Wildlife sightings for 14th October 2014
1 Marsh Harrier - flew NE 0820hrs
24 House Martin - feeding main lake and south route, then moving on S
25 Redwing - flew S
1 Pheasant - wader scrape hide
9 Song Thrush - flew S
6 Meadow Pipit - marsh
1 Stonechat - marsh
6 Chiffchaff - sheltered lagoon, south route
35 Greylag Geese - feeding on Headley Hide pool a.m. (looking very wary and unsettled)
October bird highlights: Hobby, Buzzard, Jack Snipe, Green Sandpiper, Greenshank, Yellow Wagtail, House Martin, Swallow, Rock Pipit, Stonechat, Whinchat.
With autumn migration well underway this is a great time of year to find some exciting migrants. Summer birds like Chiffchaff, Whitethroat and Blackcap are leaving their breeding territories on site, while other summer visitors such as Wheatear, Whinchat, Yellow Wagtail, Swallow, Common Sandpiper and Redstart are passing through from other parts of the country heading southwards. At the same time there’s wildfowl like Shoveler, Wigeon and Snipe arriving or passing through to spend the winter here. Any species of migrant wader could turn up now, recent species this autumn including Ruff, Whimbrel and Greenshank. September and October generally turns up some more unusual or rarer birds so keep watching the scrub, scrapes and marsh for something a bit special this month. The marsh or wader scrape are good bets for Jack Snipe and Common Snipe. Pipits and Chats are best searched for on the marsh fields and banks.
Butterflies: Small Copper (17th Sept), Common Blue, Six-spot Burnet, Meadow Brown, Small White, Speckled Wood, Holly Blue, Large White, Red Admiral, Peacock.
Dragonflies and damselflies: Common Blue Damselfly, Ruddy Darter, Migrant Hawker, Large Red Damselfly, Common Darter, Southern Hawker.
Bush-crickets and grasshoppers: Roesel’s Bush-cricket, Dark Bush-cricket, Common Green Grasshopper, Field Grasshopper.
Reptiles: Last survey of the year: 31 juvenile slow worm with 13 adult females and one adult male.
