Small Tortoiseshell caterpillar
Most of the birds now are feeding young, so any bird singing was a bonus. So hearing 3 Chiffchaffs and a couple of Blackcaps was pretty good. Some surprises were a Treecreeper in Nythe Wood and the huge number of Canada Geese on Shaftesbury Pool. Please don't get me wrong I love birds but I think there has to be limit to the amount on one Pool. I got to about 60 and then lost count as more appeared. Its not so much the birds, but the mess they leave on the banks and lawns around the water. Its pretty bad!
Adult Canada Goose with goslings
Apart from the geese on the pool there was a Red-eared Slider or Red-eared Terrapin as they are more commonly known as, sitting on an "island" in the middle of the pool and running about on the banks was a Brown Rat, which didn't seem to bothered by me, Dawn and the dog walking past it.
Red-eared Terrapin
Once we had circumnavigated the pool we headed back to Nythe Pool, where we came across a Grey Heron feeding in the shallows and at least 3 Banded Demoiselles dancing along the stream.
Banded Demoiselle
Birds seen: Grey Heron, 2 Mute Swan, 60+ Canada Goose, Mallard, Tufted Duck, Moorhen, Coot, Herring Gull, Lesser Black-backed Gull, Wood Pigeon, Collared Dove, Great Spotted Woodpecker, Dunnock, Robin, Blackbird, 2 Blackcap, 3 Chiffchaff, Goldcrest, Long-tailed Tit, Great Tit, Blue Tit, Treecreeper, Wren, Magpie, Rook, Carrion Crow, Jackdaw, Starling, House Sparrow, Chaffinch and Goldfinch.
Mammals: Brown Rat
Reptiles: Red-eared Slider (Trachemys scripta elegans)
Butterflies: 4 Speckled Woods, 3 Small Tortoiseshells and 2 Green-veined Whites.
Damselflies: 3 Banded Demoiselles and 1 Common Blue Damselfly
Caterpillars: 1 Small Tortoiseshell caterpillar