I love this time of year as I get to spent a lot of my time out on site surveying our wildlife. For much of this week so far, I have been out looking at the reserve’s birds. On Monday, I spent the afternoon out on Phase 1 hoping to see marsh harriers. Recently we have had an adult female on site as well as an immature male and female. The birds however are proving elusive, so any marsh harrier sightings on site in the next few weeks, please do get in touch and let us know.
Yesterday, I spent the morning looking at waders and managed to pick up 7 species – lapwing, redshank, oystercatcher, little ringed plover, greenshank, common sandpiper and a lovely dunlin, an unusual record for the site. 3 hobbys over Phase 1, 3 little egrets on Phase 2 and a wheatear on Phase 3 completed the day nicely.
And today I was in bright and early at 04.30 to survey Phase 2 and 3. Highlights include a pair of yellow wagtails on Phase 3, a brood of 7 mallard ducklings on Phase 2, common terns feeding over Phase 2 and a pair of collared doves flying over Phase 1 – quite a rarity for Langford!
The latest insects to make an appearance on site were two common blue butterflies on Phase 3 and a stunning male banded demoiselle damselfly on Phase 2, both first records for 2011.