First of all, apologies for the lack of reserve updates this week, I have been away on an excellent first aid course, run by St John Ambulance in Lincoln. So, a big thank you to them for an interesting and very informative three days – great organisation doing great work!
On my return yesterday, we had a busy volunteer day collecting reed panicles, which are now stored away ready to propagate in the polytunnel when the weather gets a little better, collecting and repairing the floating fish shelters that were washed to shore in flood waters and planting some hedging trees in gaps along the eastern boundary hedgerow.
Wildlife highlights from this week 2 whooper swans on silt lagoon 5 throughout the week, a superb adult yellow-legged gull on Phase 1 this morning reported by volunteer Graham Gamage, waders including oystercatcher, snipe and green sandpiper and it’s been a fantastic week for birds of prey. Yesterday four buzzards were soaring over Phase 2, followed by a peregrine over Phase 1. This afternoon, a peregrine was seen once again, this time over Phase 3 and we were treated to a great view of a stunning male merlin – the first on site for a while.
Insects are starting to stir, with the first butterfly of 2013 seen yesterday by our Warden, Paul – a peacock by our storage containers. Numerous small micro-moths have been seen flying in the last two weeks and some queen wasps hibernating in our wood piles have provided an excellent opportunity to study these beautiful insects close up.