2006

18th December : a pair of Teal on the top lake (Mark Sutton).

1st December : Flock of 63 Snipe in the field on the north side of Clock-house Drive - a Keele record (Neil Carter).

21st November : One, possibly two Peregrines were seen over Lymes Road; attracted, no doubt, by the flock of ca. 100 Sky Larks (Andy Lawrence, Malcolm Wright).

13th November : A Merlin was seen flying low over fields to the west of Clock House Drive - this is only the third sighting at Keele; the last being in 1982 (Mark Sutton).

12th November : A Raven flew low over Keele woods (Jill Gordon).

2nd November : the immature male Peregrine was seen to chase a Feral Pigeon near the Clock House (Mark Sutton).

1st November : A Peregrine was observed in a stubble field between Lymes Road and the M6. It flushed 5 Golden Plover. A flock of 2200 Wood Pigeons flew over campus in 30 minutes with a few Fieldfares. (Mark Sutton).

October 18th : A Brambling along Lymes Road - first of the winter (Mark Sutton)

October 20th : A male and two female Mandarins on Lake 1 (Jill Gordon).

September 22nd : a Hornet - a first for Keele - was seen by the William Smith Building (Dave Emley, Richard Burgess)

September 18th : three Buzzards circling over Keele Hall.

August 30th : Humming-bird Hawk-moths feeding on Geranium at Plantation Park (Magda Egan) and on Buddleia by Lindsay boiler house.

August 22nd : Kingfisher seen by Lake 2 (Simon Bradshaw).

July 24th : Common Darter dragonfly egg-laying on Lake 4.

July 23rd : there have been several sightings of a Humming-bird Hawk-moth in Larchwood gardens.

July 18th : Emperor, Brown Hawker and Broad-bodied Chaser dragonflies were seen flying over the top lake.

July 17th : a total of 19 pairs of House Martins nested on University buildings - the best number since 1990 (Nick Pomiankowski).

July 7th : a female/immature Redstart along Lymes Road and the Grasshopper Warbler continues to sing by Keele Hall (Mark Sutton).

June 29th : at least 10 Ringlet butterflies by lake 5 - not bad considering they only appeared here 2 years ago!

June 23rd : a family of Mandarins was seen on Lake 5. This is the first record of breeding here. (Jill Gordon)

June 20th : a new moth to campus Bordered Straw. This is a migrant species and the record coincides with a county-wide influx. (Steve Turner)

June 18th : a Hobby flew over Drive Lodge (Mark Sutton).

June 16th : a Marsh Tit was seen along Lymes Road - a rare bird at Keele (Mark Sutton).

June 14th : A Cuckoo flew over the medical school (Nick Pomiankowski)

June 9th : Large Red, Common Blue, Azure and Blue-tailed Damselflies were seen by Lake 3.

May 28th : a Hobby flew over Lymes Road (Mark Sutton).

May 19th : a Hobby flew over IC2 (Steve Turner).

May 12th : the Grasshopper Warbler was singing from the field by the weather station.

May 11th: a Holly Blue was flying over the walled garden; Lapwing with chick along Lymes Road and a Garden Warbler along Clockhouse Drive.

May 4th: a walk along Lymes Road revealed two Little Owls in a tree, a Garden Warbler and Lapwing with chicks.

May 3rd : there were at least five pairs of Lapwing by Home Farm.

May 1st : a Grasshopper Warbler was found in fields by Keele Hall. The last record was 6th May 1976!(Mark Sutton)

April 28th : a Tree Pipit flew over Lymes Road (Mark Sutton).

April 25th : a Hobby flew over campus (Mark Sutton).

April 24th : a Wheatear along Lymes Road (Mark Sutton).

April 23rd : 2 or more Yellow Wagtails and a Garden Warbler along Lymes Road (Mark Sutton).

April 22nd : Whitethroat near Lymes Lodge (Mark Sutton).

April 21st : a late Brambling at Drive Lodge (Mark Sutton).

April 12th : Swallow over the Medical School.

April 10th : 120 Golden Plover in fields along Lymes Road (Mark Sutton).

April 9th : Three male and one female Mandarin flying around Lymes Road, calling. Possibly a territorial display. Two Brambling at a feeding station at Drive Lodge (Mark Sutton).

April 8th : Five Wheatears along Lymes Road (Neil Carter, Mark Sutton).

March 28th : Two Bramblings by Hornbeam Building (Andy Lawrence).

March 25th : pair of Teal and pair of Mandarins on the top lakes and a Chiffchaff by Lyme's Lodge (Mark Sutton).

March 2nd : good numbers of Redwing and Fieldfare (up to 1500) have been feeding on the Sports Field. Ravens have been seen displaying over campus (Neil Carter, Jill Gordon)

February 26th : a male Teal joined the female on lake 2 and a Green Woodpecker was seen by Barnes Dell (Mark Sutton).

February 17th : six Lesser Redpolls feeding on willowherb seed heads by the old sewage works site.

February 16th : female Common Teal on Lake 2 (Mark Sutton).

February 9th : up to 300 Golden Plover have been seen in the Lymes Road area (Mark Sutton).

February 6th : three Buzzards were displaying over Springpool Wood (Malcolm Wright).

February 2nd : two Lesser Redpoll feeding on seed heads by lakes 3 and 4 (Phil Evans, Mark Rushton) and pair of Ravens over Lymes Road (Mark Sutton).

January 23rd : a touch of the antipodes came to campus when a free-flying Cockatiel was seen in trees by the Terrace. Its loud, piercing call could be heard from some distance. At the same time a Ring-necked Parakeet, a species not unfamiliar to people in the Home Counties, was seen by the Clockhouse. (Russell Toon).

January 7th : a Mute Swan flew low over Clockhouse Drive (Mark Sutton).