Local Patch -29th August. Pictures include: Wild Hop, Swan, Shaggy Inkcap Fungi

Well we are making up for the dry weather at the beginning of the summer! It has been raining hard nearly every day. The gravel pits that were drying out are now beginning to fill with water again and it shows just how dangerously soggy that ground must be even when dry because puddles are appearing everywhere very quickly. The pair of Green Sandpipers seem to have set up residence and are seen daily, they seem to be welcoming the rain as are the Little Grebes. During the spring there were two pairs of Little Grebes arguing intensely over their territories now there are at least 8 birds hanging around, so we either have some juvenile birds or some that have migrated in. To be honest the weather has been so awful I have not been able to tell if these are adult birds or not. Walking through the lanes the other morning I came round the corner and surprised two birds that turned out to be woodpeckers. Not just any woodpeckers..Lesser Spot! Over the years I have seen them from time to time flicking through the tops of the trees. These two seemed as surprised to see me as I was to come across them so low down in the hedgerow. They flew up into the old Damson tree, a relic from the days of the Old House, one of them clearly showing the back stripes that are characteristic of this pecker. The Kingfishers are really back on the canal! Hopeless for photos as they see me long before I see them! One of them in particular seems to play a game with me, waiting until I almost knock it off its perch before flying. It tantalizes me by perching on branches that make pictures impossible, waits for me to get almost close enough ..then flies off at that fantastic speed that means you only catch a glimpse of the electric blue sheen. Found a great clump of Shaggy Inkcap fungi! I have only ever found one isolated specimen before and that was years ago. Obviously conditions are just right for it this year as this clump just appeared! And another plant for the patch that I have not noticed before is wild Hop..fancy some beer? There are so many of them I reckon you could make a pint or two!

Local Patch - 19th August. Pictures include Tachinid Fly, Wasp Spider, Chalkhill Blue

Hoverflies are everywhere at the moment. They are really quite interesting when you stop to look and realize just how many different sorts there are on just one plant. Sadly there is no sign of the one remaining Mallard duckling…I don’t think it can of made it but the juvvie swans are all doing really well getting their flight feathers now. We have had a Chiff Chaff in the garden – a first for our postage stamp size back garden! As a result of an email from our friend Graham, the Patch has taken a bit of a break as we went rushing off to Denbies Hill near Dorking at the weekend. He had found a Wasp spider! As this is a creature Dave had always wanted to see we set off. It is also a good time of year for Adonis and Chalkhill Blue Butterflies. Weather was kind, and the light was good and we were soon seeing plenty of the butterflies, readily picking out the two species. We then found our target. What an insect! It is thought this spider has been in the UK since 1922 originally found on the south coast, it is now moving north It is the female that makes the web. The spider builds it at dawn or dusk, commonly in long grass a little above ground level, taking it approximately an hour. The prominent zigzag shape, featured at the centre of the orb is of uncertain function, though it may be to attract insects. Having caught its prey of flying insects and grasshoppers in the web it then bites and injects venom to paralyze the unfortunate creature. The eggs are laid in the long grass under the web so vegetation that is unmanaged is required. The male of the species is much smaller than the female. It can often be seen in or near a female's web waiting for her to complete her final moult, at which time she reaches sexual maturity. At this time and her jaws will be soft for a short time and the male may mate with the female without the danger of being eaten.

Local Patch - 12th August. Pictures include Willowherb, Tufted Vetch, Grey Heron

There has been some rain this week, it’s amazing how quickly the brown, dry grass begins to change back to green. The flowers are looking slightly fresher as well with some Rosebay still looking good along the canal banks although on most the flowers now have nearly all gone over leaving mainly bare stems. The Pale Persicaria seems to have put on a growth spurt with the rain and there is still some good looking Tufted Vetch and Willowherb about. I think flower colours go in phases..we seem to be in a pink/purple phase at the moment, having just left a yellow one with the Ragwort and Tansy now well over. I haven’t introduced you to the local Grey Heron yet, he is quite a character! Looking a bit like a Jack-in-a-box this week as he stood by the Lock, I am sure he thought I couldn’t see him as he went about his fishing, not very successfully I might add. He tends to be a bit of a lad along the canal banks. He and I have a tolerance zone of about 20 feet, but when he got a bit closer than that to a pair of Magpies with a nest earlier this year they soon saw him off his tree almost before he had chance to land! I missed a shot of the year one morning this week. Walking along the canal I saw what I believed to be 2 Starlings sitting side by side on a lawn. It was only when the first flew off that I saw it was a Kingfisher! I then realised that the other bird was another Kingfisher!!! Can anyone say when they have seen one, let alone two, Kingfishers sitting on a lawn side by side? It taught me a lesson, always to check a bird – you never know what you might be missing! We have had a juvvie Red Kite over the house today...we had a pair flying over a few weeks ago.

Local Patch - 4th August. Pictures include Hornet, Roesel's Cricket, Toadflax

Best bit this week has been finding a Hornet in the Moth Trap at home! Dave is a Moth Recorder for this part of Surrey and regularly puts the trap out in out garden. It is surprising just how many moths we get, some of which are quite rare. The Hornet was not happy at being shut up in a Trap all night and had taken it out on the moths eating a few for an early breakfast and then was less happy at being “potted” for us to look at! She did quieten down enabling me to get the photos and then flew away when the sun had warmed her up. Same day saw us watching a Golden ringed Dragonfly outside our house patrolling the road like it belonged here! It’s massive. Sadly it did not land for a photo. About an hour after this we had a huge Roesel’s Bush Cricket in the garden, another species on the very edge of its range here in this part of Surrey. The information states that during a dry summer these creatures grow longer wings so they can get around easier, but you can see from the picture that this one actually still had quite short wings. Out on the Patch this week a Kingfisher has been seen again on the canal patrolling its normal flyway and great news, Kingfishers are also back on the River. So although the harsh winter weather seemed to obliterate them from this area, somewhere some have been breeding to be able to bring them back. Over the years of walking this area I have regularly seen these enigmatic birds and it was a great disappointment when they disappeared this spring, so I am well pleased. Another bird seen this week which is not a regular is Kestrel. It flew along a row of trees putting up a huge group of small birds before coming out into the open where it came under attack from several Magpies. As for the flowers, well, all looking a bit dowdy with the lack of rain. There is a large clump of Common Toadflax – the most I have ever seen down there. I think some flowers have done remarkably well following the cold weather of the winter – purely my untrained observation me not being a botanist.