Friends of Petersfield Heath
Looking after the Heath
Welcome to our Autumn 2007 newsletter, (No 17) and my sincere thanks to all our contributors.
Around the heath Spring/Summer 2007.
After the deluge of the winter months April was completely dry with only two days without sun. This was very welcome and not surprisingly was the warmest and driest April since records began in 1659. These conditions were ideal for the early insects and I recorded Small Copper butterflies and Beautiful Demoiselle Damselflies in April on the Heath for the first time. The first week of May saw the arrival of the first Swifts, a bird I normally associate with good weather. This notion proved to be unfounded in 2007 because we all endured the wettest summer ever recorded. Finally in the next week I noted a single Sand Martin plus a flock of 60 Swifts.
The spring migrants were slow to arrive but Blackcap and Willow Warbler could be heard singing from their usual haunts by the end of the first week. Garden Warblers were seen and heard but did not stay. By the end of the month Reed Warbler, Whitethroat, House Martin and Swallow were present but Sand Martins were conspicuous by their absence. The first week of May saw the arrival of the first Swifts, a bird I normally associate with good weather. This notion proved to be unfounded in 2007 because we all endured the wettest summer ever recorded. Finally in the next week I noted a single Sand Martin plus a flock of 60 Swifts.
The month of June at the pond was as disappointing as the weather, with only the Mute swan, Greylag goose and the Mandarin Duck worthy of note. The Canada goose deserted its nest on the island, but a pair and three young, which obviously bred nearby, moved on to the pond. July fared little better, but there was a trickle of birds on their return migration. These were mostly Common Terns and a single Common Sandpiper, but quite unexpectedly I recorded a Wheatear. I have seen the Wheatear at other sites in Petersfield and normally on the spring migration, but this is my first record on the heath.
In the first week of August I saw a single Red necked Terrapin sunning itself in the SE corner of the pond. With the water level so high and the lack of sun, the opportunities for it to sunbathe have been limited. At the end of the month one or two Herons came to fish at the pond. They always come at this time, perhaps there are plenty of small fish available.
September saw little change on the pond, with the fish eating species of birds very evident, with even th Kingfisher putting an occasional appearance. With the wettest summer ever recorded this year, you could be forgiven for thinking that the insects might have fared badly but not so.. My butterfly counts for 2007 showed that all the species one would expect to see on the heath, appeared. Numbers of the strongest species, the Meadow Brown, Gatekeeper and Essex Skipper were around 30% lower, while the Marbled White, the only species to buck the trend, was slightly up on last years excellent showing.
Mammals seen this year have included the Roe Deer, Fox, Grass snake and many common lizards; the lizards have been more evident this year as they have spent more time sunbathing to warm up.
Alf Smallbone
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