Why is this blackbird still singing at eleven o’clock in the evening? Frans Kapteijns knows

It’s Friday evening and the blackbird continues to sing at a quarter past eleven at night
Mieke Zeeuwen heard a blackbird singing fully from ten o’clock in the evening on 25 February. She wondered if they do this anymore and why. Well, blackbirds belong to the thrush family. They have big eyes and catch a lot of light. Thrushes often start singing first, usually two hours before sunrise. As the sun rises earlier, those birds also start to sing earlier. They do this to indicate their territory. In towns and villages there is much more light, in this case artificial light, so the birds there also continue to sing for longer in the evening than in rural areas. By the way, the robin also belongs to the thrush family. He also has big eyes and is therefore also an early and late singer.

No caterpillars in the rotten acacia wood, but what is it?
In the photo that Maarten van den Hurk sent me, you see two caterpillar-like animals. But these are not caterpillars. These animals are larvae of a beetle species and I suspect of the black-headed fire beetle. On the attached photo of the adult animal you can clearly see why the beetle is so called. You see a beetle with a bright red thorax and abdomen, but the rest is pitch black.

These adult beetles are mainly seen roaming around on plants. They mainly eat pollen, but also other plant parts. The larvae are real predators, just look at the powerful jaws. They live in dead wood of various tree species. There they stay for two to three years and eat wood-eating larvae of other insects. So they are real hunters. Their menu includes larvae of longhorn beetles or woodworms.

Unknown butterfly in an Oisterwijk garden
Jan Hamers sent me a photo in which a butterfly can be seen a bit blurry. He had never seen these in his garden. I think this is a chopped aurelia, which can now be seen all over our country. In the past they were only found in the south, but since the 1960s they have been spread all over the Netherlands. In the books it can be read that they can be observed from March, but once chopped aurelias have already been observed in December. The fact that they are there so early has to do with the fact that they hibernate here. They prefer to do this close to the ground. This can be in piles of wood, but also at the bottom of tree roots, in branch creases, in hollow trees and sometimes even in piles of fallen leaves. That is why it is good if you leave leaves in your garden. You get beautiful butterflies in your garden.

What are those little balls on a tree near the Keelven in Someren?
Jack and Wes van Leuken came across little balls on an oak tree at the Keelven in Someren. They wondered what these balls are. These are marble galls. Most people are familiar with gall apples – which hang from the underside of an oak leaf – but not marble galls. Yet, just like gall apples, these are galls. However, marble galls are hard and are located on the leaf axils of young oak trees. A marble gall occurs when a marble gall wasp lays eggs in the leaf axils of oak trees. Those trees are stimulated by this and thus form marble galls.

In the beginning such a marble gall is green, but towards the end of the summer these galls turn brown and develop a thick, hard wall. In principle, a marble gall contains a larva of the marbled gall wasp. Towards the end of summer – late August, early September – the young marbled gall wasp drills a hole in the marbled gall and moves it out into the wide world. After that, the marble galls generally remain on the oak trees. You will therefore only encounter them on oak, but on the common or pedunculate oak as well as on the sessile oak.

A sunbathing little bear on a sandy path near Hilvarenbeek
Hannie Houben sent me a photo of a caterpillar. She wondered what that caterpillar was doing on the dirt track on February 26. I think this caterpillar was basking, because that’s what the tinsel moth caterpillars like to do. In the autumn and the following spring you can encounter these caterpillars in open spaces enjoying the sun. This is possible because this species overwinters as a caterpillar.

Sandy soils in particular are the habitat of the caterpillars of the Little Bear Butterfly, but you can discover them everywhere. In heathland areas, on poor grasslands, open spaces in the forests, but also on poor fallow agricultural land and even in Brabant gardens. But then there must be open spaces. You see them eating on the common heather, plantain species, broom and even on the cardinal’s hat.

Recognizing songbirds, an exercise video
If you want to recognize songbirds, watch the exercise video above. It works like this: first you hear the song of a bird, then you see the singing bird and then you get to see the name. The sound recording of the grasshopper warbler is by Hans Groot on Xeno Canto. All other sound and film recordings from Birdfun.

A carnivalesque butterfly in the living room in Döllekesgat
Ida van der Reijt sent me a photo of a butterfly, which she thinks must love carnival because of the many colors. She found this colorful butterfly in front of the window in the living room. The butterfly in question is a peacock, which has probably wintered near the living room. Usually they hang somewhere on a ceiling in an unheated room. They wake up from hibernation at 10 degrees or more. The spring weather is already nice and these warm days attract all the butterflies outside.

Thirty storks spotted in a meadow between Hilvarenbeek and Goirle
Piet Lauwers saw about thirty storks in a meadow between Hilvarenbeek and Goirle. If you look closely at the photo you can see that they are foraging, or looking for food. It is indeed true that many storks pass by in North Brabant. Storks are partly migratory birds, which return from Africa in the spring to breed in our country. Another part remains in the Netherlands. Vogelbescherming Nederland thinks that this is one fifth of the total population. Once in the Netherlands they go to the nest where they have previously brooded. Once at the nest, they declare their love for each other by flapping their beaks loudly. Just listen to this recording of Early Birds† Turn up the volume a little louder.

Nature tip
Wednesday 9 March from ten to half past eleven in the morning – and then every second Wednesday of the month – a seniors walk will take place.

Natuurgroep Gestel has been organizing this one and a half hour walk for several years now. The expert guides are always ready to point out details about plants, shrubs and trees, but also about birds, insects, mushrooms, etc. along the way. Routes are taken on easily accessible paths. At the end of the walk there is coffee and tea for the participants, where they can chat for half an hour about what has been seen and learned along the way. Only a voluntary contribution is requested for the coffee.

• Departure location is the Haanwijk outdoor area at Haanwijk 4a in Sint-Michielsgestel.

• Signing up is not necessary.

• There is no charge for the walk, only if you stay late, a contribution for the coffee will be asked.

• Wear sturdy walking shoes.

• Wear clothes that suit the weather.

• Always check yourself for ticks afterwards.

More information is available from Michel van de Langenberg, via telephone number 06 – 22 43 29 41 or [email protected]