|
Summer's End © Les Chatfield cc
Red Fox Vulpes vulpes crucigera Family: Canidae Habitat: Farmland, gardens and parks, woodland, heathland, grassland, sand dunes and sea cliffs. Size: Height 35-50 cm (14-20 in). Length 45-90 cm (18-35 in). Tail 30-56 cm (12-22 in). Food: Rodents, rabbits, birds, fruit and vegetables, fish, frogs, and worms. Sound: Vocal range of five octaves. Various barks and screams. Season: All year round. IUCN Conservation Status: Least Concern
Grey Squirrel Sciurus carolinensis Family: Sciuridae Habitat: Woodland and gardens and parks. Size: Length 23-30 cm (9.1-11.8 in). Tail 19-25 cm (7.5-9.8 in). Food: Tree bark, buds, berries, seeds, acorns, walnuts, and other nuts, and fungi. Season: All year round. IUCN Conservation Status: Least Concern Each grey squirrel makes several thousand small caches of hidden food every summer. Their nests or dreys are made of twigs and leaves often in the forks of trees. They are crepuscular and do not hibernate.
Grey Squirrel (Sciurus carolinensis) © BirdPhotos.com cc
Robin Erithacus rubecula Family: Muscicapidae (Old World flycatchers) Habitat: Gardens and parks, meadows, orchards and woodland. Size: 12.5-14.0 cm (5.0-5.5 inches) Food: Worms, insects and berries. Voice: Warbling song and a harsh tick. Season: All year round. IUCN Conservation Status: Least Concern Often territorial, hops rapidly. A friendly bird that will sometimes feed from the hand of someone who is familiar.
Red Kite Milvus milvus Family: Accipitridae (Hawks and eagles) Habitat: Farmland, woodland, grassland and gardens and parks. Size: Length 60-70 cm (24-28 in). Wingspan 175-179 cm (69-70 in). Food: Small mammals such as mice, voles, shrews, young hares, rabbits, carrion, reptiles, amphibians and earthworms. Voice: A very distinctive and memorable pipe whistle rising and falling in pitch: peee-ooo, pee-oo-ee-oo-ee-oo. Season: All year round. All year round. Soaring and gliding flight, continually turning its long-forked tail.
Red Kite (Milvus milvus) ©
Buzzard Buteo buteo Family: Accipitridae (Hawks and eagles) Habitat: Coastal, farmland, grassland, heathland and woodland. Size: Length 40-58 cm (16-23 in). Wingspan 109-136 cm (43-54 in). Food: Small mammals, birds, carrion, earthworms and large insects. Voice: Cat like mewing. Season: All year round. IUCN Conservation Status: Least Concern Takes off with distinctive slow wing beats, often circling or hovering. Frequently uses fence posts or similar as look-outs.
Common Buzzard (Buteo buteo) © Aviceda cc
Redwing Turdus iliacus Family: Turdidae (Thrushes) Habitat: Gardens and parks, grasslands, orchards, woodland and hedgerows. Food: Berries and worms. Voice: ♂ Varied short song. Whistling flight call. Season: Early September to early May. A few pairs nest. IUCN Conservation Status: Least Concern Named after its red underwing, it is the UK's smallest true thrush. The sexes are similar. The male has a varied short song and whistling flight call. Forms loose flocks of 10 to 200 plus.
Redwing (Turdus iliacus) © Martin Cooper cc
Nuthatch Sitta europaea Family: Sittidae (Nuthatches) Habitat: Woodland and gardens and parks. Size: Length 14 cm (5.5 in). Wingspan 22.5-27 cm (8.9-10.6 in). Food: Insects, hazel nuts, acorns and other nuts and seeds. Voice: Distinctive rising whistle too-wee, too-wee. Season: All year round. IUCN Conservation Status: Least Concern Typically seen on the sides of tree trunks and underside of branches searching for food.
Eurasian Nuthatch (Sitta europaea) © Paweł Kuźniar cc
Treecreeper Certhia familiaris Family: Certhiidae (Treecreepers) Habitat: Woodland. Size: Length 12.5 cm (4.9 in). Food: Insects, spiders and seeds. Voice: Sit. Tsree. ♂ Srrih, srrih. Season: All year round. All year round. IUCN Conservation Status: Least Concern Insectivorous, it hops mouse-like up a vertical trunk looking for food.
Treecreeper (Certhia familiaris) © Philip McErlean cc
Blue Tit Cyanistes caeruleus Family: Paridae (Tits) Habitat: Woodland, gardens and parks and hedgerows. Size: Length 12 cm (4.7 in) Wingspan 18 cm (7.1 in). Food: Insects, caterpillars, seeds and nuts. Voice: Tsee-tsee-tsee-tsee-sit. Scolding churr. Season: All year round. IUCN Conservation Status: Least Concern Frequently family flocks join up with other tits in the search for food. Acrobatic feeders. They usually nest in tree holes.
Chiffchaff Phylloscopus collybita Family: Phylloscopidae (Leaf and wing warblers) Habitat: Gardens and parks, woodland and hedgerows. Food: Insects from trees and flight. Voice: Sharp series of chiff chaff sounds. Hoo-eet call. Season: All year round. Migrants late March to September. IUCN Conservation Status: Least Concern Olive green warbler that gets its name from its distinctive chiff chaff song. The female builds a domed nest on or near the ground.
Chiffchaff (Phylloscopus collybita) © photo by SOC
Great Tit Parus major Family: Paridae (Tits) Habitat: Gardens and parks and woodland. Food: Insects, seeds and nuts. Small hibernating bats. Voice: Up to 40 calls and songs such as chink, and teacher-teacher. Season: All year round. IUCN Conservation Status: Least Concern Great tits solve problems with insight learning, such as breakinginto milk bottles to obtain cream, and using conifer needles to extract larvae from a treehole.
Great Tit (Parus major) ♂ © Frank Vasson cc
Small White Pieris rapae Family: Pieridae (Yellows-and-Whites) Habitat: Open areas and flowery places. Food: Cultivated and wild brassicas. Flight: Early March to late October. Also called the small cabbage white as its green larvae feed on cabbages.
Small White (Pieris rapae) ♂ © photo by Chaos911
Meadow Brown Maniola jurtina Family: Nymphalidae (Brush-footed) Habitat: Grasslands, meadows, woodland, arable field margins and hedgerows. Size: Length 25 mm (1 in). Food: Grasses (larva). Thistles, Blackberries, Daisies, Cow Parsip, etc (adult). Flight: Early May to late September. Males are less colourful and more active and range furtherthan the females. Winter passed as a small bright green caterpillar.
Meadow Brown (Maniola jurtina) ♀ © David Short cc
Brimstone Gonepteryx rhamni Family: Pieridae (Yellows-and-Whites) Habitat: Gardens and parks, woodland and lowland calcareous grassland. Size: Length 30 mm (1.2 in). Food: Alder Buckthorn (Frangula alnus), Buckthorn (Rhamnus cathartica) and many for nectar. Flight: Early March to late September. Wings are a perfect leaf shape and it is believed the yellow of the male led to it being called butter-coloured fly from which came butterfly.
Brimstone (Gonepteryx rhamni) ♂ ©
Orange-tip Anthocharis cardamines Family: Pieridae (Yellows-and-Whites) Habitat: Gardens and parks, meadows, hedgerows and woodland clearings and edges. Size: Length 23 mm (0.9 in). Food: Cuckooflower, garlic mustard and other crucifers which contain glucosinolates. Also garden honesty, mignonette and sweet rocket. Flight: Early April to late July. One of the first butterflies to emerge in the spring. The female lacks the orange tips and so looks like a white.
Orange-tip (Anthocharis cardamines) ♂ © Gail Hampshire cc
Peacock Aglais io Family: Nymphalidae (Brush-footed) Habitat: Gardens and parks, grasslands, meadows and woodland. Size: Length 30 mm. Food: Stinging nettles. Buddleia, willows, dandelions, wild marjoram, danewort, hemp agrimony, and clover. Flight: Early June to late September. March after hibernation. Fast flying butterfly. The eye spots on its wings scare predators.
Peacock (Aglais io) ♂ ♀ © cc
Comma Polygonia c-album Family: Nymphalidae (Brush-footed) Habitat: Woodland, gardens and parks and hedgerows. Size: Length 24 mm. Wingspan 50-64 mm. Food: Hops, stinging nettle and elm. Flight: Early April to late September. The comma is given its name by a white comma shaped mark on the underside of its hind wing.
Comma (Polygonia c-album) © photo by Dave Dunford
Small Tortoiseshell Aglais urticae Family: Nymphalidae (Brush-footed) Habitat: Gardens and parks, meadows, arable field margins and hedgerows. Size: Length 25 mm (1 in). Wingspan ♂ 45-55 mm, ♀ 52-62 mm. Food: Adult: Nectar. Caterpillar: Stinging nettle. Flight: Early March to late October. One of the earliest butterflies to appear in spring after winter hibernation.
Common Blue Polyommatus icarus Family: Lycaenidae (Blue) Habitat: Farmland, gardens and parks, grassland, heathland, meadows and orchards. Size: Length 17 mm (0.7 in). Wingspan 29-36 mm (1.1-1.4 in). Food: Common bird's-foot-trefoil (Lotus corniculatus) and other legumes. Flight: Early April to late October. Females are dark brown with bright orange spots near the wing tips. Both male and female have black and white borders.
Red Admiral Vanessa atalanta Family: Nymphalidae (Brush-footed) Habitat: Gardens and parks, meadows, coastal and sea cliffs. Size: Length 30 mm (1.2 in.) Wingspan ♀ 70-78 mm (2.8-3.1 In.). ♂ 64-72 mm (2.5-2.8 In.) Food: Stinging nettle and ivy. Flight: Early May to late October. Both a resident and a migrant butterfly.
White-letter Hairstreak Satyrium w-album Family: Lycaenidae (Blue) Habitat: Woodland and hedgerows. Size: Length 16 mm (0.63 in). Wingspan 25-35 mm (1-1.4 in). Food: Elm honeydew, creeping thistle and bramble blossom. Flight: Early June to late August. Winter is spent as an egg on an elm tree. The caterpillar hatches in march and feeds on the elm flowers and seeds. Named after the W shaped white line on its underside.
White-letter Hairstreak (Satyrium w-album) © Frank Vassen cc
Common Darter Sympetrum striolatum Family: Libellulidae (Chasers, Skimmers and Darters) Habitat: Lakes and reservoirs, ponds and rivers and streams. Size: Length 38-43 mm (1.5-1.7 in). Hindwing 25-30 mm (1- 1.2 in). Food: Aerial insects. Flight: Early May to late December. IUCN Conservation Status: Least Concern Perches on low vegetation or the ground from which it pursues passing insects.
Common Darter (Sympetrum striolatum) ♂ © Geert Orye cc
Large Red Damselfly Pyrrhosoma nymphula Family: Coenagrionidae (Blue, Blue-tailed & Red Damselflies) Habitat: Lakes and reservoirs, ponds and rivers and streams. Size: Length 33-36 mm (1.3-1.4 in). Hindwing 19-24 mm (0.7-0.9 in). Food: Aerial insects. Flight: Early March to late September. Perches on waterside vegetation from which it pursues passing insects.
Large Red Damselfly (Pyrrhosoma nymphula) ♀ © Ferran Pestaña cc
Broad-bodied Chaser Libellula depressa Family: Libellulidae (Chasers, Skimmers and Darters) Habitat: Lakes and reservoirs, ponds and rivers and streams. Size: Wingspan 70 mm (2.8 In). Food: Aerial insects. Flight: Late April to early August. Perches on vegetation from which it pursues passing insects.
Broad-bodied Chaser (Libellula depressa) © Gail Hampshire cc
Emperor Anax imperator Family: Aeshnidae (Hawkers and Emperors) Habitat: Lakes and reservoirs, ponds, gardens and parks, estuaries and rivers and streams. Size: Length 7.8-8.5 cm (3.1-3.3 in). Wingspan 10-11 cm (3.9-4.3 in). Food: Aerial insects including butterflies. Flight: Early May to late October. IUCN Conservation Status: Least Concern The male is very territorial with a blue abdomen with a central dark line. The female is similar but with a green abdomen.
Emperor (Anax imperator) © Aitor Escauriaza cc
Common Blue Damselfly Enallagma cyathigerum Family: Coenagrionidae (Blue, Blue-tailed & Red Damselflies) Habitat: Lakes and reservoirs, ponds and rivers and streams. Size: Length 32-35 mm (1.3-1.4 in). Hindwing 18-21 mm (0.7-0.8 in). Food: Aerial and non-aerial insects. Flight: Early April to late October. Perches on low vegetation from which it pursues passing insects.
Common Blue Damselfly (Enallagma cyathigerum) © Susanne Nilsson cc
Cornflower Centaurea cyanus Family: Asteraceae (Daisy) Habitat: Farmland and gardens and parks. Size: Height 40-90 cm (16-35in). Pollinator: Bees. Scent: Earthy and subtlety peppery. Flowering Period: Early July to late September. The edible flower is used in salads and in some blends of Lady Grey tea.
|
|