It’s nearly the weekend which means time to have a look at what’s been spotted around the reserve this week. Walking around the discovery trail it was obvious the sun had bought all the insects out! There were loads of common darter dragonflies about yesterday which are the larger red dragonflies and quite easy to notice zooming quickly about the paths. Ruddy darter damselflies have also been quite commonly seen about the discovery trail this week. Another clouded yellow butterfly was seen along the Riverbank trail on Wednesday, along with many meadow browns and a few more brown argus’s seen throughout the reserve. The lovely brown argus butterfly looks very similar to the common blue from the outer wing tips however with a good view you can clearly see the darker brown and orange wings with white frilled edges. Yorkshire is the edge of the brown argus’s northern boundary and is steadily moving in a northwards direction so it can sometimes be confused with the northern brown argus which doesn’t have the orange wing markings. Let’s hope for more sunshine next week so we can see more butterflies!
Brown Argus
Our lovely female mandarin duck has been seen again this week on the duck feeding platform. There have been reports of three redstarts along the River on Thursday. These are very easy to identify because of their bright red-orange breasts, which against all this greenery about at the moment is very easy to see. They are also very similar to robins with their characteristic bobbing up and down. Water levels have been very high this week due to all the heavy rain which has meant that waders are quite low on the ground. Although there have been a few sightings of green sandpipers and common sandpipers about at Bob dickens hide.
Common sandpiper – Andy Hay (RSPB-images)
One of my favourite woodland birds has to be the treecreeper so I am always happy when I see them in the book! One was seen along the boardwalk yesterday although a more common place to see them is along by Village Bay hide on the birch trees. Marsh harriers were spotted on Wednesday by Lin Dike hide, along with a few kestrels also seen by the Dike. Sparrow hawks are currently having a great time with all the many tree sparrows and juveniles about by the feeders! A stout was also seen around Lin Dike the other morning with the familiar black tail dashing into the hedge. There have also been sightings of roe deer around Bob Dickens hide this week.
Tree creeper – Steve Round (RSPB-images)
I was surprised at how long the chicory by the visitor centre has lasted! It’s still looking lovely despite all the wind and rain which has knocked it slightly. Purple loosestrife and hedge woundwort, the long purple flowers fill up the vegetation along the discovery trail paths. Hedge bedstraw which is the long spindly plant covered in white cloudy flowers is also looking great in our wildflower patch in front of the centre. Our wildlife garden is also booming at the moment, it’s also worth checking out where we are getting our new shelter by the garden!
Hedge bedstraw – Poitoucharentsinphotos.com