Royston Wildlife Blog: Local Wildlife Sightings October 2023

After some rain early in the month, which prompted the appearance of some autumnal fungi, we had several days of very warm weather, with afternoon temperatures of 20-25C. This latest 'Indian Summer' broke on the 11th, with a deluge of rain followed by much cooler weather. Bird-wise, the first half of the month was very quiet. Apart from a handful of Chiffchaffs, the only summer visitor that I recorded was a late Swallow, seen heading south over Hatchpen Farm on the 2nd. A flock of Lesser Black-backed Gulls, seen at both ends of The Heath early in the month, contained a single adult Herring Gull. With the exception of Meadow Pipits (short distance migrants), no passage migrants were seen locally in the first twelve days, although there were reports from other parts of the county of Redwings flying over and a Ring Ouzel was recorded in Stevenage.

Fungus Growing on a dead Tree, Therfield Heath, 4 October

Despite the very warm weather butterfly activity had, with the notable exceptions of Red Admiral (which has had an excellent summer) and 'cabbage' whites, ceased. Grasshoppers, which are usually active until well into October, were hard to find, as were bush crickets. A few bumble bees (particularly Common Carder) and Ivy Bees were still active as they chased what little remaining pollen was to be found. On The Heath, a large area of the Old Rifle Range was covered with old and new Ivy Bee tunnels (see image below). Devil's Coach-horse Beetles (the largest member of the Rove Beetle family) were seen in several locations, usually on the ground. When threatened, this distinctive beetle raises its abdomen, much like a Scorpion, in a threat pose, as shown in the image below.

Just a few of the Ivy Bee Tunnels, Therfield Heath, 6 October

Devil's Coach-horse Beetle, Therfield Heath, 4 October

Harlequin Ladybirds were emerging and appearing on Sycamore and other leaves on trees close to the house. In common with other insects, they pass through several larval stages before their emergence as an 'adult', and I captured one such emergence on camera as a sub-adult (still not in its final body) emerged from a larva. It could not free one of its wings, so I gave it a little help. The adult Harlequin Ladybirds exist in four different colour forms, two of which are shown below.

Harlequin Ladybird (commonest form), Royston, 6 October

Harlequin Ladybird, Second (of four) Form, Royston, 7 October

More heavy rain fell in the middle of the month. After a particularly soggy period on the 12th I went on a walk round the villages, getting extremely wet feet in the process. The only insect sighting of note was of a Hummingbird Hawkmoth, seen close to the house. Over 40 bird species were recorded, including four species of gull. Several Chiffchaffs were seen, as well as being heard, but this was the only summer visitor recorded. Surely it won't be too long before this tiny warbler becomes a resident in the UK? A Golden Plover was heard but not seen. Five Stonechats were seen at Thrift Farm on the 14th and a single bird was seen much closer to the house on the 16th. I saw my first Redwing of the autumn along the Icknield Way on the 18th and, a couple of days later, at least one adult Yellow-legged Gull was spotted amongst a huge flock (400+) of mainly Lesser Black-backed Gulls at Hatchpen Farm.

Stonechat, Royston, 16 October

According to rainfall statistics collated from the garden rain gauges over 33 years, October is easily the wettest month of the year and so it proved in 2023, with a further two inches falling between the 19th and the 22nd (I hope that November or December don't prove me to be wrong!). I managed to escape the rain for several days to much warmer, sunnier climes (Valencia - see separate post), but was back in time to go for another 8-9 mile walk around the villages on the 31st. Little had changed from the walk on the 12th, except that all the Chiffchaffs had gone. Again I heard one or more Golden Plovers as I walked along the Icknield Way, but could not see whether they were (an) individual(s) or part of a flock. Coot appear to have taken over Phillup's Lake now and are driving other birds off. However, I did notice three Tufted Ducks there, which were ignoring the Coot. I photographed the ducks and, when I examined the images more closely, I noticed that one female duck appeared to have no tuft but had some white feathering at the base of the bill. Both these features can occur in Tufted Ducks, but the overall lighter appearance of this bird made me wonder whether it could be a Tufted Duck x Scaup hybrid. Judge for yourselves from the images below. I will consult the experts. Incidentally, one of the other ducks in the first image appears to have a piece of vegetation stuck to its face....