It’s been a beautiful week here at Fairburn Ings with plenty of new sightings to talk about! I having been lucky this week to attend our first ‘meet the moths’ and ‘mini-beast safari’ session and despite the wind we still managed to see loads. You’ve all probably noticed the mass surge of butterflies on the reserve since the suns started shining; with peacocks, small tortoiseshells, orange-tips, green-veined whites, speckled wood and brimstone all delicately starting to flutter around. One of our warden team was actually lucky enough to spot a holly blue butterfly yesterday, which is quite rarely seen this far into the colder north! One butterfly that I saw the other day was a comma, which I have seen plenty of times in books but never the ‘real thing’. The comma butterfly looks beautifully rugged, looking almost like someone’s used one of those jagged edged scissors to cut out the edges on its wings! No matter who you are it is very hard not to appreciate all these delicate butterflies flurrying around the undergrowth and the children on the walk certainly loved discovering with their nets!
Comma butterfly – Grahame Madge (RSPB-images)
Another Spring migrant has made a few sightings this week, the whitethroat. Whilst out testing the mobility scooter (that’s another story!) with the assistant wardens they pointed one out making its short abrupt call from amongst the bushes. It spends its winter days in Africa and makes its journey to arrive here in time for mid-April so it’s bang on time! Another migrant I am always happy to see is the swallow. They are a common visitor to our garage back home so we always manage to get a good look at them as the perch on electric cables before swooping down to squeeze in through the doors. I love their classic ‘V’ wing shape and long tail sweepers decoratively pointing behind. Make sure you have your binoculars at the ready as they are pretty nifty!
Whitethroat – John Bridges (RSPB-images)
The blackthorn blossoms are still in full bloom brightening up the reserve with their pretty white petals just starting to confetti the paths. Pink campion is starting to slowly emerge amongst the hedgerows and white dead nettles on the path edges along cut lane. One lovely leafy violet wildflower we have plenty of around the discovery trail is ground-ivy. This is a member of the dead-nettle family and loves damp ground, so small wonder it loves it here at Fairburn! Its amazing how quickly things are changing around the reserve, every day walking you will notice something new! Just the other night I spotted another surprise – dog rose. This common shrub offers striking red rose hips during autumn and winter but this time of year their small pink buds are starting to open showing their pretty pinky-white flowers. Apparently the term ‘dog’ means worthless, presumably comparing them with garden roses, which I think is rather unfair! If you seen any other wildflowers or blossoming trees please feel free to add them to our sightings book.
Dog rose buds and flowers.
I know there are many of you who remember hearing a cuckoo as a child and sadly it’s becoming rarer and rarer, however our assistant warden was lucky enough to hear and see one earlier this morning! At first glance they can be mistaken for a kestrel or a pigeon with their grey backs, however if you look out for their stripy zebra-like belly and characteristic hooked beak. They are hard to hear so count yourself lucky if you do and make sure to add it to our sightings book! One very common caller we’ve had this past week is the willow warbler. It looks very similar to its fellow migrant the chiffchaff, so the best way is to keep your ears open and listen to the difference in calls. It has a very distinctive ‘warble’, which sounds to me like descending laughing as your walking along under the silver birch trees. There’s loads of them about with a regular singer just past the kingfisher screen so keep you’re ears tuned! There has also been a sighting of an osprey last week! These majestic fishing birds of prey are occasionally seen this time of year at Fairburn as they make their way up to Scotland to breed. They are very impressive birds and you’d definitely know if you’d seen one because of its striking white underneath. There is so much going on at Fairburn, why don’t you come and spend your Easter holidays exploring all the spring changes!
Willow warbler - John Bridges (RSPB-images)