused a stir among the Brandon’s fraternity. This was because they’d never seen a fledging being fed out in the open. Usually, they only saw the parents flying to the artificial nesting sites bringing food to the youngsters who could be seen poking out of the holes, waiting to be fed. How I wish I was here to see it.
The dragonflies and damselflies were also out and about enjoying the sunshine. On a warm summer’s day ramble along the lakes and ponds, Babe was rewarded with a dazzling display of them, brightly coloured hawking along the waterway in search of prey. These beautiful predators belonged to the order known as Odonata meaning ‘toothed jaw’. It was quite sad that these brightly coloured adults represented the final and shortest part of their remarkable lifecycle, the vast majority of which was spent underwater.
Dragonflies were as common as sunlight
hovering in their own days
backward forward and sideways
as though they were memory
now there are grown-ups hurrying
who never saw one
and do not know what they
are not seeing
the veins in a dragonfly’s wings
were made of light
the veins in the leaves knew them
and the flowing rivers
the dragonflies came out of the color of water
knowing their own way
when we appeared in their eyes
we were strangers
they took their light with them when they went
there will be no one to remember us
~WS Merwin~
Although I’d missed the antics of the Sand Martins and most of the Dragonflies, I was chuffed to see that the Oystercatcher chick near Baldwin Hide was still around. The juvenile had grown to be near identical to its parents. But, the eye was dark instead of bright yellow and don’t have the red orbital ring. The bills were also different, the adult’s bill was solid reddish orange while the youngster had a dark tipped bill with faint dark tones all the way to where the bill meets the face. As the juvenile grew, it was able to find its own food, but was often seen begging from its parents well after fledging. Parental feeding often extended well after the youngster developed independent flight. The juvenile was seen following its parent foraging for food.
On one of the floating pontoon, it was like a creche. A Common Tern was sharing its nesting site with a Black headed gull and both had a pair of chick each. The fluffy ‘ternlings’ were well protected under a concrete box and we were treated to aerobatic displays as the parents flew in to feed the chicks with tiny fishes in their beaks. Meanwhile, the brown downy ‘gullings’ had to be contend with a scrape in the ground with a pile of dead plant materials in the corner. It might have the awww factor but this scenario could be disastrous for the Terns as the Gulls could predate the Tern chicks.
On the way to East Marsh Hide, we came across an adorable toadlet hopping along the path. We’d to tread carefully in case we step on anymore. These tiny toadlets were well-camouflaged, making them hard to spot until they leapt in the grass. Early in the spring, toads gathered en masse to the ponds they were born in to go about their boisterous courtship. Once the spawn was laid, the adults hopped off again. Over the spring and summer, these tadpoles grew from vegetarians to hungry meat eaters, and exchanging their tails for legs. By the end of June, they were ready to leave the water and made way into dry land.
We stopped at Brandon Marsh which was unusually quiet as most of the natives were having a siesta. It was a hot afternoon. When Babe was here earlier, he photographed a Hobby hawking low for dragonflies and damselflies around the lake. About the size of a Kestrel with long, pointed wings, it dashed across the lake chasing after its preys. They were caught in its talons and transferred to its beak in flight. It accelerated rapidly in flight and was capable of high-speed aerial manoeuvres.
Hobbies were listed as a Schedule 1 bird on The Wildlife and Countryside Act. It was the only falcon that spent the winter months south of the Sahara desert. The first returning Hobbies were seen during the last few days of March, with spring migration peaking between mid-April and mid-May. They preferred areas of heartland, arable land, woodland edges especially close to water where their primary diet of insects was easily accessible which was Brandon Marsh was an ideal place. In fact, at least 5 were seen hawking around the reserve.
The Hobby was an elegant little falcon, slate-grey above and pale below, with black streaks on the belly and a red under-tail coverts and ‘trousers’. It had a white throat and cheeks, dark moustache and mask. With long swept back wings and square tipped tail, it looked like an over-sized swift in the air and many different birds were also caught in flight, where even the quick maneuvering swifts and swallows cannot escape a Hobby. The calls included a clear, repeated kew or ket and a loud frenetic kree-kree-kree.
When we were back at the casa, we looked out of the window and saw this handsome Jay on the bird-feeder. This shy woodland bird often appeared in our garden when it turned up to its nesting site in a little reserve near the community centre. I spotted the pair earlier in spring, picking twigs from the elderflower tree for nest building. When it spotted us, it gave out a harsh, rasping screech and immediately flew off with its distinctive flash of white on the rump. Although Jays fed primarily on invertebrates during the breeding and nesting season, it also takes eggs and nestlings which wasn’t good news for our feathered friends.
This was because our garden was surrounded by Leylandii Cypress hedges and its dense foliage provided homes and shelters to a variety of birds. Among them were House Sparrows, Robins, Dunnocks, Goldfinches, Great and Blue Tits which nested and roosted in these hedges. We don’t want them to be predated by this opportunist hunter, no matter how cute he was. But then, we never interfere with Mother Nature. Just don’t do it in front of us.
Babe photographed this adorable family of Blue tits in our garden. The poor mother was looking so harassed trying to fulfil the demands from her hungry chicks. Returning with food every minute or two throughout the day after they hatched kept the parents incredibly busy. No wonder that by early summer the parents were starting to look quite tatty. Fledglings stayed with and were fed by their parents for a few weeks after they fledged. This was a dangerous time for them as they needed to learn how to find food and avoided predators quickly if they were going to survive.
A juvenile Robin was also seen hopping around the bird-feeder. It had a speckled buff-brown upper parts and underparts. They had no red feathers so that the adult birds don’t attack them in territorial disputes. The speckled feathers were lost in a partial moult when it was about 2-3 months old. When the fledglings left the nest, they’d a spotty brown appearance which made for good camouflage during their early days. It was not till they started to get their true adult feathers that they took on the recognisable red appearance.
We ended June with continuing scorching temperatures where millions of Brit headed out to soak up the sun as the country basked in a heatwave. The final week had been the hottest of the year so far with temperatures hitting highs of 31 C. It was unusual to see the road gritters, a sight associated with winter, deployed to spread crushed rock dust on melting roads to create a non-stick layer between the surface and vehicles. Social media was awashed with bleary-eyed Britons moaning of sweltering sleepless nights and wildfires ravaged the countryside. Summer was here to stay.
“June is the gateway to summer~
~Jean Hersey~
*quote by Abba Woolson
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