I thought we better start a fresh sightings thread for the summer, now the original one has got rather long!
Please share your wildlife encounters at Fen Drayton Lakes, common or rare - not only is it nice to share, it helps fellow visitors know what to look out for and helps us keep a record of the wildlife here from month to month.
To start us off, here are some highlights from the weekend 1-2 June.
On the Moore Lake islands, which you can see from the hide, there are avocets, oystercatchers and redshanks with chicks. The avocets are up to at least 10 chicks - see the blog for a photo!
Other birds around the reserve: red kite, marsh harrier, hobby, buzzard, sparrowhawk, kestrel, kingfisher, swift, swallow, house martin, common tern, skylark, cuckoo, jay, lapwing, common sandpiper, blackcap, little egret, garden warbler, sedge warbler, reed warbler, willow warbler, Cetti's warbler, whitethroat...
Butterflies: orange tip, brimstone, small tortoiseshell, peacock, small white
Dragonflies and damselflies: common blue damselfly, variable damselfly, azure damselfly, hairy dragonfly, red-eyed damselfly, banded demoiselle
Mammals: hare, rabbit, grey squirrel and fox
Alison Nimmo
RSPB Community Engagement Officer, Orkney
11/06/2013
Kingfisher/s - flying across bay on Ferry Lagoon at viewpoint near main car park.
Cuckoo/s - Male and Female, flying across same bay.
Red Kite - across Ferry Lagoon.
Pochard - a group of c.30 Females on Ferry Lagoon.
Kingfisher - flying in front of Coucher Hide on Moore Lake.
Fox - Moore Lake.
Muntjac.
Some highlights from the Wednesday Wildlife Wander, 12 June:
Butterflies: peacock, speckled wood
Dragonflies and damselflies: loads of banded demoiselles along the riverside path north of Drayton Lagoon, scarce chasers particularly next to the path down to the hide from the Busway
Reptiles: grass snake!
Birds: one avocet chick in front of the hide, Cetti's warblers, reed warbler, sedge warbler, kingfisher over Ferry Lagoon, chaffinches singing beautifully at north-west corner of Drayton Lagoon, hobby, swifts, common terns, black-headed gull chicks on several of the tern rafts
27/06/2013
Ring-necked Parakeet x 3, Discovery Zone.
Sunday 30 June
Butterflies: comma, small tortoiseshell, red admiral, brimstone, meadow brown, Essex skipper, ringlet, speckled wood
Dragonflies and damselflies: emperor dragonfly, scarce chaser, four-spotted chaser, black-tailed skimmer, ruddy darter, hairy dragonfly, common blue damselfly, azure damselfly, variable damselfly, blue-tailed damselfly, red-eyed damselfly, banded demoiselle, large red damselfly, brown hawker
Mammals: stoat, water vole (spotted in the ditch between Ferry Lagoon and Swavesey Lake)
Reptiles: common lizard (look out for them basking on logs around the Discovery Zone)
Birds (highlights only!): male marsh harrier over Holywell Lake, common terns feeding their chicks on the tern rafts, pochard with six ducklings (again in the ditch between Ferry Lagoon and Swavesey Lake), oystercatchers, cuckoo, hobbies, curlew, kingfisher, swifts, house martins and sand martins, red kite, treecreeper and a red-crested pochard (Moore Lake)
Weekend 27/07/2013 & 28/07/2013
Great White Egret - Flying a lot over Ferry Lagoon/Mere and Holywell Lake including rspb main car park.
08/08/2013
2 x Great White Egret - Ferry Mere
10+ Little Egret - Ferry Lagoon/Ferry Mere/Swavesey Lake
Beautiful Buddleia near bailey bridge absolutely covered with Peacock and Tortoiseshell Butterflies.
Greater Burdock now attracting Butterflies, Bees, Hover Flies etc and so attracting lots of Dragonflies.
On the 12th - 13th August, we have the Perseid Meteor shower, we have had a few Astronomy Events in the main car park on the reserve, and is a good base for observation. Look out for the "Perseids" meteor shower on the 12th - 13th August, best on the morning of the 12th from midnight to Dawn, look at Casseopia, the big "W" in the Milky Way for the radiant. There is no Moon to interfere.
11/08/2013
Bittern - Flying from Elney Lake to Holywell Lake @ 13.30
Great White Egret - Ferry Lagoon.
13/08/2013
Great White Egret
Little Egret
Kingfisher
Common Sandpiper
Snipe
Fox
Common Lizard
German Wasp
Jay x 8
Buzzard
22/08/2013
Kingfisher x 2 - Ferry Lagoon
Goldcrest
23/8/2013
Great White Egret on Elney Lake
Green Sandpiper on Moore Lake
Hobby over Car Park