Local sightings

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January 2007

1st
Happy New Year!
2nd
Tuft Duck & Scaupthe duck Scaup was on the pools off Southington Lane.
A cock Chaffinch in a Station Hill garden was the first "for ages".
Right: Tufted Duck Aythya fuligula & Scaup Aythya marila (Photo: Jay Hutchins)
The two ducks – the 'Scaup-faced' Tufty causing confusion amongst some observers
3rd
Rooks were already well advanced in their nest occupation at sites either end of the Parish.
4th
Daisies were amongst flowers noted already in bloom.
5th
White Dead-nettles were another over-wintering bloomer noted.
6th
Brown Trout continued to show well off the bridge at Bridge Street.
7th
a Little Egret was at Flashetts whilst the adjacent filtration pools held three Shoveler, 38 Gadwall and 46 Tufted Duck.
8th
bird feeders continued to attract only small numbers of birds, the bountiful supply in the 'wild' presumably providing ample energy currently.
9th
a Red Kite was over the school early afternoon and the duck Scaup reappeared at Southington, along with a Tufted Duck suitor.
10th
Robins, Wrens, Song Thrushes and Blackbirds were amongst the birds to be heard regularly singing about the village.
11th
the movement of Lesser Black-backed Gulls north-east over the Parish, towards their roost sites, remained a daily occurrence.
12th
Lesser periwinkle in bloomLesser Periwinkle were in flower at the northern end of Bridge Street.
Right: Lesser Periwinkle Vinca minor
One of the commonest naturalised plants about the village
13th
the duck Scaup was again on the Southington Lane pools.
14th
Canada Geese remained flighty within the Parish, generally only alighting at the pool at Ashe House.
15th
there was no sign of the Southington Scaup.
16th
the feeding of the 'dodgy ducks' at Bridge Street continued to attract in a number of dramatically variable Brown Trout.
17th
water levels continued to rise, The Test in the east of the Parish actually being above the ground for a change!
18th
Snowdrops were to be found out at several sites, particularly, though it was mainly out of the Parish, in Laverstoke Park.
19th
walking The Test from Ashe to Overton produced little, ten Teal and just two Gadwall being of most note.
20th
both Coots and Moorhens were to be found amongst the far more confiding wildfowl at Bridge Street.
21st
Long-tailed Tits were present in a Station Road garden.
22nd
Primroses were another early bloomer, the daffodils not being too far behind.
23rd
St Mary's church in the snow an overnight snow fall, the heaviest perhaps for several years, left the village covered well into the 24th.
Right: St. Mary's Church (Photo: Jay Hutchins)
24th
violets were seen to be in flower in Station Hill.
25th
Dandelions created a splash of colour on several verges.
26th
a Meadow Pipit headed north over Winchester Street early afternoon whilst a Grey Wagtail was nearby, frequenting the waters about Town Mill and Riverside Close.
27th
both Mute Swans and Canada Geese remained obvious at the source of The Test. Nearby, a small flock of Redwings moved about Ashe crossroads.
28th
the Big Garden Birdwatch weekend – what did you see?
29th
Eels remained obvious in one of the filtration pools, Station Road.
30th
Hazel catkins were another, purportedly, sign of the hoped-for spring.
31st
a Little Egret was in Flashetts.

Contributors: Malcolm Dixon, Mike Duffy, Jay Hutchins, Peter E. Hutchins, Veronique Kerguelen, Adrian Lewis, Margaret Rainford & Simon Yates.


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