30
of us saw a bright flash of blue pass by - it
was no doubt a Kingfisher. Also, a pair of
Linnets collected the "furry" tops of Typha sp.
and were taking it back to a nest. Linnets
have at least two broods per year and sometimes
three. This answered one of the queries of
the day.
On our return to the car park,by a different
route, we stopped to watch about four Nuthatches
in some Silver Birch. They were calling quite
loudly so we were able to locate them easily.
Opposite, also in some Silver Birch, a family
of at least six Longtailed Tits was observed.
We also saw, during the day, at least four
Speckled Wood butterflies. A total of 32
different birds were seen or heard during this
very warm and sunny day.
M. T. Parker
Thundersley Great Common. 10th July, 1983
Leader - Ken Adams.
On arrival at the common we obtained the impression
more of a public park than an interesting
botanical site. However, our first impressions
were proved wrong when we looked more closely.
The site contains a large quantity of Ling (Calluna
vulgaris), although the time it will survive if
the common is mowed in the present manner is
likely to be short. Smaller amounts of Cross-
leaved Heath (Erica tetralix) also grow here.
Some interesting grasses were found, including