ED Nature Watch

[civilservant]

Sue Wrote:

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> Take them to a wood or something far, far from your house :))

some have indeed been deported far far away - if you've noticed happy thrushes in Dulwich Woods, that's probably why!

[Lynne]

It looked like a minature drone. Quite odd.Thanks for the suggestions.

[cornelia]

Much excitement - found a large iridescent green rose chafer beetle near Denmark Hill station.

[tiddles]

That sounds like a stag beetle

[Asset]

Yep, prob a stag beetle as others have said - I've got them flying around at dusk, since Friday.

They only last a few weeks, are rare (apart from south east), harmless and a fabulous sight. I had a friend over on Friday who lives in north London and he said he'd never seen one before.

[cornelia]

Attaching picture... Definitely a rose chafer. Very beautiful metallic sheen, the photo doesn't do it justice!

[Sue]

I think two separate sightings have got confused in the thread!

Some people are talking about a stag beetle sighting, others about a rose chafer.

[cornelia]

Actually, reading again, just me talking about a rose chafer on my own :-(

[Sue]

:)

The confusion has arisen because some people have answered a post without quoting the original, and another unrelated post has got in between.

Easily done :)

[jimmah]

I liked your Chafer bug Cornelia, they are great when the sun catches them.

[Robert Poste's Child]

Something is making holes in my garden and I can't work out what it is. The holes are about 2-3 inches across, maybe 5-6 inches deep, with veritcal sides and no earth displaced as far as I can see.

Is it foxes digging for worms? Or is one of my neighbours practising with a pogo stick?

[Sue]

Squirrels?

[precious star]

Squirrels...or rats !

[alice]

Cockroach or stag nettle. Was it muggy.

[flocker spotter]

vixen with 2 cubs

stag beetles

toads, newts & a slow worm

bats- this is a new one for me, but they were out at the weekend nr goose green - you have to look for them

[heartblock]

I?m pretty certain I saw a pair of blackcaps in the garden yesterday. There was definitely some crazy birdsong. Has anyone else seen blackcaps in ED? It was a pale grey with a black head, the other I couldn?t see clearly and had a sort of uppy-downy song. They were in a tree flitting around and then both flew off. If not blackcaps any suggestions.

[Comeback Book Group]

Yep. Often seen blackcaps in my back garden. Dunstans Road towards Dawson's Heights.

[BrandNewGuy]

And there are blackcaps breeding on Green Dale fields behind Sainsburys, as well as fellow warbler the chiffchaff.

[heartblock]

Yea...that?s great. How lovely, I will keep an eye out for them again. Thank you both.

[Paulo]

Blimey, a juvenile sparrowhawk just swooped down onto our garden fence and took out one of the local gang of noisy sparrows - they've gone very quiet just now.....

[Sue]

Paulo Wrote:

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> Blimey, a juvenile sparrowhawk just swooped down

> onto our garden fence and took out one of the

> local gang of noisy sparrows - they've gone very

> quiet just now.....

This may well explain why a few days ago my garden was full of extremely agitated sparrows flying round and round.

I did think it was rather strange.

I saw a bird of prey recently on the allotments next to Camber Tennis Club on the South Circular - maybe the same one?

I used to get loads of starlings in my garden, and some years back a raptor took one of them off. I've never seen a starling in my garden since :(

[Dyson Dave]

Does anyone else thinks there's a lot tmore squirrels about this year?

[Sue]

No.

[BrandNewGuy]

Sue Wrote:

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> I used to get loads of starlings in my garden, and

> some years back a raptor took one of them off.

> I've never seen a starling in my garden since :(

It's more likely that this is a reflection of the steep decrease in starling numbers in the southeast over the last twenty years or so. The cause isn't clear.

[Sue]

Maybe, but this happened immediately.