Wildlife sightings for 31st July 2018
1 Yellow Wagtail - grazing marsh
1 Little Egret - grazing marsh
1 Common Sandpiper - main lake
2 Snipe - main lake
6 Common Tern - main lake
1 Peregrine - on hospital
3 Chiffchaff - wildside, sheltered lagoon
4 Little Grebe - main lake, wader scrape
July bird highlights: Green Sandpiper, Common Sandpiper, Avocet, Redshank, Dunlin, Greenshank, Snipe, Common Tern(9), Garganey, Peregrine, Red Kite, Buzzard, Hobby, Little Egret(6), Whitethroat, Nuthatch, Yellow Wagtail.
Sand Martins had occupied at least 70% of the nest chambers by mid-July. Pochards raised at least 1 brood; Gadwall 4 broods on the reservoir lagoon and scrape; Little Grebe 1 brood on the main lake. Common Terns juveniles appeared, having bred elsewhere but settled here for feeding. Post-breeding migration started up in July with wader species like Common Sandpiper dropping in, as well as Teal, Shoveler, Garganey and Yellow Wagtail.
Flowering plants: (July) Bird’s-foot Trefoil, Tufted Vetch, Yellow Loosestrife, Purple Loosestrife, Water Forget-me-not, Monkey Flower, Ragwort, Cat’s-ear, Sow-thistle, Prickly Oxtongue, Smooth Hawk’s-beard, Water Plantain, Figwort, Yarrow, Common Fleabane, Field Scabious, Yellow Bartsia, Brooklime, Marsh Woundwort, Hemp Agrimony, Lady’s Bedstraw, Water Mint, Wild Marjoram, White Water-lily, Redshank, Wild Carrot, Hogweed, Wild Parsnip
Amphibians: Marsh Frogs calling most sunny days in May/June/July – entrance lake, wildside and south route ponds and pools.
Butterflies/Moths: (July) Red Admiral, Small Tortoishell, Peacock, Marbled White, Brimstone, Comma, Large White, Small White, Orange Tip, Speckled Wood. The July 20th moth trap found 115 species including Jersey Tiger, Hoary Footman, Gold Spot and Grey Dagger.
Dragonflies: (mid-July survey) Emperor Dragonfly, Black-tailed Skimmer, Broad-bodied Chaser, Large Red Damselfly, Azure Damselfly, Blue-tailed Damselfly, Common Blue Damselfly, Banded Demoiselle, Red-eyed Damselfly, Lesser Emperor Dragonfly, Brown Hawker, Small Red-eyed Damselfly, Southern Hawker, Migrant Hawker, Common Darter, Ruddy Darter.
Other insects: (July) Black-striped Longhorn Beetle, Common Malachite Beetle, Fairy Ring Longhorn Beetle, Roesel’s Bush-cricket, Field Grasshopper, Long-winged Conehead.
Reptiles: (mid-July) Juvenile Common Lizards around the benches and bridge timbers or long grass nearby, particularly in wildside.
