Wildlife sightings for 18th September 2014
2 Yellow Wagtail - flew over the marsh S + W (one landing for some time in the middle)
1 Kingfisher - reedbed
20 Meadow Pipit - 8 landed to feed on the marsh, the other birds flew W+SW
22 Chiffchaff
3 Willow Warbler
1 Whitethroat - main lake W shore
8 House Martin
1 Hobby - high over the marsh 1200hrs
Late August/September bird highlights: Hobby, Peregrine, Buzzard, Garganey, Spotted Redshank, Ruff, Greenshank, Green Sandpiper, Common Sandpiper, Oystercatcher, Whimbrel, Little Ringed Plover, Arctic Tern, Whinchat, Whitethroat, Spotted Flycatcher.
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 starting to leave 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.
Butterflies: Small Copper(17th), Common Blue, Six-spot Burnet, Meadow Brown, Small White, Speckled Wood, Holly Blue, Large White, Red Admiral, Peacock, Comma.
Notable site records for this summer: Mother Shipton, Barred Yellow (1st recorded at in 2008), Green Hairstreak, Red-tipped Clearwing (1st site record. Nationally scarce), Cinnabar Moth, Ringlet, Small Heath (UK BAP Priority species), White Admiral.
Dragonflies and damselflies: Common Blue / Azure Damselfly, Small Red-eyed Damselfly, Blue-tailed Damselfly, Emperor Dragonfly, Black-tailed Skimmer, Ruddy Darter, Migrant Hawker, Brown Hawker.
Bush-crickets and grasshoppers: Roesel’s Bush-cricket, Dark Bush-cricket, Common Green Grasshopper, Field Grasshopper.
Hoverflies and other flies: Tropidia scita, Parhelophilus frutetorum and Eupeodes luniger.
Reptiles: 3rd August survey: Common Lizards: 1 adult (f) – pond zone canopy; 1 adult, 4 juvs – Dulverton Hide bridge; 1 juv – main reedbed channel (wildside) on the culvert over the sluice from the ‘grebe pool’; 1 adult, 1 juv – 4th bridge into wildside; 1 juv – 1st bridge into wildside.
