Two new spring migrant species arrive this week.

Last week saw House Martins and a Grasshopper Warbler arrive. This week Sedge Warblers and perhaps unusually for Endon, a male and female Wheatear were seen on the disused railway line between Endon and Denford. Presumable they stopped off to feed on their way further north. I have never seen Wheatears in Endon before so that's a new bird species to add to my local list.

Last week I heard a Grasshopper Warbler near the John Emery Land, whereas this morning one was heard in the sedgy wetland near Hazelhurst Junction. The Sedge Warblers were also in that area.

End result - Curlew habitat lost and potential flooding increased!

I moved to Endon nearly eleven years ago. Every spring since then I have heard Curlews calling as they fly over nearby fields or a single male has proclaimed his territory with the species' characteristic bubbling. I have heard them this year too; they arrived in our area, from wherever they have been wintering, around the 12th March. In previous years it appeared that a pair of Curlews attempted to breed in a damp hollow in a nearby field. I don't know how successful they were as the field is on private lad (a  farm) and is not visible from a public place. Anyway it seems that this year the Curlews will be excluded as the farmer is now installing drainage in that small rushy patch (see photo). This year Curlews (though I can't be sure it is the same pair) are occupying a field near Endon Sewage Works (see photo). This field does not seem to offer as good quality habitat as did the damp hollow. It provides less cover and is more likely to dry out during a dry spell, thereby reducing feeding opportunities for this ground feeding insectiverous species.

Of course this agricultural "improvement" not only destroys the habitat of a declining upland bird species it will also increase the rate of runoff of precipitation from this piece of land. Before the drains were installed the rushy hollow would have soaked up some of the water which would then have been delayed on its route to the brook and subsequently to the the River Churnet. So next time we have heavy rain the water will percolate through the soil just that bit quicker than before - and then that water will proceed more quickly into Endon Brook and on down ultimately to the Trent. Thus, in a minor way, this action has increased the chance of the river overtopping its channel and flooding adjacent fields and homes.

On its own this single small drainage scheme is fairly insignificant, but isolated actions such as this all combine to add to nationwide flooding problems that many if us are expected to suffer from over the coming decades. End result - Curlew habitat lost and potential flooding increased!

Reply from Defra to my letter asking about Pheasant releases

Here is the original letter http://endonwildlife.blogspot.co.uk/2014/01/letter-to-my-mp-about-impact-of.html

Here is the reply.

Grasshopper Warbler, Little Owl and liverwort.

I heard a Grasshopper Warbler singing from bushes near John Emery land this morning - the first of the year. Will it stay to breed I wonder? Also watched a Male Blackbird  trying to chase off a  Little Owl from a hedgerow in Stanley Moss. The owl did fly off, but I think more because it was me that was being bothered by the bird.

I also admired a fine carpet of Common Liverwort plants growing on the cobbled area of the John Emery Land. It looked as though all the plants were male as no female receptacles were visible. Gemmae cups can be seen on the bottom left-hand corner of the photo (below).

Grasshopper Warbler habitat in Endon today.

Marchantia polymorpha  subsp. montivagans 

Summer migrants continue to arrive in Endon and queen wasps become active.

I heard the first Blackcap of the year in Endon today along the railway line near Station Road. They have probably been here since last week, but I did not hear them as I was in N. Yorkshire and Northumberland where I actually heard my first Blackcap of the year at Fairburn Ings nature reserve. So so far Chiffchaffs, Willow Warblers, Swallows, Blackcaps have arrived from S. Europe or N. Africa. The longer distance summer migrants, Sedge Warbler, Garden Warbler, Common Whitethroats, Cuckoo, Swifts and House Martins should arrive soon. If we are lucky Hobbies and Grasshopper Warblers may also be seen around Endon (they were last year).

Today was the first day I saw queen social wasps out in the sunshine, they and the Tawny Mining Bees, always become active at the same time as my Gooseberry bushes come into flower. From my observations they are the main pollinators, along perhaps with Common Carder (bumble) Bees.

A vespinae (social) wasp. 

Broken branch niches and leech.

The storm on 12th February 2014 caused some trees to be blown over, and in my garden a branch blew off an Alder  tree. This event resulted in two niches being created for wildlife. Yesterday evening I lifted the fallen branch and found a Peacock butterfly sheltering on the underside. I quickly replaced the log in the same position as I found it so as not to disturb the insect. Then today I discovered the nest site of a pair of Starlings - having wondered where the nest site was since watching the male singing from a perch in the tree over the past few weeks.

Starling nest cavity in Alder tree.

Peacock butterfly overnight shelter under fallen branch off the Alder tree. 

And I also rescued a Leech (probably a horse leech) from being dried up in the sun. it was crawling over the grass near the garden pond and seemed to be stuck on a dried up piece of grass. I lifted it up and put it in the pond. Maybe it had come out of the pond and was off to find a partner with which to breed. Horse Leeches actually don't feed on horse's blood., they latch onto snails and other invertebrates to get their nourishment. I see them in my garden pond most years. 

Horse Leech on grass. 

Yellow flowers and insects on a sunny spring day.

Where spring flowers grown in sheltered, sunny spots there is a good opportunity to watch for nectaring insects.

This sunny morning I watched this hoverfly, probably Eristalis tenax, on Lesser Celandine. Also noticed a sedge flowering amongst the grass in the church yard and Swan's-neck Thyme Moss on a sandstone wall Church Lane, Endon. Oh, and the stream in Station Road is milky once again this morning!

First Swallow of 2014

I saw the first (Barn) Swallow of 2014 in Endon yesterday. Perhaps it was passing through on its way north because I didn't see it today. There will be more soon, followed by House Martins and Swifts. Also, two Tree Sparrows on my garden feeders this morning. I hope they are a pair and I hope they use one of the nest boxes I have provided.

Tree Sparrow

First bumblebee seen collecting pollen this year.

Yesterday I spotted, for the first time this yea,r a bumblebee gathering pollen. It was a Tree Bumblebee (Bombus hypnorum) collecting pollen from Pulmonaria growing in  my garden. Her baskets were packed full of blue pollen - whether this is from the Pulmonaria or another source I am not sure.

Bees collecting pollen indicates that she has established a nest and is provisioning it with food for her first brood. Unlike the domesticated honey bee whose young are entirely reared by worker bees, bumblebee queens raise their first brood of workers themselves. Once these workers (all female) are old enough they will take over all care of the brood from the queen and look after the queen too. The rest of the queens life will then be primarily devoted to egg laying.

Tree Bumblebees colonised England in 2001 and had reached Staffordshire in 2009. I saw my first one in 2010 nectaring on wildlfowers growing along the disused railway line in Endon. They are now relatively common garden visitors.

The first photo below was taken in a previous year and is of a Red-tailed Bumblebee (B. lapidarius) gathering pollen from chives. The second is of a Tree Bumblebee.