It has turned into a lovely day here at Fairburn and with the sun shining we’ve nearly all forgotten about the rain of yesterday! Our sightings book has been overloaded with common and arctic terns once again as they use our numerous supply of fish for feeding up! I was surprised the other morning as I dropped in on Charlie’s hide to see a large gang of godwits! I was a bit confused as to what type of godwits these were, and after a thorough look through our trusty collins bird book i think we have confirmed them as black-tailed godwits, which have the longer legs compared to the bar-tailed godwits. They were all perfectly balanced on one very thin leg basking in the sunshine. They are very noticeable for their long-bills handy for catching worms and snails as they are busy wading. These birds are known to pass through the UK on their way north to the cooler climates of the arctic, so make the most of them as they visit Fairburn! I was also lucky to see my first pair of lapwings this week. This little peewit or lapwing (depending on your preference!) is mainly black and white but with a few flashes of green and orange thrown in. I just love how the long tips of their head feathers are thrown back as they make to dash across the grass! Declines of farmland habitat have meant this poor little fellow is quite rare now across the country but thankfully they are still quite common here!
Lapwing – Chris Gomersall (RSPB-images)
We have also had a few mentions of our warblers lately with sedge warblers being one of the newest visitors around Fairburn. They are incredibly pretty warblers with their yellowy-brown plumage and with a distinctive white flash across the top of the eye. Other migrating warblers found at Fairburn this week include reed warblers and grasshopper warblers. All of these birds look really similar with their mostly brown feathers; however their calls are very different so keep your ears ready to distinguish between all your warblers! Handily their names mostly reflect the type of habitat they prefer (i.e. willow warbler) so this should make them easier to spot.
Sedge warbler – Chris Gomersall (RSPB-images)
Walking on the paths it’s impossible not to notice all the colourful wildflowers still emerging here at Fairburn! I was so happy to discover bluebells the other day, with their tell-tale green grass-like leaves bowing to long stems its impossible not to spot these classic flowers. I’ll always remember my nana telling me how to spot our native bluebells from the Spanish invasive ones by looking for the native’s perfect curve of purple bells all on the same side and the Spanish version having purple bells facing in every direction. If I know one thing, grandparents are rarely wrong! Also much to the enjoyment of our orange-tip butterflies, we have lots of cuckooflowers or lady’s smock as they are sometimes called. These have a long thin stem topped off by a cluster of small lilac flowers and are very popular with butterflies as a good source of nectar.
Spanish bluebells – Andy Hay (RSPB-images)