Wildlife sightings weekly summary
Birds of prey showing well at the moment with a Buzzard carrying prey to a nest site and a juvenile Peregrine Falcon being very vocal, flying around its parents, begging for a feed over the hanger.
Chiffchaff singing through the reedbed boardwalk and Sedge warbler on wetlands discovery mean a second attempt at raising a family.
The Black headed gulls are now growing quieter as their chicks have now fledged and begin to wander further from the nesting areas.
A well grown Oystercatcher chick was spotted out on the Arun riverlife area last week. Good numbers of Tufted duck ducklings can be seen on here as well, several large enough to have become independent.
Insects abound when the sun decides to show its face. Black tailed skimmer dragonflies still hatching and Hairy and Broad bodied chaser still showing well. Newly emerged Small tortoiseshell and Red admiral butterflies around the reserve.
Grass snakes are getting out of their old skins at the moment and desperate to get warmed up in between the many heavy showers recently.
Many flowering species of plant out at the moment. Yellow rattle flowering in several places, wet grassland and front of the Sand martin hide. When the seeds rattle in the cases it is the traditional time to cut the hay meadows.
Last weeks Dormouse survey was unsuccessful for the target species but Pygmy shrew was seen in 4 boxes, a tree bumble bee and two wasp nests, one empty dormouse nest, a wren nest with four eggs and many vacated tit nests in others.
