What a weekend we’ve had for sightings at Fairburn! From bee orchids to bitterns it’s been a great time to visit us here in sunny West Yorkshire. Southern marsh, pyramidal and bee orchids have been spotted around the reserve looking beautifully delicate contrasting against the lush greenery. Bee orchids are so named for their bee-like-look which they have evolved to attract certain types of bees, unfortunately we don’t have the correct species of bumblebee in the UK so bee orchids are self-pollinated here. These can be spotted along the Riverbank trail with some close to Bob Dickens hide. We’ve had a few sightings of emerald damselflies this week alongside the now common azure and common blue damselflies. Ruby-tailed wasps have been spotted around the discovery trail this week. These are very pretty with their shimmery turquoise heads and red abdomen and are a type of solitary wasp. They can sometimes be classed as ‘cuckoo wasps’ for laying their eggs in the nests of other solitary bees and wasps! I was lucky to see a photo of ladybird eggs and larvae this week... it’s always worth asking what discovery trail camera people have seen! You just don’t recognise these as being linked to the classic ladybirds we’re all so used to seeing. It is definitely worth taking your time walking around the discovery trail this time of year as there is so much to see in amongst the wildflowers and hedgerows.
Bee orchid – Jane Mowson (RSPB ranger)
One little bird that hasn’t been in the sightings book for a while is the treecreeper. These lovely little bobbing birds have been described as ‘tree mice’ and nest behind loose bark in trees, in ivy or even behind building cladding. One was seen along the board walk on the discovery trail but they can quite often be seen creeping up and zooming down trees around Village Bay hide. There have been regular sightings of a little egret at Pickup hide skulking in amongst the reeds over the past week. It amazes me how these beautiful white birds keep themselves looking so immaculately white whilst wading through the murky water! I was excited to see that we now have sightings of juvenile lapwings at New Flash! It’s great to see these amazing birds breeding successfully. New Flash also holds pochard broods and little grebe juveniles.
Juvenile lapwing – Andy Hay (RSPB-images)
We managed to have two very exciting sightings yesterday; the first of a water shrew over by New Flash! These are largest shrews in Britain with long pointed snouts, short black velvety fur and small white tufts behind their small ears. Water shrews only have a lifespan of 19 months and are not very common in the UK so it’s great that we’ve had a sighting of these elusive little mammals. Also yesterday we had an amazing sighting of a bittern flying towards Main Bay! Bitterns have had a lot of publicity lately after Springwatch captured the first wonderful footage of bittern chicks, which I’m sure all nature-lovers enjoyed (they did it for me!). I managed to hear my first booming bittern two months ago standing at the pond dipping platform here at Fairburn, and boy what an incredible sound they make! These really are brilliant birds and having them in the sightings book really was a treat when I got into work this morning!
Bittern – John Bridges (RSPB-images)