Past 'Bugs,bees & other critters.

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(Or you can scroll down to the month you wish to see. Not all in date order)
August 2003 
The Hummingbird Hawk Moths , six on one Buddleia bush , currently visiting our gardens have flown across from France. They lay eggs on the yellow Lady's Bedstraw plant. 
They normally do not survive our winters ... so far. Another insect that hovers with a long tongue is the much smaller Bee Fly. Usually low down on small flowers. Their grubs eat those of the Bumble Bee .
A complete , foot-ball size , wasp's nest has been rescued from a the branches of a bush. Our native wasps nest below ground so this is probably a larger species of German wasp that has flown over from the Continent . We hope it will be exhibited around our village.
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Winsham's "big cat’, the Maine Coon called IKE, has caught and killed two squirrels that were robbing bird food . He also catches Moles and recently brought a live one indoors and released it under the carpet . It got right beneath the underlay and the loud ripping noise as it was making runs into the room also attracted his lady friend 'Tigger'. They both stood with arched backs watching the rising carpet. Luckily a human ex mole-catcher managed to turn the mole around and guide it to the side where it was caught and released into woodland.
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October 2003
A Turtle Dove, feeding with Collared Doves, seen in Fore St on 30 Sept.These are now a rare migrant, although a common sight until the middle of the 20th Century. Its beautiful purring song was always to be heard in spring around 'Water mead ' (Purtington Lane- west) A Peregrine Falcon was reported flying over Street in early October. It's beautiful purring song was always to be heard in spring around 'Water mead ' (Purtington Lane- west) A Peregrine Falcon was reported flying over Street in early October.  

A mystery plant is growing in Court St garden. Leaves similar to Vervian but seed heads more profuse. It may have come from Birdseed and is under further investigation. Could it be Red Dorian.

 
November 2003

Ravens
A pair of ravens occasionally fly over the village attracting attention with their deep throated 'CRUK...KRUK'. They have also been seen eating carrion on the lanes or engaging in a wonderful nuptial display in the spring .They have just been seen alighting in tall trees in the Tree Nursery.

Wild Flowers
Just before the hot summer ended in the third week in October,a cycle trip around the lanes revealed many flowering specimens including Hogweed, Millfoil, Pink Campion, Dandelion ,and Hawkbit.

In gardens were many other species including the first Primrose,Marsh marigold,Borage,St.John's Wort and Scarlet Pimpernel.

December 2003
Another gentle autumn, with just a few mini night frosts, one minor flash flood (30th October) and no great gales, gave some wonderful autumnal leaves. Special vantage points were probably at the end of Dorman Lane (around Lue Farm exit) and the Watermead area at Purtington. Roadside wild flowers are now (6th December) very rare,just a few Millfoil and Hogweed, one Pink Campion in Whatley Lane and one Dandilion in Western Way, and no real spring flowers.
Insect life included a Yellow Underwing Moth, a black Bumble Bee, Greenfly!!,and green caterpillars on garden Brussel Sprouts.
A small Hedgehog-now called Prickles-visited a Davies Close house or food. It has now been given its own indoor run, a bed of deep dry leaves and a constant supply of water and best cat food (and treats), so that it can stay active until being released in the spring. 
January 2004
While the end of December, with Christmas and the New Year,is probably the greatest time for human activity, for Nature, with the shortest days and cool temperatures,it used to be, the time of its lowest ebb. Not this year...
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The swarm of honeybees that had their Christmas dinner on a flowering Mahonia bush has been traced to a nearby house roof.

TRICKLES', the rescued baby Hedgehog (featured last month)-has gained over 20 GMs each week and shows no signs of wishing to stop eating and hibernate.
An adult fox with 6 baby cubs (probably two litters) was disturbed feeding at a sheep carcass before it could be collected just before Christmas day.

A villager with a wildflower bank to her garden collected six different wild flowers on Boxing Day and 2 horse mushrooms were found down Court Street.

The 'mixed finch' nock from the Nursery now numbers over sixty birds and recently contained a Brambling. The two family parties of Long-tailed Tits met over the holiday at a bird feeding station and fifteen tailed were counted
February 2004
This 'modern' winter consisted of little more than a five minute snow storm on 28th of January and a short flash flood on 1st of February. At least our birds think so . Several have started singing - including a thrush and the robins. The siskins - on the nuts -that arrived with the colder winds , are now in full breeding plumage and the cockbirds will even drive off the Greenfinches twice their size. The Pheasants have started fighting and 'Charles', the local champion for two years, has already had several contests. There are five local hen birds . A pair of Goldcrests and a Treecreeper have been closely  observed.

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A Lesser Celandine is in flower in Court Street

Prickles ' the baby Hedgehog rescued when he weighed 550 grams was 975 grams on 1st February and growls when approached. He has not been tamed as he - and his box - will be returned to the wild part of the garden when his mates will have woken up later in the spring. He still eats heartily and will then be over 1 ,000 grams (2.2 Ibs)
March 2004
It's a wotsit!
Spotted by passer-by in Western Way early one morning in January,2004.
About five feet high and looked hungry. Can anybody identify?


 There are 88 species on my Winsham Parish bird list as seen since about 1935. Several species are peculiar to Britain, having slightly altered since arriving -after the last Ice Age - up from the Continent. The Firecrest - the Continental version of our Goldcrest has now been identified in Winsham. Likewise the Yellow Wagtail -with it’s yellow and not grey back - had been identified. This brings our list to 90.

 Prickles' - our rescued baby hedgehog - now weighs 2 lbs 5 ozs and is double his original weight. He will be given an RSPB approved hedgehog lodge for his life in the wild when Spring is arrives.'Charles' - the boss Pheasant - has now gathered, at great difficulty, five pale hens for his harem. A black hen has been seen with them one early morning.

May 2004

The gentle rain showers around the 18th April saw the trees beginning to burst into leaf. Our 'winter' was over . Baby robins were already out of the nest. The large flock of mixed finches - up to 200 birds - had already dwindled . The cockbirds had donned their breeding colours . The bramblings and siskins had gone north and chiffchaffs and willow warblers were singing from the hedges.
Charlie, our boss pheasant for the last two years, was seen alone with a broken wing feather . His place, with three hen birds , has been taken by a new even more magnificent male ... .who crows from before light (6) each morning.

Prickles, weighing in at nearly two and a half pounds , decided to break out of his winter pen and is no doubt already searching for a mate and doing battle with other male hedgehogs that stand in his path. He has been back only once for food.


The local buzzards have given some wonderful flying displays this season. There is one very large pale hen bird that was seen - back in March - on a grass road verge perched on top of a deceased cock pheasant plucking out the feathers.
The wild spring flowers are very good this year . Especially the wood anemones. Those straying to the Headstock Road (Thorncombe) will have noticed the lovely blue flowers of the grass vetchling . The butterbur was reported to be flowering beyond Ammerham. Like the coltsfoot the flowers are nearly over by the time the leaves show above ground.
June 2004

In this vintage year for Wild life Winsham's wild flowers have rarely been better. The Bluebells have been glorious in size with their brilliant blue . Now the Pink Campions, Stichwort and Beaked parley have taken over . The Hawthorn bushes are heavy with dazzling white flowers . Special mention must go to distinctive bright blue patches of the Germander Speedwell that dot the hedge banks along our lanes.The first prize for birdsong this year must go to a Garden Warbler - a truly exceptional songster - that took up station around the Field Maple at the top of Wynyards lane. Next door was a very mediocre Blackcap and a chorus of Blackbirds, Chaffinches, Robins, a Songthrush, Hedge sparrows and a rather persistent Wren. On the lawn below was the occasional explosive crowing of a magnificent Cock pheasant who had won battles with several potential suitors .

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July 2004

Our wildlife watchers this month came up with;-

· A HOBBY  seen chasing swallows, most afternoons, over the Village.
· The KESTREL that hovers south of Western Way is thought to have a nest down by the River.· A large (male) WEASEL was killed by a cat in a Court Street garden , with one bite to the back of the neck.                                

                       · Two SLOWWORMS have been seen dead on the roads at       either end of the Village.

· A HEDGEHOG mum and four babies are in the Davies Close area.

· A few GLOWWORMS usually appear down Wynyards Lane each year. This week a female was picked up in the road and taken – still lit up - to a local garden in the hope she will start a colony.

 
August 2004
At this time of year Nature has 'exploded'. The plant seeds are ripening. The baby
-animals -foxes, badgers, deer …and the rest, at their most numerous. Young birds have lost their baby fluff and are getting their winter colours .The parent birds are moulting into their winter coats and our glorious cock pheasants, in particular, look very sad.

 
October 2004 

Where are our Blackbirds? After a good breeding season only occasional birds are now seen. 16 Canada Geese recently flew over and 2 Tawny Owls hoot locally most nights.A person with a garden that has baby newts has asked if they could possibly be baby lizards. Although easy to tell apart as adult - one is a reptile, one an amphibian - newts spend time in water as tadpoles. Baby lizards are dry and tiny with scaly skin. Crab Spiders have been seen hiding under wild plant flowers this season. They use their big front legs to catch insects. Although they have been seen on St. John's Wort, they don't seen to have quite mastered the colour ... just a few reddish marks.

Paul Smith has been unwell over the last few weeks, necessitating a period in hospital. He is now recovering well, and we are grateful for his continuing support of this feature.
With more than ample rain, the lush growth of summer has filled the area with masses of seeds and fruits. Our birds, including a lovely flock of 15 long-tailed tits that constantly tour the Village, are mostly hidden in the greenery. The 'mixed' finch flock (mostly chaffinches and greenfinches) join the house and hedge sparrows that feed on the lawns. A short spell of afternoon sun brought out many bees and even wasps and also a fine Brimstone butterfly. Several different species of 'mushroom' are growing down Court Street.

The garden pheasants are now in full winter plumage and a fine cock chose to start crowing form his perch high up in an oak tree at 3.30am on one dark night recently. Although they often crow at dawn, could it be that flashing car lights deceive the birds into thinking that the sun is rising?

The cool northerly winds of recent days have brought out swarms of the winter non-biting midges in the lanes and gardens, (a great hazard to cyclists not wearing goggles!). During a short sunny spell on an afternoon in mid- October,
a large Dragonfly was seen circling shrubs in a garden presumably feeding on the midges. Large numbers of dragonflies and an otter have been reported as seen further down the River Axe recently.

 

 

Some late news……

A pair of Red Kites and two Ravens are reported as being seen from the top gate of Colham lane.

 

NATURE NOTES for 30January 2005 
Starlings are now losing their winter spots and  individuals try out some mimicry tricks. Some remember the telephone ringing, the car alarm or even a doorbell. Others mimic other birdcalls - such as the Golden Oriels. Song thrushes are singing early this year and from one high Winsham ash tree a very strange song had been heard. Not a British bird but something perhaps heard at some zoo or a jungle film on the telly. On each occasion, after a time, a lone starling as flown out . A bright red bracket fungus has been reported to have been seen  growing  on a Winsham Whitebeam tree.   Could be a specimen of 'Trametes Cinnabarina'.

With Sparrow Hawks becoming more common some people find them difficult to distinguish from Kestrels as they fly quickly overhead. The former has wide wings of a true hawk while the Kestrel is a species of Falcon with thin wings.   
With the long series of comparatively mild winters continuing the first spring flowers - a Celandine and a Primrose - were reported before Christmas. As usual several single plants of Hogweed graced our roadside verges. On the fungus front a fine growth of Chanterelle were growing in a garden corner where beech leaves are often discarded.Bird watchers report a regular visit from a pair of Firecrests.
 A new report is of a Corn Bunting which picks up the droppings on the grass beneath fat balls put out for other smaller species especially the Winsham flock of Long Tailed Tits.

 

  

 

Nature Notes for the 20th February,2005

There has been a report of a very large 'furry' BUMBLE BEE feeding on the nectar from many wild flowers (including primroses, pink campion, cowslip and hedge parsley) before seeking a nesting site. The similar shaped hairless bee will be seen later in the season.This is the CUCKOO BEE that lays its eggs in the Bumbles nest.

Now in full flower under a bird-feeding site is a good specimen of HEDGE PARSLEY (T. japonica) that normally flowers after the rampant roadside Cow Parsley had died down. There was a case (some forty years ago) of a spectacular plant that grew from under a Winsham bird table.It turned out to be CANNABIS. It was promptly destroyed.

Just after the War (1946) some cheap grass seed was used to reseed a small arable field in Winsham. For many years this yielded a wonderful display of wild flowers including wild mignonette , poppies, wild pansies , cranesbills and fumitory.

Bird sightings include Song and Mistle Thrushes feeding on ivy berries. Also both GOLDCRESTS and FIRECRESTS have been closely observed towards the top of the Village.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 


 

 

 

 

 

 

Paul Smith died on the 22nd March,2007.It had been apparent to most people that his health was failing, but he remained active until the end, going off on his electric bicycle on expeditions into his beloved countryside when most of us wanted nothing more than to sit by our firesides .

The two notes that follow were the last that he produced for the Parish Web Site

 

WINSHAM NATURE NOTES for February,2007

 
A disappointing season, for most of the features of winter are missing. The Siskins and Bramblings are absent from the gardens; just a flock of Green finches and Chaffinches in the Nursery area.. Only small flocks of Redwings and Fieldfares are seen in the area. Snowdrops, without much competition, grace the hedges and insects are rare.
The only unusual bird reported was a Stonechat ,seen in Western Way.
A second baby Hedgehog , called Harry, has now grown to full size, like Spikey , but is bad tempered and growls if handled. They will be returned to the wild when real spring arrives

.Harry 210207.jpg (34967 bytes)
The rescued baby hedgehog (SPIKEY) is rapidly gaining, in weight and now full size but will have to remain indoors until being released in the true spring. Two synthetic House Martin nests are now available for siting on the Jubilee Hall when required.
 

 

 

WINSHAM NATURE NOTES-Late December

Despite the exceptionally mild spell (52C) only a Celendine &Dandilion270106.jpg (24726 bytes)few wild flowers are reported. The Marsh Marigold is on its third flowering and the Celendines are out

 

Pair of Jays has returned to a Winsham garden. A  Song Thrush was singing at full pitch not here, but 
over the Lym river into Lyme Regis. A male Kestrel was seen perching on a roof and being mobbed by two blackbirds and other small birds. We usually see the Sparrow Hawk when every bird disappears. Wild bees have been reported buzzing from a Winsham garden

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Early December,2006

Recently a rare WRYNECK has been feeding on fat balls in a Winsham garden. Of the woodpecker family it is said to be very distinctive and unmistakable. Unlike the reported   'glimpse ' of a Yellow-browed Warbler seen recently. The Asiatic version of our Willow Warbler it is just one of some forty similar looking Warbler species. The mixed-finch flock from the Nursery area - mostly chaffinches - now numbers over thirty. A flock of twelve Long-tailed-Tits is seen every day. A Goldcrest is reported from the Court Street area. On 25 Nov. a large Grey Heron was seen circling the Village and pitched in an Ash tree overlooking a pond. There is a rescued baby Hedgehog growing well.Despite a couple of short night frosts earlier there are a few reports of late butterflies, dragonflies and the odd bumble-bee.

Somerset Wildlife Trust is now promoting synthetic House Martin nests via Ernest Charles catalogue at £14.95.

 

 

Paul Smith's Nature Notes                 October 10th 2006
Due to the mildest season ever witnessed the leaves are still on the trees, which , like all plant life, are 'dripping with fruit. Gardens are practically deserted of wild life. Our Blackbirds and even Robins are still in the woods. Hedgehogs are still around and a litter of baby foxes were seen and heard playing in late September. Last week dragonflies and butterflies were about, especially near, waterways ( Rivers Parrett and Sid), and many Hummingbird moths seen earlier.

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Our unusual sightings (two independent reports) are of a large bird (seemingly larger than a buzzard (could have been a Red Kite) being attacked by a group of jackdaws and then by a single crow. In each case there was a much smaller hawk-like bird (thought to be a sparrow hawk), joining in.

Although the milder weather may tend to upset the balance of Nature it is also the length of daylight hours that determines our seasons.

 

Nature Notes for the 26th May

A very noisy period this year. The sound of Wild Boar in a Davies Close
garden turned out to be Three hedgehogs trying to perform their courting ritual.

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A protracted sound down Court Street like some ten tom-cats fighting after
 midnight only stopped when someone shouted to them to be quiet. That turned 
out to be three large badgers fighting. As they dispersed in various directions one
 was still heard muttering to itself as it joined  the footpath at the base of Broadenham Lane.

The toadstools growing on 26th April were thought to be the species St. George
But they were later seen to have a collar and were identified as the species 'Horse Mushroom'. These are normally an Autumn species.
One of the 29 species of Bumble Bee seen this year has been the 'yellow skirted'variety known as the CARDER Bee . These nest above ground.

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Nature Notes for May 2006
The warm weather towards the end of the first week saw the real arrival of Spring. The Siskins suddenly left and our Blackbirds went into full song. This is a poor year for song for most birds are too busy catching up with nesting.It was the insects that suddenly got busy as the weather warmed up on 5th May.A swarm of Honey bees first settled on a Churchyard gravestone before settling into the tower near the church clock. Two interesting swarms of flies filled the area between the trees. The first were blue flies with their long legs dangling. The circled from above the garden plants to up beyond sight over the trees. Among these was a swarm of tiny white Gnat -like flies, also circling.
At this time our Swallows and Martins were feeding high over the village UNTIL a Hobby suddenly appeared and for a time they had to circle the houses.
WINSHAM NATURE notes for 4th April 
Spring was about a month late this year. So the early wild flowers - from snowdrops,
-wild violets-and primroses to bluebells, dog''s mercury, wood anemone and cowslips will not be swamped with early grass or nettles.
The fast mild day was 24th March and since then many of the colourful cock siskins
seem to have gone, blackbirds and song thrushes are singing, a brimstone butterfly
and a large bumble bee are reported. A tiny dark butterfly, seen in Western Way, was
probably a small-copper ( which lives on docks) The rare small-blue is too early .
Garden flowers are often profuse.
Now for a mystery! 

A small bag of eating potatoes was left on a Winsham table in a closed room one evening. At some time between about midnight and five am. the bag was torn open and a number of potatoes partly chewed up so that the pieces were apparently not eaten but deposited in and around the bag. As if the creature spat then out in small mouthfuls. A mouse was apparently too small and a rat would have left some droppings. Any ideas?

Nature Notes for mid February 2006

The wind change in February brought us a flock of Siskins and a few Bramblings. Many of the cock Siskins were in breeding colours (bright yellow and black) and readily fought with the Greenfinches on the nuts. One strange specimen is extra large and appears to be carrying baby fluff. There is a Chaffinch, seen for several years, that has yellowish furry legs. The Great Spotted Woodpecker has started his hammering call and a Song Thrush has a few notes of song. Wild Snowdrops are in the hedges (Western Way) and Primroses are appearing.A lovely specimen of the bright red Cup fungus has been handed in. There are many varieties of this species. They grow on fallen dead wood, usually twigs, and bear such English names as Elf Cup or this one, Eyelash Cup. They are inedible.

Nature Notes for end of January 2006

A tour by bike and car around most of the Parish lanes just after Christmas revealed no wild flowers this year. The few frosty nights and the slight fall of snow destroyed the single specimens of Celandine, Groundsel and Hogweed that had bravely just appeared. Garden birds have been profuse. Chaffinches, Greenfinches and various Tits (nine Long tails) , even a Gold crest but only a single Siskin and Brambling so far. A cock blackbird is already nest building. There is a report of a blackbird with a white tail feather.
Now (end January) the view has little changed. The garden finch flock numbers over sixty. A Mistle Thrush sang only a few notes. A few Primroses and Snowdrops are just reported in flower. Also another Groundsel, some Violets, a Dandelion and a lone Celandine. There is a National Bird Census this weekend.