Another beautiful summer’s day at Old Moor with an impressive range of sightings. Here’s what was reported today…
It was terrific to see that the great egret was still around today and also that the recent garganey was seen again from Wath Ings Hide.
Among the more unusual sightings of the day was a report of two jays in the Bird Garden. Regular visitors to Old Moor will know that we do see jay fairly regularly but these sightings are usually brief and seldom anywhere near the Visitor Centre! I missed this one myself, so if you know any more about this, please leave a comment.
It was also good to see kingfishers on the Field Pool today. Expect more sightings of these as we head into mid-August and beyond.
And finally, the small red-eyed damselfly (Erythromma viridulum) seen on the Toyota pond today is another surprise. I’m sure someone will correct me if I’m wrong, but I can’t recall having a report of these at Old Moor before.
Small red-eyed damselflies are fairly recent colonists and were first found in Britain in 1999 (which, as we know, was yesterday). Since then have spread west and north and now it seems, can be seen on the floating vegetation of the dipping pond. Turn those bins / cameras downwards next time you are passing that area!
And that’s pretty much it for the time being unless, of course, you know different. If so, add a comment below.
Until next time.
The GWE was giving everyone the run-around this morning as it moved about. Green Lane was a bit like the M1 as folk were up and down trying to get to the location with the best view!
It was good to see the 2 kingfishers flying in close formation past FP East - a flash of bright orange heading west!
I actually recorded a Small Red Eyed on the 6th; it should be in the diary. Not on the Toyota pond, but the small shipping pond opposite the Bittern House path.
Thanks Bridgey. I'm just glad the GWE is staying about and giving folk more time to see it. There must be plenty for it it eat out there and all credit to the wardening team for creating the conditions to support this impressive bird.
Concerning the kingfishers; early autumn is always a good time to see them at Old Moor and, if previous years are anything to go by, I suspect they'll be lots more views over the coming weeks.
Hi David. That's great news and if I missed it in the book, I'm sorry for the oversight. Ay, that little pond you mentioned is a good place for spotting dragonflies and can easily be overlooked. The 'Toyota Pond' gets more looking at.
Before I wrote last night's blog, I searched for 'small red-eyed damselfly' on this blog and in my own records and found no mention of it before.
When I see the OM wardens I'll check, but at this stage I don't think we've had a sighting of this species before. When I get a definitive answer, I'll let you know. My copy of 'Britain's dragonflies' (2014) lists it as a recent colonist spreading north and west from southern and eastern England so you never know, this could be a first for us. Either way, it's a good record.
Thank you very much. I added my photo to the Old Moor image pool on Flickr for all to see.