21 August 2022

 

Popped out a few times over the week for nine holes and a stroll.  It is fairly quiet nature-wise.  I did come across this tiny frog hopping across the 3rd fairway on the Green course - one of the few areas that generally stays fairly moist.

Common Frog [3rd Green]

There was a Little Egret on the 1st Blue yesterday evening and a Kingfisher on the 3rd.  There are still lots of Spotted Flycatchers about.  There were at least 6 around the 10th tee on the Blue course and unusually they were mostly feeding on the ground.

Spotted Flycatcher [10th Blue]

Otherwise nothing too spectacular.  This Muntjac was on the 8th Blue and the Linnet was one of the flock that is resident around the reservoir.

Muntjac [8th Blue]

Linnet [Reservoir]

10 August 2022

As we move through August, the last of the flowering plants are blossoming around the course.  One of the latest to flower is Grass-of-Parnassus.  This is a Frilford speciality and grows just before the stream on the 4th on the Green.   This clump is actually the most southerly location of this plant in the UK.  It is actually a little early, most are still in bud, and will flower in the next week or so.

Grass-of-Parnassus Parnassia palustris [4th Green]

Nearby and flowering at the same time is Devil's-Bit Scabious.  This one has a Footballer Fly on it - the name being due to the black and yellow stripes on its thorax resembling a football jersey.

Footballer Fly Helophilus pendulus on Devil's-bit Scabious Succisa pratensis [4th Green]

Some of the other plants nearby include:

Purple Loosetrife  Lythrum salicaria [4th Green]

Wild Angelica Angelica sylvestris [4th Green]

7 August 2022

 I hear foxes at Frilford from time to time in the woods on the Blue and Green courses, but I haven't seen one since starting to log the wildlife around the course.   There was one early this morning in the field behind the 1st Blue.

Red Fox [1st Blue]

It was hunting for rodents in the cut grass and seemed to be finding quite a few from the video - by the size it looks like they are rats that it is feasting on.  

Muntjac and Roe Deer were also in the field while this was happening.

Roe Deer [1st Blue]

I didn't hear many Willow Warblers singing this year, but there seem to be plenty of young birds about in late summer.  This one was feeding near the footpath to the 5th Red.

Willow Warbler [5th Red]

Familiar birds otherwise.

Blue Tit [5th Red]

Spotted Flycatcher [4th Blue]

6 August 2022

 

I had a walk around the courses first thing this morning.  Wherever the grass hadn't been watered it was a rather crispy brown.  Nothing too unusual bird-wise, other than a Hobby which I saw very briefly behind the sixth green on the Blue course.  The family of Spotted Flycatchers were in their usual spot on the left of the 4th Blue.  Another family of 5 or 6 birds was on the 13th Red.

Spotted Flycatcher [4th Blue]

Spotted Flycatcher (juvenile) [13th Red]

Lots of other common birds about, particularly Long-tailed Tits, which seem to appear in waves of 20 or 30 birds, often interspersed with Treecreepers, Chiffchaffs, Goldcrests and Blue Tits.

Long-tailed Tit [4th Blue]

There also a few species of dragonflies and butterflies about.  This Black-tailed Skimmer was on the 3rd Blue.

Black-tailed Skimmer  Orthetrum cancellatum [3rd Blue]

Brown Argus is a fairly common butterfly found on calcareous grassland, so it was no surprise to find several on the Doghouse practice area.  

Brown Argus Aricia agestis [Doghouse practice ground]

On the 5th Blue I came across this Common Wave moth feeding on a Creeping Thistle.

Common Wave Cabera exanthemata [5th Blue]

There are also plenty of late-flowering plants around the courses - providing splashes of colour among the brown grass.

Common Restharrow Ononis repens [Doghouse practice ground]

Soapwort Saponaria officinalis [14th Red]

Harebell Campanula rotundifolia [15th Red]