Having spent 2016 in search of and finding all the 22 species of fern recorded on the reserve it was time a new one was discovered. In mid-May ferns were starting to unfurl and while checking nest boxes, a clump of fern for some reason caught my attention so I had to take a closer look. I immediately knew it was either hard or soft shield fern and almost assumed it was the hard variety due it being the one known on the reserve. However looking at plant keys and diagrams later I realised it was in fact soft shield fern and therefore a new species to add to the list!
Soft shield fern, with inset showing detail of pinnules, by Gavin Chambers
A week later I was doing a bird survey through the wood so went to have another look and get some photos. I was surprised to find a flush of at least 42 plants, suggesting they have been here undiscovered or unidentified for some time. The key feature to separate from hard shield is the shape and angles of the pinnules, which on soft shield are obviously stalked, see inset of above photo.
The fern was a nice find but would be later eclipsed by a Mega rarity in the form of a crag martin. It was found flying over the dam at midday on the 25th May, though sadly it only showed briefly. Up to now there have only been 10 accepted records in Britain with only one of these being in Wales. A species of southern Europe and Africa they seldom venture this far north, but with the strong warm weather movement from the south at that time, it will have pushed this bird further north. There was also a hobby around later in the day which are well known for their ability to catch swallows and martins.... these species along with a common scoter on the 31st May have taken my summer list to 98.
Other firsts for the reserve have included the very striking wasp beetle (Clytus arietis), a rather large queen European hornet buzzing around our garden looking for a new nest site, a hoverfly mimicking a honeybee - Brachypalpus laphriformis, some attractive grass vetchling, and a handful of moth species included lime hawk-moth, grass rivulet and barred hook-tip.
Wasp beetle by Gavin Chambers
June has seen the emergence of many fledgling birds with the chirping of baby house sparrow evident throughout the village. It was nice to see a family of goosander off the dam on the 9th June with fluffy ducklings all desperately trying to jump on mums back. The wet and windy weather of early to mid-June has not been ideal but pied flycatchers seem to have fared ok across much of the reserve as they start to leave their nest boxes. The first swallows have fledged and house martins and swift are very active at the moment building nests or feeding chicks.
Previous Blog: Dodgy Characters