This Month’s Specials:

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Another terrific month! As the blackberries ripen in the hedges, young birds fledge  and dragonflies make merry, it’s difficult to know where to start. There were lots of invertebrates, so….

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…for a change, I will start with them. Trevor sent a pic of mating Poplar Hawkmoths (above). A White-Letter Hairstreak was seen at Jesus (Rhona) and there have been lots of Clouded Yellow Butterflies in Trumpington Meadows, migrants on a southerly wind. A Purple Hairstreak was spotted at Empty Common (Martin), another at Trumpington Meadows not far away, and a third in Grantchester (Jeff). There were Glow Worms at Cherry Hinton East Pit (Monica) and also near Teversham Fen (Guy).  A Hornet Moth was sighted in Coe Fen (Jonathan) and a Large Rose Sawfly in Harvey Goodwin Avenue (Ben). Rhona noted a Speckled Wood Butterfly trying to interest a female in mating.  Although he spent some time wafting pheromones over her, she played dead and he was unsuccessful! Another new observation was a Six -Belted Clearwing in Trumpington Meadows (above – Becky).

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Jean comments that her Salvia, with hundreds of flowers, all had a hole on the left-hand side of the flower calyx caused by bees robbing the flower of nectar (and avoiding the pollen). Visiting bees were mainly Buff-tailed Bumblebees but also Honeybees. She wonders if other people have observed the same phenomena, and whether bees always attack the flower from the same side, i.e. the left. Any observations?

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Jeff reports two Willow Emerald Damselflies at Paradise, and also a couple of Southern Migrant Hawkers, one defending territory there (photographed by Paul). Duncan also noted one of these relatively new arrivals at Ditton Meadows.

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There have been a good lot of bird records too. It has been an excellent year for Swifts, especially in Southwest Cambridge. At one point, there were about 60 heading south, but they have now all disappeared. Martin reports three active House Martin nests in Covent Garden. Jeff spotted a female Hobby, a pair of Kestrels, with a fledged female youngster, two Red Kites, four Buzzards, a female Sparrowhawk and a male Peregrine, all in the same week. He also noted a Grey Partridge in Grantchester fields along with a Yellow Wagtail, and a family of Lesser Whitethroat. Colin spotted a Great Crested Grebe on the river at Fen Ditton and a Common Tern was again fishing the river by Grantchester Meadows (Jill).

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Hedgehogs have been reported from Chesterton (June), where there seems to be a flourishing population, and also from Highsett (Mary). In Trumpington Mo sent me night camera pictures of both Hedgehog and Badger in her garden. Alas, one of her neighbours found three dead hedgehogs a few days later. This confirms our suspicions that these two species cannot coexist in the city. As always, badgers seem to be extending their range, the latest sighting being in Jesus College.  There were several reports of Foxes, with a family of five playing in a garden every night in Chesterton (Peter).

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Moving on, Gleb sent pictures of the fungus Xerocomos subtomentosus near Jesus lock. Although these Suede Boletus are edible, he decided against harvesting it, because of potential pollution from the road.

A large Grass Snake was spotted in a back garden on Grange Road (Rachel).

It has been a good month for Botanical records. Lindsay found spikes of Broad-Leaved Helleborine  had suddenly appeared in her flower bed, only the second Cambridge record of this species since 1770.  (photographed by Paul)

Richard commented on dense patches of  Dittander (Lepidium latifolium) along the busway verge near Hobsons Park.  Monica, exploring the East Pit at Cherry Hinton, located Basil Thyme, and also the rare Moon Carrot. Jonathan reports a bird-sown Crimson-glory-vine (Vitis coignetiae) , which is new for the county.

Olwen Williams olwenw@gmail.com