Recent Sightings 1st August 2022
August has started on a sunny day with lots of our usual visitors on our Castle Espie lakes and ponds. There are still ducklings to be seen on the Main Lake and Freshwater Lagoon, including Moorhens, Gadwall and a wee family of Tufted ducks. The Kingfisher was out fishing in the sunshine and small numbers of Common gulls have started to come in to the Shingle bank and Wadermarsh. Common gulls are actually less common than Black-headed and Herring gulls, so it’s nice to see them paying us a visit. Gulls can be hard to tell apart – Common gulls are slightly larger than Black-headed gulls, with black eyes and no red mark on the beak like Herring gulls. They have quite small, sweet faces!
There are lots of butterflies about the reserve at the moment showing off their spectacular colours. From Common blues, to Green-veined whites, to Speckled woods – they can be seen on the Brickworks, by Freshwater lagoon and throughout the Woodland. Some of the more faded butterflies will be individuals that have over-wintered as adults, but the bright ones will be fresh this year! The Peacock butterfly (pictured) has an instantly recognizable pattern and is usually in chrysalis form until late July, so should be coming more abundant this month!
Estuary - visible from the Brent Hide and the Limekiln Observatory
Oystercatcher 3, Common gull 9, Litte egret 5, Lesser black-backed gull 2, Curlew 3, Shelduck 7, Herring gull 7, Hooded crow 1, Grey heron 1, Black-headed gull 20
Main lake - visible from Sensory garden and Visitor Centre
Kingfisher 1, Little grebe 1, Moorhen 2 (1 chick), Redshank 3, Mute swan 5, Black-headed gull 3, Jackdaw 4, Tufted duck 1 (3 ducklings), Mallard 101
Shingle Bank - visible from Sensory garden and Visitor Centre
Greylag goose 1, Common gull 2, Black-headed gull 6, Mallard 27, Moorhen 2
Wadermarsh - visible from Wadermarsh lookout and Brent Hide
Jackdaw 14, Greylag goose 17, Black-headed gull 3, Goldfinch 2
Freshwater Lagoon - visible from Brent Hide and Crannóg
Little egret 1, Mallard 7, Mute swan 1, Coot 1, Gadwall 8 (2 ducklings)
Saline Lagoon - visible from Limekiln observatory
Black-headed gull 1, Little grebe 1, Mallard 1
Brickworks
Limestone Lake
Grey heron 1, Lesser black-backed gull 1
Peninsula Saltmarsh
Meadow pipit 1
Peninsula Field
Meadow pipit 1, Skylark 1
Woodland
Robin, Wood pigeon, Blackbird, Great tit, Chaffinch, Blackcap, Sand martin, House martin, Swallow, Peacock butterfly
