Here you will find details of wildlife events in Elmbridge and any unusual sightings in Elmbridge or nearby. Please email one of the Editors if you think an unusual local sighting or details of a local natural history event warrant a mention here.
Linnean Society of London - free lectures If you are interested in free lectures this spring, you can find details here: upcoming_events_spring_summer_2019.pdf
Field Studies Council Programme
Please see the Links page for links to the FSC site.
Wildlife Diary Bird News - Autumn Well, that is summer over for another year. With the passing of the Autumn Equinox our long period of dry settled weather has come to an abrupt end and now we are wondering when the rain will stop! Some of the later flying butterflies and dragonflies can still be seen on warm sunny days, so keep your eyes peeled for red admiral, comma, peacock and small tortoiseshell butterflies and dragonflies such as migrant and common hawkers and common and ruddy darters. Some of these can still be on the wing in November in mild autumns.
Many of our summer visitors have, perhaps wisely, already left of course. Adult cuckoos are among the first to go, some leaving before the end of June and usually swifts are not far behind, with most leaving by the end of July. This year, however, seems to be different to usual with many swifts still being reported even into late August. One can surmise that this may have been due to the cold spring, with swifts and many hirundines arriving at their breeding sites some weeks later than normal. Perhaps they have therefore had to extend their stay in order to complete their breeding cycle. Most of the more common summer visitors have now left, with spotted flycatchers apparently being particularly widespread as they passed through. Presumably many of these will have been Continental birds, probably from Scandinavia, as the species is now a relatively uncommon breeding bird in southern Britain. The regular passage migrants, such as a selection of waders, wrynecks and ospreys has also been reported from their favoured staging posts at coastal sites, as have wheatears, whinchats and yellow wagtails. Blackcaps have had a very good year locally, with the majority of catches at some ringing stations being of this species, sometimes as many as fifty a day. In my garden, blue tits, great tits and goldfinches appear to have also done well, while even greenfinches, a cause for concern in recent years, are turning up in small parties of up to seven, which is great to see.
For October, we can expect some of the less common migrants, such as rare warblers, to pass through as they head south. The first of our winter visitors have already started arriving, with Brent geese being reported along the south coast. As October progresses we will see more and more birds leaving Scandinavia and more northerly points where they are unable to survive the cold, so wintering wildfowl and thrush numbers will swell rapidly as we enter November.
The sunblock may have been put away for another year but put on an extra layer or two and get out and enjoy the great birding that migration has to offer. PETER HAMBROOK Check the latest bird news from the Surrey Bird Club here: www.goingbirding.co.uk/surrey/birdnews.asp
