Birds
Despite the poor season for nest box breeding birds the woods are still alive with the sound of newly fledged birds. Tit families, high pitch squeaking Goldcrest chicks and Warblers have been quite noticeable. A few warbler nests that have been monitored appear to suggest that food has not been as much of a problem for them, however given they are ground nesters they are very vulnerable to being predated which unsurprisingly a small proportion have been.
We have our fingers crossed for a pair of Great Crested Grebes nesting on the lake. In recent years they have failed to successfully raise a family mainly due to the fluctuating water level, which given the recent very high level will hopefully stay high enough for long enough. Around the lake the loud piping call of Common Sandpipers has given away the likely presence of youngsters hiding away in the lakeside woodlands with one found in the last week.
Young Common Sandpiper around Lake Vyrnwy (Photo by Gavin Chambers)
Butterflies
Warmer weather has given the Butterfly transect a bit more life, with 8 species recorded on the 16th June. This included the first Small Pearl-bordered Fritillaries and Large Skippers of the year. A few Painted Lady butterflies have been seen this week, which if reports are to be believed will be arriving in the UK from Africa/Southern Europe in their millions this summer (A Painted Lady Summer)
Painted Lady (Archive Photo by Gavin Chambers)
Butterflies seen so far this year: Painted Lady, Meadow Brown, Small Pearl-bordered Fritillary, Large Skipper, Small Copper, Small Heath, Green Hairstreak, Peacock, Red Admiral, Small Tortoiseshell, Orange-tip and Green-veined White.
Dragonflies and Damselflies
They are slowly starting to emerge from ditches, pools and boggy areas. Species list so far this summer: Large Red Damselfly, Azure Damselfly, Common Blue Damselfly, Four-spotted Chaser and Golden-ringed Dragonfly.
Four-spotted Chaser (Archive Photo by Gavin Chambers)
Others
While monitoring birds on the uplands the emergence of beetles has been noticed, especially Garden Chafers and the Coppery Click Beetle (Ctenicera cuprea) which tries to avoid danger by jumping with a clicking mechanism in its neck. It is one of the largest click beetles in the UK and can leap at speeds of more than 2m/s. Moths have been more prominent with the recent warmer nights, 42 species caught on the 20th June. Eyed Hawk-moth was nice to catch, their large ‘eyes’ used to scare off any unwanted attention. The biggest surprise was finding a new micro species for the reserve and county (Montgomeryshire) in the form of a Six-spot Groundling (Prolita sexpunctella), a moorland species that has probably been overlooked given its preferred habitat is generally remote.
Eyed Hawk-moth caught at Lake Vyrnwy (Photo by Gavin Chambers)
Plant of the Week
Heath milkwort / Amlaethai (Polygala serpyllifolia) (Photo by Gethin Elias) Walking through rushes and Deergrass, you may come upon its scatterings of dark purple, blue, light blue and white on the south facing slopes of higher, better-drained ground, with splashes of more intense colour from other plants such as Common Tormentil and Wild Thyme. Milkwort replaces, Common Milkwort on acid soils, and you can pretty much assume that any Milkwort growing in heathland or acid grassland is this species. To be sure, however, look at the leaves. The lower leaves of Heath Milkwort are arranged opposite one another towards the base of each stem, whereas those of Common Milkwort are alternative. The flowers on Heath species are usually slightly smaller, too, and of deeper but less bright colour than those of Common form.
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