Our monthly must see list from Ealing naturalist
Neil Anderson
November is on the cusp of autumn into winter so our wildlife is preparing for the colder months. Our summer visitors are now largely gone, with many now in sub-Saharan Africa. Given our latitude, the UK is relatively mild so millions of birds arrive on our shores to spend the winter with us and some continue south, especially in frozen conditions.
The second week of October this year brought many Redwings over the London area along with a handful of Fieldfares and a number of finches. During November these may become more obvious as they finish off fruits such as haws, rose hips and fallen apples.
Though a resident bird in the UK, the Woodcock is much more numerous in the winter as many arrive here from places such as Scandinavia and Russia. The first week of November often brings good numbers, especially when there is a full moon as they migrate at night. Sadly a few of these migrants come to a sticky end in built-up areas as they collide with windows and the corpse or confused bird is found on the pavement. It’s the most terrestrial of our waders, feeding at night on soft ground looking for earthworms and other invertebrate food. By day they keep to the cover of woodland. Not an easy bird to find but they do turn up in the more rural parts of the borough. Very occasionally they may even turn up in a garden.
Another bird often arriving this month, to swell our breeding population, is our smallest species, the Goldcrest. It often used to be believed that it hitched a ride on the back of the migrating Woodcock and had the nickname of Woodcock Pilot! It’s also worth scanning those Goldcrests as in recent winter’s numbers of Firecrests seem to be increasing. These are brighter than Goldcrests with a prominent white supercilium (eyebrow) so are pretty distinctive if seen well.
Our hibernating mammals will be thinking about bedding down for the winter, but much will depend on ambient conditions. The only species to truly hibernate are the bats, Hedgehogs and the two dormice species, of which only the non-native Edible Dormouse (Glis glis) can be found in Ealing, where there is a substantial population in the Brent Valley. Despite being arboreal rodents Edible Dormice hibernate on the ground or use the burrows of other species. Hedgehogs may well remain active into December depending on the conditions. If you are planning a bonfire please check for any Hedgehogs or amphibians that may have chosen your woodpile as a refuge.
Our native reptiles and amphibians also enter a period of dormancy during the colder months. Technically this isn’t true hibernation which is restricted to warm-blooded animals that need to eat before hibernation to survive. The ectothermic cold-blooded reptiles and amphibia stop eating and undergo a process that is correctly known as brumation.
Despite the big reduction in flying insects, moth traps are still worth running on cloudy nights when the temperature remains above 7C. Amongst species that may turn up are attractive species such as Feathered Thorn, Red-green Carpet, Red-line and Yellow-line Quakers, December Moth, and the more mundane November Moth aggregate. Milder sunny days may still produce a few butterfly sightings, of which Red Admiral is the most frequent species.
For the botanically minded November time is perfect for seeking out those fruits in the hedgerow and learning to identify trees by their shape as the leaves fall.
