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Dry Drayton Nature Notes - April

 

Here we will build a collection of monthly nature notes for Dry Drayton. You can find here information about regular and more unusual sightings of Parish flora and fauna. Please send us your sightings to add to these pages or send your local wildlife queries to us.

 

Dry Drayton Nature Notes for: January | February | March | April | May | June | July | August | September | October | November | December

 

The infant april joins the spring
And views its watery skye
As youngling linnet trys its wing
And fears at first to flye

John Clare, The Shepherd's Calendar 1827
Sparrowhawk in Dry Drayton

Birds

 

A male Sparrowhawk has been frequenting the gardens of Pettitts Lane in April. It is the "smash and grab merchant" of the bird world, taking small birds, even blackbirds, from feeders and in flight.

 

Unusual Dry Drayton sightings published by the Cambridgeshire Bird Club

14/4/09 - 3 Buzzards, 4+ Swallows (Mike Clydesdale)

15/4/08 - 5 Buzzards circling, 10.30 between Dry Drayton and Madingley (Mike Clydesdale)

29/4/2017- 5 Wheatear sighted at Dry Drayton

Reported in the July 2010 Newsletter by Dr and Mrs David V Alford

26 April One red kite high, gliding west to east 12.00-15.00
Five Wheatear seen in the village on 29th April 2017 (Cambridge Bird Club Annual Report 2017)

Insects and spiders

 

In early spring small furry bee-flies can be seen hovering at flowers, taking nectar with their needle-like probosces and settling to bask in the sun on pale surfaces.

bee-flies in Dry Drayton
The Engrailed - Dry Drayton One of the early moths on the wing is The Engrailed which comes to lighted windows at night and has a beautifully camouflaged pattern of browns, blacks and greys. Its larvae feed on a variety of low plants and shrubs.
ButterfliesSome of the early fliers to look out for depending on the weather are: Large White, Small White, Green Veined White, Orange Tip, Peacock, Comma, Red Admiral, Small Tortoiseshell, Speckled Wood, Small Heath, Holly Blue

Flora

 

Of especial delight this month is the flowering of violet species in the lanes and woodlands. These unusual white violets appear on the bank at the bend of Pettitts Lane every year.

violets in Dry Drayton

 

Personal Recollections

 

"Dry Drayton In April", a poem by Frank Kendon with his observations about the village in April 1922

 

Photos and text by Val Perrin.


 

Dry Drayton Nature Notes for: January | February | March | April | May | June | July | August | September | October | November | December

 

Species Lists for Dry Drayton: Flowering plants and ferns | Fungi | Insects and spiders | Amphibians and reptiles | Birds | Mammals

 

Nature Notes on: The Dry Drayton Environment and Change | Flora | Insects and spiders | Amphibians and reptiles | Birds | Mammals