Hi,
As we approach late spring the trees are now in full leaf and breeding passerine birds are frantically gleaning insects from vegetation to feed their avid offspring. One set of parents in particular, the Sculpture Park Great Spotted Woodpeckers, have been very busy as their noisy chicks reached near fledging age. Interestingly the woodpecker nesting tree also plays host to a colony of honeybees with the two species seemingly happy neighbours.
The begging calls of Great Spotted Woodpecker chicks can be heard from the white bridge in the Sculpture Park.
Regular readers of this blog will be glad to know that the Great Crested Grebe nest at the top end of the lake has survived the recent wet weather with the pair incubating throughout this week.
Pied Flycatchers are very obvious in the woodland at present as adult birds make repeated visits to nest boxes in order to feed their newly hatched chicks. Wood Warblers in comparison are mainly on eggs however excellent views of singing males can still be obtained with at least eight males within one kilometre of the dam.
Yellow inflorescences currently dominate the flora with Marsh Marigold in streams and Welsh Poppy, Yellow Pimpernel, Silverweed, Tormentil, Broom and Common Cow-wheat along the tracks and woodland edge.
The bright yellow flowers of Common Cow-wheat currently fill the woodland near the hotel.
The weekly butterfly transect produced twenty Green-Veined Whites and a single Orange-tip. Other butterfly species seen during the week included Green Hairstreak, Small Heath and Peacock. Large Red Damselflies were also noted along small water bodies.
Green-Veined Whites dominated this week's butterfly transect.
Large Red Damselflies are now on the wing. This poor chap has quite a few mites hitching a ride (brown dots near the rear back legs).
Other interesting sightings this week included, 2x Crossbill (Sculpture Park, 30th), Quail (one singing, 30th), Sparrowhawk (regular display over the Blue Trail), Goosander (female from Lakeside Hide, 24th) and Bullfinch (daily on Yellow Trail).
Macrolepidoptera Of The Week
Red Twin-spot Carpet is this week’s top moth. The caterpillars of this species feed on bedstraws.
Red Twin-spot Carpet was sighted on moorland during the week (Many Thanks to Gavin Chambers for the image).
Cheers,
Adam