Wildlife sightings for 1st June 2014
1 Red Kite - flew low over entrance area, around 9.25 a.m.
2 Shoveler - scrape
9 Common Tern - main lake
c. 30 Swift - feeding on main lake
1 Whitethroat - singing on Thames bank
1 Chiffchaff - calling around sheltered lagoon
Please note, the number of Sand Martins nesting has dropped over the last couple of years, so we will close the nest bank until they have raised their first brood to see if this helps encourage them to breed. We will re-open it for their second brood in June.
May bird highlights: Red Kite, Goshawk, Marsh Harrier, Hobby, Little Egret, Bar-tailed Godwit, Greenshank, Little Ringed Plover, Ringed Plover, Temminck’s Stint, Common Sandpiper, Green Sandpiper, Wood Sandpiper, Dunlin, Whimbrel, Oystercatcher, Arctic Tern, Baltic Gull, Caspian Gull, Black-Necked Grebe, Yellow Wagtail, White Wagtail, Spotted Flycatcher.
Common Tern are now nesting with the Black-headed Gulls on the purpose-built rafts out on the main lake and reservoir lagoon. Several pairs of Lapwing have chicks, mostly visible on the scrape so far, and Redshank are nesting on the marsh and scrape. Whitethroat, Cetti’s Warbler, Garden Warbler, Reed Warbler, Sedge Warbler and Chiffchaff are among the many breeding birds holding territory around the reserve.
Watch out for many more exciting migrants during May and into June. Wader species, Yellow Wagtail, Wheatear, Spotted Flycatcher, Redstart can all be expected, and hopefully a rarity or two.
Flowering plants: Black Medick, Buckthorn, Cut-leaved Crane’s-bill, Dog-rose, Globeflower, Greater Celandine, Horseradish, Meadow Clary, Raspberry, Yellow Iris, Common Stork’s-bill, Goat’s-beard, Hairy Tare, Hoary Cress, Adder’s-tongue fern, Common Spike-rush, Dogwood, Germander Speedwell, Glaucous Sedge, Ground Ivy, Hedgerow Crane’s-bill, Meadow Foxtail, Red Clover, Round-leaved Crane’s-bill, Solomon’s Seal, Star-of-Bethlehem, Tuberous Comfrey, White Campion, White Water-lily, Beaked Hawk’s-beard, Bird Cherry, Bistort, Bluebell, Bogbean, Bugle, Cleavers, Clustered Mouse-ear, False Fox-sedge, Field Forget-me-not, Garlic Mustard, Greater Stitchwort, Greater Tussock-sedge, Guelder-rose, Lesser Pond-sedge, Meadow Buttercup, Ox-eye Daisy, Pendulous Sedge, Red Campion, Red Valerian, Salad Burnet, Smooth Meadow-grass, Sweet Vernal-grass, Whitebeam, Wood Avens.
Butterflies: Orange Tip, Small White, Peacock, Speckled Wood, Holly Blue, Green-veined White, Large White, Small Tortoiseshell, Comma.
Moths: Elephant Hawk-moth, Lime Hawk-moth, 2 Treble Lines, Heart & Dart, and 3 Light Brocade all caught in overnight moth trap at Explore playground.
Dragonflies: Hairy Dragonfly, Common Blue Damselfly, Blue-tailed Damselfly.
Hoverflies: Melanostoma scalare, Epistrophe eligans, Riponnensia splendens, Eristalis pertinax, Eristalis intricarius, Myathropa florea, Helophilus pendulus.
Other insects: Honey Bee, Buff-tailed Bumblebee, Early Bumblebee, Common Carder Bee, Hairy-footed Flower-bee, Common Green Shield-Bug, Large Red Damselfly, 7-Spot Ladybird, Harlequin Ladybird.
Amphibians: male and female Smooth Newts mostly found in the South Route ponds; Marsh Frogs seen and heard in the car park ditch, entrance lake and wildside ponds.
Bats: a few Soprano Pipistrelles, 1 Common Pipistrelle and a few Daubentons.
Reptiles: The first survey of the year revealed a total of 84 Slow Worms, 15 Common Lizards and 3 Grass Snakes. The WWF hide area is the best bet for basking Lizards
