Ashenbank Woods - A Local Patch !: January 2015

I have always been envious of those people that report on their 'local patch', recording the changes and state of the Habitat, recording wildlife sightings.

Then it hit me, I do have a local patch of sorts, I visit Ashenbank woods on a daily basis walking my dog, I'm interested in the local fauna and wildlife of the area, so why not adopt these woods and adjacent fields as my own 'Local Patch'

So in the absence of any other Blog, and if there is one out there I apologize for encroaching,
I am not an expert, just someone interested in the natural world.

This blog is based on my personal experience of my sightings, made on my daily visits.
I hope to keep a running monthly diary of the changing views of the wood throughout the year.

This ancient woodland is looked after by the Woodland Trust at present.

I have been walking these woods daily now for over eleven years, so I thought I would start with some of the highlights the that I have come across.

Curiously the number of bird species seen in this time appears quite low, Sixty species at present, but my daily totals usually vary from ten to twenty species, occasionally throwing up something unusual.

The Waxwing irruption over the winter 2012/2013 reached Ashenbank woods around the Channel tunnel embankments and the adjacent Jeskyns park meadows, and was one of those nice surprises.

My Bird List covering Ashenbank Woods and adjacent meadows, glades.

Running Total to 9th March, 2015

Grey Heron 31 Ring Necked Parakeet

Mallard. 32. Waxwing

Coot 33. Nuthatch

Moorhen 34. Pheasant

Carrion Crow 35. Goldcrest

Jackdaw 36. Blue Tit

Magpie 37. Great Tit

Jay 38. Long Tailed Tit

Herring Gull 39. Marsh Tit

Common Gull 40. Tree Creeper

Black Headed Gull 41. Reed Bunting

Wood Pigeon 42. Yellowhammer

Stock Dove 43. Goldfinch

Collared Dove 44. Chaffinch

Green Woodpecker 45. Greenfinch

Great Spotted Woodpecker 46. Bullfinch

Lesser Spotted Woodpecker ( once) 47. Robin

Woodcock 48.Wren

Snipe 49. Dunnock

Tawny Owl 50. House Sparrow

Little Owl 51. Chiffchaff

Sparrowhawk 52. Blackcap

Kestrel 53. Common Whitethroat

Buzzard 54. Siskin

Blackbird 55. Linnet

Starling 56. Swallow

Mistle Thrush 57. Swift

Song Thrush 58. House Martin.

Fieldfare 59. Skylark

Redwing 60. Stonechat

Addition to bird list number 61 - Raven ( 1/2/15)
62 - Rook (9/2/15)
63 - Grey Wagtail (12/2/15)
64 - Meadow pipit ( 3/3/15)
65 - Pied Wagtail (9/3/15)
66 - Red Kite (8/4/15)
67 - Canada Goose ( 10/4/15)
68 - Greylag (10/4/15)
69 - Redpoll (17/1/16)
70 - Wheatear (13/4/16)
71 - Cormorant (21/4/16)

Some of these sightings have been pretty scarce, the Lesser Spotted Woodpecker has been seen once only, the flock of Siskin seen once only several years ago, the Little Owl had been a regular sighting, but it seems to have found a new roosting site, the Tawny Owl was seen once only in daylight, caught out in the open and being mobbed by Magpies,and Jays.

Little Owl

Mammal sightings include the expected, Grey Squirrel, Rabbit, Weasel, Red Fox, there are lots of indication of Moles, and the occasional dead Shrew is found, I need to make more effort to identify some of these.
I have seen Badger tracks, but no Badgers have been seen.

Some of the Ashenbank literature states that Dormice are found here, but they are notoriously difficult to see at the best of times.

Butterfly sightings are one of my targets for this year, Last year 2014 I stumbled across this White Admiral gliding around one of the sunny glades within the wood.
A Dark Green Fritillary was also seen in the so called Jeskyns Glades adjacent to the woods.

Ashenbank Woods are very good for Fungi sightings at the appropriate times, this fine specimen which I believe is known as Dryads saddle, was found last year.

I am also interested in Bumblebees, Bees,Spiders, Beetles, Dragonflies. All of which can be found here in abundance, just a matter of identifying them.

Bombylius major (large bee-fly)

Another unusual sighting for me last year was catching sight of an Ashy Mining Bee, I hope to try and obtain a photograph of one this year, smart looking bee.

Spider webs in the glades, adjacent to the woods,

Crab spider

This Crab spider does not construct a web

but waits in ambush for its victims.

This is Ashenbank pond, within the area now known as Jeskyns glades, Ashenbank woods can be seen in the background, this was the sight of my latest sighting for the area, not particularly rare, but nice to see, and bringing the species number up to 60,

The Stonechat was seen over several days perched on the fence and within the reeds.

January 2015

So here we are now in January 2015, the woodlands looking pretty bleak at the moment, we have had some hard frosts.

This last week in January, some early signs of spring are becoming apparent, Drumming from the Great Spotted Woodpeckers can be heard most mornings, Snowdrops are blooming.