Wildlife sightings for 3rd October 2015
1 Pintail - main lake
54 Wigeon - site count
1 Redstart - female near Peacock tower
1 Rock Pipit - grazing marsh
1 Redwing - flew over heading N
1 Skylark - flew over heading SW
12 Chiffchaff - South route, sheltered lagoon, wildside
September bird highlights: Bittern, Little Egret, Hobby, Kestrel, Buzzard, Ruff, Green Sandpiper, Common Sandpiper, Snipe, Kingfisher, Yellow Wagtail, White Wagtail, Wheatear, Garden Warbler, Spotted Flycatcher, Nuthatch, Tree Pipit, Siskin.
September/October are good months for bird passage activity. Expect more wader species to come through daily, as well as a range of passerines like Warblers, Martins, Swallows and Pipits. The summer visitors are leaving while the wintering birds, like Wigeon and Shoveler, continue to arrive for the colder months ahead.
Reptiles: Common Lizards: – a gathering of juveniles in wildside – these are on the tree stumps just before the reedbeds, right of the path as you head towards the path. There is also another gathering on a post between the 1st and 2nd bridges and the bench by the 1st bridge has juveniles in the cracks on the south facing side. The 4th bridge has juveniles. On the South Route the Dulverton Hide has finally seen some juveniles as has the log garden on the pile near the Dulverton hide. The Rain Garden has a new brood. Down The Plughole has a brood. The Pond Zone ponds, Bog Garden, WWF, Succession trail boardwalk and the logpile at the start of the trail all have had juveniles in the last few weeks.
Grass Snakes: on the survey there were three hatchlings in the Entrance Lake area and one near the wildside gate, it was hiding amid the slow worms.
Slow Worms: there are still pregnant females on the reserve and a couple of refugia had females with young close by, indicating they may have been very recently born.
