Wildlife sightings for 14th August 2013
42 Teal - scrape
1 Buzzard - circling high over the reserve
1 Peregrine - perched on hospital
3 Snipe - scrape
2 Little Grebe broods - main lake, grazing marsh channel
1 Willow Warbler - singing wildside
1 Lesser Whitethroat - sheltered lagoon
Recent bird highlights: Little Egret, Peregrine, Red Kite, Hobby, Redshank, Greenshank, Oystercatcher, Green Sandpiper, Common Sandpiper, Little Ringed Plover, Snipe, Black-Tailed Godwit, Nuthatch.
Tufted Duck, Pochard, Mallard, Gadwall and Little Grebe all have nests and young on the lake islands and amongst the marginal vegetation. Shovelers have bred here for the first time, raising 3 broods. Mute Swan have successfully raised 5 broods of cygnets (much higher than previous years). The Sand Martins have already fledged and are feeding over the lakes and scrapes. All the Common Terns have fledged now, while the growing Black-headed Gull colony have some second broods on the main lake rafts. The Sparrowhawk pair have 3 fledged young, regularly taking short flights in the wildside area. Redshanks managed 2 fledged broods (4 juvs) and Lapwing at least 4 fledged broods (9+ juvs?).
Other successful breeders this year:- Whitethroats (1 brood), Chiffchaff (1 brood), Coal Tit (1 brood), Goldcrest (2 broods), Lesser Whitethroat (1 brood), Reed Bunting (1+ brood), Sedge Warbler (1+ brood), Cetti’s Warbler (2 broods?) and good numbers of young Blue Tit, Great Tit, Robin, Blackbird, Wren, Dunnock, Reed Warbler, Great Spotted Woodpecker and Green Woodpecker.
Butterflies and other invertebrates: Common Blue, Clouded Yellow, 6-Spot Burnet Moth, Small Tortoiseshell, Comma, Small White, Large White, Speckled Wood, Large Skipper, Small Skipper, Red Admiral, Azure/Common Blue Damselfly, Blue-tailed Damselfly, Hairy Dragonfly, Emerald Damselfly, Emperor Dragonfly, Broad-bodied Chaser, Southern Hawker, Black-tailed Skimmer, Banded Demoiselle, Stag Beetle.
Water voles: actively feeding in the Wildside ponds in particular (listen out for the very audible munching from the base of marginal aquatic plants like Branched Bur-reed and Greater Pond Sedge). They also often make a distinctive ‘plop’ sound as they leap into the water from the channel edge.
Reptiles: Common Lizards have been seen on log piles on the South Route and pond zone; also around the brick edges of the sluices if quiet enough. Slow Worms are present below the survey tins and sometimes basking on habitat piles. Grass Snakes may be spotted swimming across ponds in wildside.
Flowering plants: Square-stalked St.John’s Wort, Blue Water-speedwell, Branched Bur-reed, Cat’s-ear, Common Mallow, Common Sorrel, Field Scabious, Devil’s Bit Scabious, Great Bird’s-foot Trefoil, Great Burnet, Salad Burnet, Hemlock Water-dropwort, Hoary Plantain, Hop Trefoil, Lesser Swinecress, Mare’s-tail, Meadow Buttercup, Meadow Vetchling, Red Clover, Scented Mayweed, Scentless Mayweed, Short-fruited Willowherb, Smooth Hawk’s-beard, White Clover, Wild Clary, Wild Strawberry, Wild Thyme, Yellow Iris, Yellow Water-Lily, Purple Loosestrife, Yellow Loosestrife, Valerian, Fleabane, Meadowsweet.
