A couple of nights ago I was sitting on the bench outside the visitor centre watching a brown hawker dragonfly hover over the nettles until it settled. A small white butterfly emerged from the vegetation and soared up into the air, the brown hawker burst into the sky! Zigzagging, judging the flight path of its prey! The next moment the small white was gone and the brown hawker comfortably and contently returned to its nettle bed. This reserve is awesome! That's not the only thing that's happened in the past week though....
Southern Hawker - This impressive large hawker has been spotted in both Coombes and the Churnet patrolling an area for food. It's on the wing from the end of June until September, and is most often seen around the pond or along the brook; look out for it's green and black markings.
(Southern Hawker, photo by Steve Brown)
Great Tits and Blue tits - This year's brood are now capable flyers, and are spending much of their time around the feeders. You might spook them initially, but give them a minute and they'll settle on the peanuts long enough for you to see their puffy yellow plumage and cheeky faces.
Holly Blue - This beautiful pale blue butterfly is easily distinguished from the common blue, which can also be seen at Coombes. As the name suggests, the caterpillars of this species feed on the tough leaves of holly trees, which have become extremely abundant in the lower sections of the reserve in recent years.
Great Crested Newt - We found out earlier in the year that our pond contained great crested newts, and while tidying up clough meadow cottage we removed a paving slab to find one of these beautiful amphibians taking shelter in the moist cracks between the stones! We quickly placed the slab back and left him in peace.
(Great Crested Newt, photo by Steve Brown)
Stinkhorn - This amazing but pungent fungus was discovered by our work party down in the Churnet. The foul smell attracts insect which then spread the spores so the fungus can colonise new areas of woodland.
Peacocks - I know we have already mentioned these awesome butterflies, but the sheer numbers they have emerged in means they are worthy of another mention. See how many you can count on a sunny day - patches of brambles are the best place to find them. The caterpillars of peacocks feed on stinging nettles like a wide variety of other butterflies and moths.
(Peacock, photo by Simon Gray)
Spotted Flycatcher - These summer migrants have been making themselves seen and heard to a few of the visitors just along from buzzard bank. They are very particular about the spot in which they feed, and will almost always return to the same place after each feeding venture.
Roe Deer - One of the 3 deer species we have at Coombes, a small group of these secretive mammals have been spotted down near the river by two of our volunteers. You rarely get to see the deer themselves, but if you just check the mud sometimes you can see the tracks they've left when they wander round the reserve at night.
Have a read of Lizzie's blog, and then check down by the pond for brown and southern hawker. These amazing invertebrates are real predators as well as having a beautiful array of colours on display. The little wrens are beginning to make themselves heard again and the rest of the birds are following suit, so come down for a visit! All you have to do is go for an aimless wander, thats how all the best adventures start!