Abernyte.org and Abernyte Community Company

Abernyte Nature Watch Update August 2008

  Great news for Abernyte Nature Watchers – Abernyte has been successful in its bid for an award from “Breathing Spaces” lottery fund, to make environmental improvements which will benefit wildlife on the Glebe.  In addition funds are available for a web-cam (on a swallow’s nest  – see the website) to improve access along the path and make bird boxes.  Birds will be encouraged by the introduction of appropriate nesting boxes for a variety of species and boxes will be provided as summer roost sites for bats.  There are also long-term plans for some additional planting and selective pruning to encourage, over time, an improvement in diversity of flowering herbs and shrubs.  The site is mainly rough grassland with trees from the original millennium effort now growing away well.  This should have a knock-on effect in improvement to the overall wildlife value of the site and along with that, to the pleasure and interest in taking a walk there!   We’re collecting records of the present wildlife on the site so that any changes that occur over time are evident.  Please put your “Glebe sightings” of plants and animals on the community forum so that a record can be kept of what’s there –get the kids interested too – then you might be able to get them to put your sightings on the community forum for you.  Details of the “Breathing Places” award can be seen on the Abernyte website http://www.abernyte.org/Breathing-Spaces-Reports.html

  Barn owls have been seen again near Kinnaird  - it has been good to see that these owls which are generally less frequently seen than Tawny owls are frequenting the area.  They often fly before dark and their food is mainly voles. It’s also been a good year for hares around Kinnaird, 15 having been seen disporting themselves in one field around the Guardswell area by an avid Nature watch contributor.  The swallows, swifts and house martins got off to a later start but the swallows anyway seem to have had a successful breeding year and families can now been seen on the wing.  Swifts have been in much smaller numbers in the sky over Abernyte than in previous years, but small groups seem have been around all three villages.  Barry is taking part in a swift survey – if you know of any nesting swifts please let him know.  An organisation called “Concern for Swifts”  is focussing on their decline.  Swifts nest under tiles just into the roof space of tall buildings or in holes in masonry - unfortunately much renovation work to old tenements and other tall buildings has not been good for their breeding success in recent years. 

   The wet summer meant rather a poor start for butterflies, although orange tip, ringlet and small tortoiseshell were around at least one garden in the earlier part of the year, however the second week in August has seen an increasing number of sightings of Peacock, red admiral, small tortoiseshell as well as the usual whites.  A hummingbird hawkmoth was around in our own garden this week – this is a day-flying moth which usually appears as a migrant from continental Europe, although a number of them have managed to survive over winter down south – yet another result of the warmer climate.   

 Watchers in Kinnaird have passed on news of a number of sightings of red and grey squirrels around Kinnaird village – and felt privileged to have the red squirrel in their gardens. 

  Sad to say, school has gone back this week (no doubt the weather will improve) but it also means that the swallows will be heading off – last year they were gathering on the wires near Milton in the first week of September, not long to go unfortunately.  Are your rowans and brambles ripe yet- if so, don’t waste any time getting your records on the nature watch forum!