Wildlife notes

Bad news about my blackbirds ,I'm afraid.When I looked this morning there were 2 eggs and 3 dead chicks.Can,t understand why this has happened.I saw the female yesterday hopping about the rose bed looking for food but she looked to be feeding herself and not going to the nest which I thought was strange.We have seen the male today also.I was working in the garden yesterday but I don,t think I was near enough to the nest to stop her going to it so it's a mystery.

I write wildlife notes in the Blackleach country park newsletter and as I did on the other forum I am going to put them on here for you to see.The next newsletter comes out next week so I can't put the notes on here till then.The reason I am mentioning it now is that in the notes I say that we have been trying to get common terns to nest for a few years and this year they finally have done so and laid eggs on the raft that was put there for the purpose.I have found out this morning though that somebody has pinched the eggs.

Three swans and cygnet

These are three pictures taken at Blackleach Country Park this evening

These are the wildlife notes that I have put in the recent Blackleach newsletter.
PLANT LIFE
Vetches,clovers and related plants
These plants are all members of what we call the pea family,or legumes(Leguminosae or more correctly now called Papilionaceae).They have distinctly individual flowers consisting of 5 petals ,a broad one at the top called the "standard",two narrower ones at the sides ,called "wings" and tro lower ones called "the keel"
The most recognisible feature of these plants however is that the seeds are contained in pods like garden peas or beans to which they are related.The leaves are mostly trifoliate(3 leaflets).It is a large family and I have listed 16 of them at Blackleach which in number is second only to the daisy family which was featured in this newsletter last summer.
You will all be familiar with red and white clovers as they are both very abundant.The flowers are in globular heads,the red being slightly larger than the white.Whereas the white is low and creeping,the red can grow up to a foot tall.They both flower from May right through the summer.
We have five small members of the family with yellow flowers.The commonest is Birdsfoot trefoil.It begins to flower in May and as its name sugests the pods are arranged in a head resembling a birds foot.Hop trefoil is also common.The flower heads are globular and about a centimetre accross.Kidnet vetch also has globular heads but larger.There was a large patch of this at the other side of the reservoir 2 years ago but there was only a bit last year.I hope it will multiply again.I used to be confused between Meadow pea and Birdsfoot trefoil because the flowers are similar but the distinguishing factor is that the leaves of meadow pea have tendrils at the end which enable it to scramble and climb up to 3 feet high.The other one is Black medic which is similar to hop trefoil but the flower heads are smaller and the pods are black.
We have 3 other vetches which are quite common.Vetches all have tendrils which enable them to climb and the leaves normally have more than 3 leaflets.The commonest is Tufted vetch which has rather large purplish blue flowers.It doesn't start flowering till mid June.Flowering earlier and with much smaller pinkish flowers is Bush vetch.It is also a smaller plant.Hairy tare doesn't flower till July.It has more leaflets on its leaves than the others but the flowers are insignificant and a pale lilac colour.It is not as common as the last two but there is usually some on the triangular piece of ground at the other side of the reservoir which in spring is covered with cowslips.
Another plant worth mentioning is Melilot.This is a larger plant than those previously mentioned and grows up to 4 feet tall.The flowers are canary yellowin tall spikes and quite attractive.There is also a white form which is not common but we found some last year.
We also have at Blackleach 2 shrubs and a tree belonging to this family.The shrubs are Gorse and Broome.Gorse is quite common ans starts flowering in March and goes on most of the year.Broome is not as common but there is some on the other side of the reservoir and also in the pond dipping area.The main difference between the two is that gorse is very prickly.
The tree that we have is Laburnum.There are several specimens of this on the path alongside the motorway .They look quite spectacular in May with their long tassels of yellow flowers
WILDFLOWERS AT BLACKLEACH
Wild flowers seem to be flowering a week or two earlier than last year.Up to June 6th last year we had recorded 82 species whereas this year we have 94.The following were in flower that last year we didn't see till June 19th last year-Meadow cranesbill,yellow rattle,black knapweed,yellow loosestrife,scentless mayweed,fox and cubs,and honeysuckle.Whereas red valerian,hedge woundwort,foxglove and lesser spearwort are currently in bloom (in June)but didn,t flower till July last year.Two flowers we have seen for the first time this year are green alkanet and pencilled cranesbill.It doen't mean that they weren't here last year but we didn't see them.
I have mentioned before that I have been hoping to get snakeshead fritillaries established at Blackleach.After several unsuccessful attempts, last year we had 2 flowers one at each side of the car park.However I am pleased to report that we have had more this year-about 6 or 7 so they do appear to be spreading.
(more to follow)

Richard,the Blackleach ranger wrote the following about common terns on the front of the newsletter.In fact the title of the newsletter was "TERNED OUT NICE AGAIN"
For 5 years we have been endeavouring to persuade common terns to breed at Blackleach and finally they have realised how friendly and hospitable we all are at Blackleach and agreed to use our raft to have their young on.The first and only breeding pair in Salford.In fact there aren't many breeding pairs in the whole of greater Manchester.
The tern project began in September 2006 as a joint collaboration between the Salford ranger team and Bolton conservation volunteers.Firstly the island was cleared of its jungle like vegetation as terns only feel secure if they have a clear viewto spot predators like eagles and buzzards.Adult terns are vicious and fearless and will work together to deter birds of prey and other predators.Next ,geotextile matting was put down to deter fresh growth and over the years 12 tons of cockle shells have been laid on it..We plan to add another 3 tons this September.The shells resemble their former shingle spit nesting sites.
In 2009 the volunteer group built a raft which we anchored on the Western end of the reservoir and last year it was checked out and perched on by some inquisitive terns but alas they didn,t use it to breed.It was however used by a pair of Canada geese for nest building and cormorants were often seen perching on it in winter.
Common terns traditionally nested on beaches and spits but as these areas began to be increasingly used for recreation their potential nesting sites were destroyedand they were forced to move inland in search of lodges and lakes to lay their eggs.
Common terns are on the R.S.P.B.amber list of conservation importance. due to the fact that at least 50% of the U.K.breeding population were using 10 or fewer sites.There are just under 12,000 breeding pairs in the U.K.
The adult common tern has a black cap,grey underparts,white rump,red legs, and a red bill.It has a long forked tail which has earned it the nickname"sea swallow".In fact its species name "hirundo"means swallow..The female sits on the eggs for about 3 weeks but the male takes his turn when he is not flying over the reservoir at great speed on the look out for fish to eat.The best fishermen amongst the male terns will normally be preferred as breeding partners.They should produce 2 or 3 young in early summer We will get them ringed when they are old enough to fledge which is normally about 28 days..This will enable us to identify them if they return next year.The right leg will be ringed with a specific colour indicating that the bird was born in Salford and the left legwith a different colour indicating the year of its birth.Around September terns migrate to West Africa and return the following spring.Terns often breed in colonies so hopefully we may get a few more pairs next year."
Richard wrote the above in June and I told you a few weeks ago that the eggs had been stolen .However when I was there last Friday the female was sitting again so it looks as if she is having another attempt.I am going again tomorrow so I will see if she is still there.

New wild flowers out at Blackleach last weekend last year were-St John's wort,water figwort,mugwort,musk mallow,large hemp nettle,common hemp nettle,field scabious,cabbage thistle,enchanters nightshade,eyebright,melilot,sneezewort,creeping Jenny,common centaury,agrimony,phacelia,feverfew,corn poppy,scarlet pimpernel,cornflower,salad burnet,lesser bullrush,spiraea,lady's bedstraw,gipsywort,and wild carrot.
Never seen scarlet pimpernel here before and the creeping Jenny is probably a garden escape.The phacelia came up in one of the seed mixtures that I sowed.