Wildlife sightings for 29th May 2015
7 Common Tern - main lake, reservoir lagoon
2 Little Ringed Plover - wader scrape
120 Swift - reserve, river
30 House Martin - reservoir lagoon
5 Blackcap - sheltered lagoon, wildside (all singing)
1 Peregrine - over river
May bird highlights: Bittern, Wood Sandpiper, Little Egret, Ring-necked Duck, Garganey, Hobby, Oystercatcher, Dunlin, Ringed Plover, Little Ringed Plover, Common Sandpiper, Redshank, Jack Snipe, Common Snipe, Common Tern, Yellow-legged Gull, Cuckoo, Kingfisher, Yellow Wagtail, Wheatear, Whinchat, Lesser Whitethroat, Common Whitethroat.
In addition to the muddy pools and ditch edges of the marsh, the wader scrape is still being flooded and drained over a weekly period to bring in a few interesting waders. Lapwings have their first chicks with several more pairs sitting on eggs on the marsh and scrape. Common Terns have a few nests on some of the shingle islands and many pairs of Black-headed Gulls are noisily nesting on the rafts and islands. A host of breeding passerines can be found including Reed Warbler, Reed Bunting, Whitethroat, Cetti’s Warbler, Blackcap and Sedge Warbler.
Dragonflies and Damselflies: May transect totals - Large Red Damselfly(15), Azure/Common Blue Damselfly(810), Blue-tailed Damselfly(428), Red-eyed Damselfly(12), Hairy Dragonfly(22), Broad-bodied Chaser(5), Black-tailed Skimmer(2)
Reptiles: Survey results from 24th May: Slow Worm: 24 juvenile, 14 male, 2 female. Grass Snake: 1 juvenile.
Butterflies and other insects: Green Hairstreak, Red Admiral, Brimstone, Small Tortoiseshell, Small White, Large White, Small Copper, Peacock, Speckled Wood, Comma, Holly Blue, Orange-tip, Green-veined White, 7-Spot Ladybird, Bee-Fly, Miner Bee, White-tailed Bumblebee, Buff-tailed Bumblebee, Common Carder Bee, Silver Y Moth.
Flowering plants: Primrose, Red Dead-Nettle, Colts-foot, Marsh Marigold, Lesser Celandine, Cowslip, Blackthorn, Wild Cherry, Wood Anemone, Sweet Violet, Bluebell, Cuckoo Flower, Southern Marsh Orchid, Ragged Robin, Common Spotted Orchid, Bird’s Foot Trefoil.
