Wildlife sightings for 9th May 2015
1 Bittern - main lake South shore
1 Dunlin - grazing marsh
1 Ringed Plover - main lake
3 Little Ringed Plover - grazing marsh
2 Snipe - grazing marsh
1 Shelduck - reservoir lagoon
8 Common Tern - site count
5 Lapwing chicks - wader scrape, main lake
1 Whitethroat - singing from wader scrape bank
1 Peregrine -
April/early May bird highlights: Bittern, Shelduck, Buzzard, Peregrine, Hobby, Red Kite, Merlin, Stone Curlew, Grey Plover, Ringed Plover, Little Ringed Plover, Black-tailed Godwit, Redshank, Jack Snipe, Dunlin, Whimbrel, Common Sandpiper, Arctic Tern, Common Tern, Kittiwake, Mediterranean Gull, Kingfisher, Yellow Wagtail, Stonechat, Whinchat, Wheatear, Grasshopper Warbler, Siberian Chiffchaff, Lesser Whitethroat.
Most of the spring birds have arrived in the form of Chiffchaff, Reed Warbler, Sedge Warbler, Whitethroat, Sand Martin, Blackcap, Garden Warbler, Swift, Little Ringed Plover and Redshank, as well as other migrants stopping off or passing through like Black-tailed Godwit, Whimbrel, Mediterranean Gull, Swallow, Willow Warbler, Redstart and Wheatear. In addition to the muddy pools and ditch edges of the marsh, the wader scrape is now 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.
Reptiles: Survey results from 18th April: Slow Worm: 15 juvenile, 10 male, 8 female. Grass Snake: 2. Common Lizard: 1.
Butterflies and other insects: Red Admiral, Brimstone, Small Tortoiseshell, Small White, 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.
Flowering plants: Primrose, Red Dead-Nettle, Colts-foot, Marsh Marigold, Lesser Celandine, Bulbous Buttercup, Cowslip, Blackthorn, Wild Cherry, Wood Anemone, Sweet Violet, Bluebell, Cuckoo Flower.
