24 March 2024

 

Had a couple of walks around the estate over the weekend.  Things are feeling a lot more springlike - the flowers are starting to come out and the birds are singing.  Always one of the earliest flowers are Coltsfoot - looking rather like dandelions but on short scaly stalks with the leaves appearing much later than the flowers.  These are growing on the left of the 3rd Blue.

Coltsfoot Tussilago farfara [3rd Blue]

Chiffchaffs are always amongst the first of the migrants and are easy to locate with their two-note song.   This bird was one of two or three in the hedge alongside the 2nd Blue.

Chiffchaff [2nd Blue]

There are quite a few Stock Doves around the greenkeepers'shed on the Blue course.  I think that they usually nest inside.  This one was up in the rafters.

Stock Dove [Greenkeepers' hut]

Lots of Mistle Thrushes on the fairways - more noticeable now the winter thrushes have flown north.  This one was on the 5th Green.

Mistle Thrush [5th Green]

27 May 2023

 

Spent a fair amout of time at Frilford in the sunshine today.  There was plenty of birdsong.  I saw or heard five species of warbler - Willow Warbler, Chiffchaff, Whitethroat, Blackcap and Garden Warbler.  Whitethroat and Garden Warbler were singing in the same tree on the right of the 13th Red.

Garden Warbler [13th Red]

Whitethroat [13th Red]

Chiffchaff [8th Blue]

The pond was busy with birds on the 3rd Blue.  Moorhen, Tufted Duck and Little Grebe were on the water, with a Grey Heron standing watch.

Grey Heron, Tufted Duck, Little Grebe, Moorhen [4th Blue]

It was good to see a pair of Spotted Flycatchers back on the 8th Blue and a Hobby flying past swiftly as well.

Spotted Flycatcher [8th Blue]

Near the 1st tee on the Red there were two Collard Doves on the telegraph wires.  They are common everywhere else, but I don't see them at Frilford very often.

Collard Dove [1st Red]

More species of Orchid are starting to appear.  There is a good patch of Common Twayblade to the left of the 3rd fairway on the Green and some Southern Marsh Orchids nearby.

Common Twayblade [3rd Green]

Southern Marsh Orchid Dactylorhiza praetermissa [3rd Green]

In Two-pine Fen one Early Purple Orchid is still out and the Common Spotted Orchids are just coming into flower.  There are also a lot of Marsh Orchids.  These are very difficult to differentiate, but I think that this photo is a Narrow-leaved Marsh Orchid.

Narrow-leaved Marsh Orchid Dactylorhiza traunsteineri [16th Red]

Early Purple Orchid Orchis mascula [16th Red]

Common Spotted Orchid Dactylorhiza fuchsii [16th Red]

There are also plenty of insects about at the moment.  Lots of Mayflies around the third on the Blue and a few beautiful Demoiselles near the stream.

Beautiful Demoiselle Calopteryx virgo [3rd Blue]

25 March 2023

 

I had a walk around the Blue course this morning.  I saw a reasonable flock of Redpolls and Siskins for the first time in a while.  They don't seem to have been as numerous this year as in the past.  I also heard the first Chiffchaffs beginning to sing - and came across a group of 5 or 6 feeding on the Blackthorn blossom behind the 16th green.

Chiffchaffs [16th Blue]

12 March 2022

 

I had a walk around the Blue first thing this morning.  It is definitely starting to feel spring-like with Daffodils and Primroses starting to flower around the courses.  Migrant birds are also arriving.  This Chiffchaff was on the left of the 5th and is the first one that I have seen this year.

Chiffchaff [5th Blue]

Great Tits are very vocal around the course.   

Great Tit [5th Blue]

There is also a pair of Reed Buntings nesting in the reeds on the left of the 3rd.

Reed Bunting [3rd Blue]

29 July 2021

First time that I have been up to the club for a week or so after travelling to various golf events with Luke.  There were a couple of new dragonflies about.  The first is a Common Darter, which is fairly common around the course at the moment.

Common Darter Sympetrum striolatum [12th Blue]

The second is a Banded Demoiselle, which has a characteristic dark patch in the middle of its wings.  There were quite a few in the stream along the 2nd on the Blue.

Banded Demoiselle Calopteryx splendens [2nd Blue]

In Boundary Fen I came across this enormous caterpillar.  If all goes well it will turn into an Elephant Hawk Moth.

Elephant Hawk Moth Deilephila elpenor [Boundary Fen]

The heather on the Red and Green courses is starting to flower.  If you look closely you will see two different types.  Common Heather is the most abundant, but mixed in with this there is some Bell Heather, with somewhat larger bell shaped flowers.

Common Heather Calluna vulgaris [15th Red]

Gatekeeper Pyronia tithonus on Bell Heather Erica cineria [15th Red]

Other flowers around the course at the moment include:

Water Mint Mentha aquatica [3rd Blue]

Harebells Campanula rotundifolia [4th Red]

Purple Loosetrife Lythrum salicaria [9th Blue]

Square-stalked St. John's-wort Hypericum tetrapterum [18th Red]

There are also numerous small birds around the course at the moment, enjoying the large numbers of flies. I spent some time around the 3rd on the Blue with the course closed for maintenance and the area behind the green was teeming with Blue Tits, Great Tits, Long-tailed Tits, Chaffinches, Treecreepers, various warblers and at least 4 Spotted Flycatchers.

Spotted Flycatcher [3rd Blue]

Chiffchaff [3rd Blue]

Whitethroat [15th Red]

16 July 2021

 Lots of warblers flitting through the leaves of the small trees and shrubs of the Blue course this morning.

Blackcap [4th Blue]

Chiffchaff [3rd Blue]

Willow Warbler [4th Blue]

This Red Admiral was warming up on the left of the 5th Blue.

Red Admiral Vanessa atalanta [5th Blue]

Whilst this Ringlet was drying out from the early morning due on the 3rd Blue.  With their underwing visible, you can see where the name comes from.

Ringlet Aphantopus hyperantus [3rd Blue]

A good crop of Wild Raspberries are starting to ripen on the left of the 14th Blue - tasted very sweet.

Raspberry Rubus idaeus [14th Blue]

In the wood on the Blue I found some Marsh Cudweed, which is actually a lot more common nationally than the Common Cudweed that grows in much of the rough around the estate and which, despite its name, is on the Oxfordshire Rare Plants Register.

Marsh Cudweed Gnaphalium uliginosum [6th Blue]

Common Cudweed Filago vulgaris [15th Blue]

6 June 2021

Found a new bird on the reservoir today - it's the first time that I've seen a Great-crested Grebe here.  There are a lot of them on Farmoor reservoir, so I suspect that they call in from time to time.

Great-crested Grebe [Reservoir]

A pair Tufted Ducks were on the pond on the 3rd Blue first thing this morning.  There were also several more on the reservoir along with Gadwall and Mallard.

 

Tufted Ducks [3rd Blue]

There are also plenty of young birds around.  This Chiffchaff was part of a family group of 5 or 6 birds behind the 14th Blue.

Chiffchaff [14th Blue]

There were a lot of Beautiful Demoiselle's on the left of the 4th on the Blue, centred around the small pond. The males have darker wings and are a more vibrant blue/green than the females.

Beautiful Demoiselle (Male) Calopteryx virgo [4th Blue]

Beautiful Demoiselle (Female) Calopteryx virgo [4th Blue]

There are also a few of the much smaller Common Blue Damselflies around.  This one was at the bottom of the Tubney range to the left of the 3rd Red.

Common Blue Damselfly Enallagma cyathigerum [Tubney range]

Nearby in the long grass was this Cardinal Beetle.

Cardinal Beetle Pyrochroa serraticornis [3rd Red]

As I visited different areas of the courses, I saw lots of Common Spotted Orchids - anywhere with water nearby.  This was one of the patch in the fen on the 3rd Blue.

Common Spotted Orchid Dactylorhiza fuchsii [3rd Blue]

There are also a few different species of Speedwell in the rough.  This is Slender Speedwell from the 13th Red. There is a nice display of Germander Speedwell along the hedge on the Doghouse range.  

Slender Speedwell Veronica filiformis [13th Red]

Germander Speedwell Veronica chamaedrys [Doghouse range]

In the shorter grass you may also come across Thyme-leaved Speedwell, which has smaller, paler flowers.  This photo is from early May, but there are still plenty in flower.

Thyme-leaved Speedwell Veronica serpyllifolia [15th Blue]