White Helleborine (Cephalanthera damasonium) an orchid growing on the mossy bank in front of one of the house on Main Road Littleton. Three years ago there was just one, now there are more than 40!
A deer spotted sitting in a front garden one morning in Littleton.
The paddocks off Littleton Lane, awash with buttercups and daisies.
Many of us in Littleton saw Don Webb working hard to improve the environment of the pond. He reported seeing a large fish and held his hands about two feet apart in the manner of the angler talking of the one that got away. Some sceptics amongst us thought that Don must be seeing things given the state of the water which was rapidly turning a murky shade of green as the level went down. One weekend in late summer when it hadn’t rained in weeks and Don was away for the weekend a crisis point was reached. There was indeed a big fish in the pond and several smaller ones as well. The water had gone right down and three quarters of the pond was nothing but silt. Word got about that the fish had been seen splashing around to move the silt and create a pool and they could be seen just hanging in the water facing in the same direction and not looking too happy, it was quite uncanny. The next morning the water had gone down even further and one of the fish had died and was floating on the surface. Things did not look good.
Unfortunately a friend, who knows a thing or two about fish, was also away and so my husband David took the decision to rescue any fish that we could and put them in our pond until we could find a permanent home for them. Littleton pond was due to be de-silted and improved so may be they could even go back. We borrowed a fishing net and set out with a large bucket of water to catch us some fish. Of course it wasn’t as easy as all that because as soon as we plunged the net in it stirred up the silt and the fish all dived for the bottom. After a couple of goes amazingly we got one and so back home quickly and into our pond it went. Back round to Littleton pond and we got another but it looked very unhappy in fact we thought it was dead so we lay it on the side of the pond, managed to get another and this time it was the big fish that Don had reported seeing and we took this one home too.
Soon we were standing by our much smaller pond watching the two newcomers swimming round and round. We then decided to go back to see if the silt had settled and see if there were any more fish left in the big pond. When we got there the fish we had left lying on the side half an hour previously had moved and our first thought was that a dog must have come along and investigated it but when we looked closer it blinked! What to do? Do we throw it back in do we take it home, but we haven’t got a bucket with us, nothing for it but to carry it home. A few minutes later we put it in the very shallow water and watched as it started to gulp and eventually we eased it gently into the pond where it disappeared and lay quietly on the bottom while the two other fish are still circling round their new home. So we now had three large fish in what is supposed to be a small wildlife pond.
Our fisherman friend said he would take the fish and put them in his very large pond if they were mirror carp and although he came around to see them a couple of times they refused to show themselves and so time went on. Suddenly I saw a couple of frogs in the pond, it was mid January and for the last two years frog spawn has appeared on 14 February and so we need to get these fish to a new home. David decided he would have to get one out to see if they are indeed mirror carp and he managed it fairly easily, took it to our friend who was delighted with it as it was indeed a mirror carp and into his pond it went. The next day David was determined to get the other two. Not so easy it took some time and when he nearly gave up amazingly he suddenly netted the big two footer. Now with only one to go he went back into the pond and somehow it just sort of leapt into his net.
When these last two were delivered our friend was delighted as the big one was another mirror carp and the smaller fish a green tench, which apparently lives on the bottom and helps to clean-up the water. So a happy ending for three fish. We still wonder how they got into Littleton pond in the first place and how long they might have been there. It certainly says something for their will to survive!
Barbara Elsmore, February 2008
This morning as I stood at my bedroom window I could hear the first tentative song of a thrush over my garden. It is wonderful to hear this sound again as the thrush has been silent for perhaps six months and now, along with the robin, song is again to be heard. So just as the old year dies the birds signify their anticipation of next year by establishing their territories with their song. I read somewhere that birds with the most nest sites in their territory will sing the loudest. So perhaps if you hear a bird singing loudly over your garden it is because you have some excellent nesting opportunities.
Barbara Elsmore December 2006
Click here to go to Google video to experience Barbara's garden and hear her songthrush.
Barbara Elsmore kindly sent in this picture of a mass of slow worms who are
living happily under the piece of carpet on top of her compost bin now the
weather is warming up. They are very helpful to the gardener, along with frogs,
says Barbara, she has no slug problems!
We finished the construction around July 2004. One year on and it is now an endlessly fascinating environment which we and the birds, dragonflies, newts, frogs, sticklebacks, water boatmen, whirligig beetles. etc etc etc enjoy!
The plants have ensured that the water has stayed clear and having purchased some sticklebacks some weeks ago which we thought we would not see again we were delighted to be able to observe them from our bridge doing just what sticklebacks are supposed to do according to the book i.e building nests which the male then “fans” over. Spotting wildlife and wildlife behaviour for yourself and then looking it up and finding that yes they really do do that never ceases to amaze me. For instance the first time I saw a whirligig beetle I knew exactly what it was as it was whirling round the pond – I looked it up and the textbook says “these have the habit of gyrating across the surface of the water”. A fine example of what “textbook behaviour” really means!.
Barbara Elsmore, Bercote Close, Littleton
Have you tried feeding the birds with nyger seeds? they are described as being for fine beaked birds, mainly goldfinches but I have seen a coal tit feeding. You will need a special feeder as the seed is very fine and a bag of seed will last a very long time. You can buy RSPB feeders from Olivers Pet Shop
We have also tried the special robin feeders and sure enough the robins have obliged. On looking closely at the feed it appears to contain dried mealworms so no wonder! For the first time ever we have observed the dunnocks visiting either the bird table or even flying up and landing on the sunflower heart feeder (this is still the most popular feeder and much less messy than black sunflower seeds). The dunnock is described in one of our bird books as “the shy bird of the hedge bottom” I think this is a lovely description but now that they have ventured to the bird table perhaps it needs re-writing!. I have observed that the chaffinches did the same thing around 3 years ago. They were not able or even willing to try to land on the feeders preferring to forage underneath for any dropped seed, but now they are as adept as the greenfinches and goldfinches.
The big change in our garden is our “wildlife” pond. We finished the construction around July last year. When we came to plant it up we were very fortunate in being put in touch with Graham Burgess who as well as being a world famous expert in water gardening has a nursery of water plants which he usually sells through the trade. We arrived on his doorstep late one afternoon in July and ended up with him being very generous with his knowledge and expertise and selling us 25 plants which he said would keep the water clear without the use of water pumps and oxygenating plants. We got most of the plants in straight away and the very next morning we had dragonflies flying in plus all manner of little water creatures that must have come in with Graham’s plants. I started a pond diary and on 25 August after some very heavy rain and visits by up to 14 ducks the pond is “amazingly” clear. One of the best things about our pond is a very substantial rail (built by Tim Speakman) on a bridge over the pond which means we can stand for hours (literally!) looking into the pond.
On 8 February this year the first frog spawn appeared. The books tell us that frogs like to return to their natal ponds but this lot don’t seem to be that fussy. Some of the pond “interliner” that we used to protect the liner from the pebbles and stones had risen up slightly under the bridge and here is where around a dozen frogs like to hide in the day time. On 19 March we had one of the best “events” yet when we saw our first newt. It swam right up to where we were standing on the bridge and we watched it for some considerable time. Meanwhile the frogspawn has survived being frozen solid for several days and by today (22 March) it has all turned into tadpoles. We read that small froglets need some grass at the edge of a pond in order to escape and find cover so we put down a piece of turf only to have the female blackbird start to dig it up again as nesting material! The pond is now a wonderful place to watch the birds bathing in the shallows and is a real bonus to the wildlife as well as an enormous timewaster for us!
Elsewhere in the garden we heard some grunting noises and on some very cautious investigation we found what appears to be a hedgehog “nest” in amongst the dead leaves of my hellebores right in the middle of one of the flower beds (please don’t tell anyone in the Gardening Club!).
The female blackbird is busy collecting nesting material while the male takes a bath (typical!)
Frogs appeared in the garden pond in early February but promptly 'disappeared' when the cold spell came through. Come early March they still had not re-appeared and as a lone heron had been spotted flying quite high over Littleton I was beginning to consider that my heron-proof pond had been found wanting! Thankfully on Wednesday 9th March the frogs returned with a vengence and have been producing frogspawn for the last 10 days. The latest count comes to some 30 frogs but I fear a few of the females will be fortunate to survive the attention of numerous males. If I can dissuade the 'mongrel' ducks to stay away from the pond then there should be many young froglets venturing forth come early summer.
Wednesday 16th March saw the first Brimstone butterflies hopefully indicating that Spring has truly arrived. Certainly the four pairs of Blackbirds, two pairs of Song Thrushes and the one pair of Mistle Thrushes working the lawn and the borders seem convinced as their activity is frenetic. This is an excellent time of the year to watch birds as they defend their territories, charm their mates with their song and display their brightest colours. Added to the three species mentioned previously can be pairs of Greenfinches, Goldfinches, Wrens, Blue Tits, Great Tits, Dunnocks and Robins.
Jackdaws and Rooks are busy 'pruning' the silver birch to build and renew their nests whilst a Green Woodpecker's distinctive call can be heard at the same time as one watches a Greater Spotted Woodpecker drumming on a large Ash to attract a mate. The birdwatching highlights so far this year have been observing the Mistle Thrushes building their nest in the young pine at the bottom of the garden, a lone Treecreeper scurrying up the apple tree and the call of the Buzzard as it circles high above the village. I look forward to seeing the young birds depart the nests and start to explore the garden.
The birds plus the frogs should mean that slugs and snails will once again become scarce within the garden.
We were woken early one morning a couple of weeks ago by a great tit pecking at his image on one of our windows. This went on for a week or so and literally hundreds of little beak marks can now been seen on the glass. At the same time we noticed bird droppings around the wing mirrors on the car and then I saw the culprit a great tit again (? the same one) attacking his image first on one mirror and then on the other over several days. Has anyone else seen this sort of behaviour and in what type of bird?
The blackbirds are nesting again in our hedge close to the bird table and very close to the moss used in nest building. The male having seen off all rivals acts as watch when the female comes off the nest to have some bird seed and a quick drink before returning to the nest. She eats and drinks safely in the knowledge that her partner will soon raise the alarm if he spots any trouble. Speaking of which a sparrow hawk landed on our fence about 10.00am yesterday morning with a bird in its claws. I was very disheartened to see that it appeared to be a song thrush. At about the same time today there was a kafuffle and the hawk was back again this time pursuing or being pursued by – it was not easy to tell, a pair of mistle thrushes who were giving out their loud rattling alarm calls which they continued long after the hawk had retreated. It is very hard not to become emotionally involved with the birds in the garden knowing that the sparrowhawk is very active over this area and that the magpies are waiting to get at the eggs or the young as soon as they get the opportunity. We are very lucky in that we have an excellent thick, varied old hedge with a lot of mature ivy in it, as good cover is the best protection that we can provide. I even cut the hedge with shears and secatuers on the garden side last autumn so as not to cut off the abundance of ivy flowers. It is gratifying to see that most of the fruits have now been consumed over the winter and the ivy having provided food is now providing shelter. I will cut it all back later when nesting is over so that the cycle can start again
We have also seen long-tailed tits collecting lichen from our old apple trees. This will be used to make their unique nests - a ball of moss covered with lichen with an entry hole at the top. It will be filled with as many as 2,000 feathers!
Has anyone heard the chiffchaff yet? I haven’t yet but we should any day now.
Winchester was on the Twitchers network last week-end as an Alpine swift was spotted here apparently.
Please add your observations to Nature Notes as we have so much to learn from each other!
When we first moved to Littleton in 1981 we knew very little about garden
bird identification so we started to identify and log in the back of our bird
book those we recognised, this meant when we saw something we did not know we
could look it up, identify it and log it!
The birds are noted in the order in which they were seen over the years. Our knowledge is such now that when we see something we do not have on our list of sightings it makes it easier to identify birds “new” to us. Have a go yourself especially if you are new to the area. Littleton is rich in bird life, though regrettably some like the spotted flycatcher seen in the 1980s is unlikely to be seen now.
Birds spotted in or over our garden at Bercote Close Littleton - December 1981 to date:
| 1 | Chaffinch | 32 | Linnet |
| 2 | Robin | 33 | Long Tailed Tit |
| 3 | Starling | 34 | Blackcap |
| 4 | Blackbird | 35 | Chiffchaff |
| 5 | Thrush – Song and Mistle | 36 | Pheasant |
| 6 | Fieldfare | 37 | Tree Creeper |
| 7 | House Sparrow | 38 | Pied Wagtail |
| 8 | Bullfinch | 39 | Willow Warbler |
| 9 | Greenfinch | 40 | Crow |
| 10 | Nuthatch | 41 | French Partridge |
| 11 | Wood Pigeon | 42 | Grey Wagtail |
| 12 | Collared Dove | 43 | Jay |
| 13 | Black Headed Gull | 44 | Heron |
| 14 | Herring Gull | 45 | Sparrowhawk |
| 15 | Magpie | 46 | Redwing |
| 16 | Wren | 47 | Cuckoo |
| 17 | Coal Tit | 48 | Corn Bunting |
| 18 | Blue Tit | 49 | Green Woodpecker |
| 19 | Great Tit | 50 | Budgerigar |
| 20 | Greater Spotted Woodpecker | 51 | Reed Bunting |
| 21 | Dunnock | 52 | Tawny Owl |
| 22 | Siskin | 53 | Common Partridge |
| 23 | Brambling | 54 | Mallard |
| 24 | Lesser Spotted Woodpecker | 55 | Buzzard |
| 25 | Goldfinch | 56 | Lapwing |
| 26 | Jackdaw | 57 | Willow or Marsh Tit |
| 27 | Goldcrest | 58 | Swan |
| 28 | Swallow | 59 | Cocoa the Parakeet (from North Drive) |
| 29 | Martin | 60 | Rose ringed parakeet |
| 30 | Swift | 61 | Tree Sparrow |
| 31 | Spotted Flycatcher |