Butterflies and hatchlings - recent sightings to 25th June
Our week has been pretty quiet in terms of birdlife but we have had some fantastic sightings nonetheless: a female marsh harrier was flying over the merse and one of our wardens was lucky enough to see it catching prey from only 20 metres away! There are lots of juveniles around: goldfinch were spotted this week as well as the lapwing chick still hanging around the Folly Pond. Other highlights include common whitethroats, common snipe and common sandpiper.
Along the avenue and the meadow walk, there have been lots of sightings of summer insect life. We have had common blue and speckled wood butterflies, as well as our first emperor dragonfly of the season. This is the UK’s biggest dragonfly and can reach nearly 8cm in length!
Our surveys have shown that many birds nesting in our hides, buildings and boxes have had successful broods and many have moved onto their second. It is especially exciting to see the success of our tree sparrows because although there is evidence their numbers are recovering well, they have still not bounced back fully from the 93% decline they suffered between 1970 and 2008.
Image of common blue butterfly by Jonathan Clark
Recent Sightings 18th - 25th June
Barn owl Black-headed gull Blue tit Chaffinch Common blue butterfly Common sandpiper Common snipe Common whitethroat | ..... | Emperor dragonfly Goldfinch juvenile Great tit Grey heron Lapwing and chicks Large white butterfly Mallard Marsh harrier (F) | ..... | Oyster catcher Sparrowhawk Speckled wood butterfly Swallow Teal Tree sparrow Weasel |
Feature image of common snipe by Andrew Bluett
Words by Marianne Nicholson
