Yes May is truly here with the sweet small and sight of the first Haw blossom on the reserve along the southern boundary hedge, funny how a lot of spring flowers are white is'nt it? From what I've read in the past both yellow and white are very attractive colours to insects, however they also make a great background to our wonderful wildlife at the moment - here's a couple of snaps I took this morning just to show what I mean
Haw is certainly something special when you look close up - just look at the delicate colours
But when you mix white with a hare you really do get nature full on
And although I have been away for the last couple of weeks I seem to have returned to the continued exciting spring birding on site - this morning the pair of cranes returned for the third time for a short visit allowing me to take this record shot.
In fact I was in the reedbed just checking on the bearded tits and the cranes almost landed on me, and in the end I had to curl up on the floor so as not to scare them off! On the note of the beardies it seems as though the first brood is now fledged and most of the females sat on their second brood already with mostly males feeding but not collecting food within the reedbed (see below).
Have a close look at this picture (double click to enlarge) - notice the beardie is just doing a little star jump with its wings and feet
Lots of other things to see with the first swifts now returning in what can be an exciting time for migrants. Also a drib of waders with greenshank, ringed plover, dunlin, whimbrel, avocets (galore), and the occasional little ringed plover. Not many Lapwing though, this species is declining so rapidly as a breeding bird on the Humber I fear that in the near future there will be no birds at all in the local area - this lone male was at Ousefleet today.
Bittern still booming and showing from time to time while the marsh harriers are now busy food passing. Last year the harriers really struggled to find food early in the year but this season its a different story with the males bringing in loads of lovely grub. Last night I saw one go into the reedbed and emerge with a greylag gosling - lots of people don't like the poor old greylags but they do in fact provide a good food scource for species like the marshies.
Plenty of warblers too with reed warblers now arriving in force to join the sedge and grasshoppers while in the willows the blackcaps and whitethroats are still belting out their songs trying to attract a mate.
And finally here's one of our four stunning Great crested grebes that were on Singleton lagoon today. GC Grebe was one of the first British birds that the RSPB saved from extermination way back when their feathers were used for millnerary (hats and broaches) in late Victorian/early Edwardian times. How lucky we are to have them today.