Moth mayhem and other recent sightings
We have entered summer – it has been extremely warm for the last fortnight with temperatures exceeding 30° Celsius! There has been lots of fantastic stuff seen around the reserve, from birds to mammals to insects.
There are still lots of chicks about, with lapwings and their young on the Folly Pond – which you can get a great view of from our newly reopened Folly Pond Hide. We are continually visited by raptors flying through: red kite, kestrel and osprey as well as a marsh harrier dropping in for a few days, which is unusual for our reserve.
Some of the most exciting sightings of the week came from the moth traps set out on Monday and Wednesday evenings . A huge abundance of species were identified: nearly 30 in total over the two traps. The team’s highlights included: buff-tip, dark arches, poplar hawkmoth, light emerald and gold spot. See below for more sightings.
Recent sightings 3rd - 17th June
| badger
banded demoiselle bank vole barred straw moth blackbird blackcap black-headed gull black-tailed godwit blue-tailed damselfly buff ermine moth buff-tip moth burnished brass moth buzzard carrion crow chaffinch chiffchaff chimney sweeper moth cinnabar moth common blue butterfly common snipe common toad cuckoo dark arches moth dog’s tooth moth drinker moth caterpillar dunnock emperor dragonfly flame moth flame shoulder moth four-spotted chaser garden bumblebee gold spot moth goldfinch | ...... | great tit grey heron heart and dart moth hebrew character moth herring gull house martin jackdaw kestrel lapwing and chicks large skipper butterfly large yellow underwing moth latticed heath moth lesser black backed gull light emerald moth lime speck pug moth linnet little egret long-tailed tit magpie moth mallard and chicks map-winged swift moth marbled minor moth marsh harrier meadow brown butterfly middle barred minor moth miller moth moorhen and chicks osprey oystercatcher peacock butterfly peppered moth | ...... | pied wagtail poplar hawk moth red admiral butterfly red kite redshank reed bunting reed warbler riband wave moth roe deer and fawns rooks sedge warbler shark moth shelduck small square spot moth small tortoiseshell butterfly snipe song thrush speckled wood butterfly starling stonechat swallow swan and cygnets swift teal treble lines moth tree sparrow weasel white ermine moth willow warbler wren young starling |
Written by Marianne Nicholson
Feature image by Nick Cottrell of polar hawkmoth
