Nature Oct 2009

Nature notes - October 2009

October 2009
		Exciting news! An immature Marsh Harrier has been spotted hunting over Carymoor and the neighbouring Carymarsh Nature Reserve. This is only the third time record for this species in this part of Somerset, and a new record for Carymoor.

		This confused dogrose hasn't decided whether its summer or autumn.While most of the plants are brightening the hedgerows with bright red hips, this one has also produced some fresh flowers, usually seen in mid-summer.

		It must be autumn because the redwings are arriving! Redwings are small thrushes which breed in the far north but overwinter in Britain. They migrate by night in loose flocks and their soft seep seep call can be heard as they pass overhead.They spend the autumn in hedges where they feed on berries, but once the berries are used up large flocks can be seen in open grassland searching for earthworms.

		Small flocks of jays are busy collecting and burying acorns. Jays are resident in the area but become more obvious in autumn when they may fly some distance in the open in search of acorns. A jay can carry up to 9 acorns in its gullet and buries them separately to eat later. Forgotten acorns germinate in spring, and may grow into oak trees, providing food for future generations of jays and the survival of the oak.

		All's quiet on the butterfly front, apart from a few Small Coppers from a surprisingly late brood and some small tortoiseshells nectaring on late-flowering plants like Verbena bonariensis. This comma was spotted in the tool shed, looking for somewhere to hibernate for the winter.