I've been away on holiday in Scotland for a week and came back to a multitude of new species out for the year on my walk around site yesterday. It's always surprising when you come back after a break at this time of year - the most noticeable thing is the height of the new reed growth, it looks a foot taller than before I left and is such a lush green colour. Trees looked to have greened up, the woodland canopy has closed over and there are several species of plant new in flower. Most noticeable yesterday was the stunning contrast of bright yellow bird's-foot trefoil next to the deep pink/purple of common vetch. Where grass vetchling enters the mix, it looks even better, with it's fuscia pink blooms. It's fabulous to see so much grass vetchling in flower on site again this year - this is a scarce plant in Nottinghamshire and has exploded since it was first discovered by our Conservation Officer Carl Cornish in 2012. An amazing display of ragged robin on Phase 2 was also pretty special and yellow rattle, red clover and ox-eye daisy are now out too.
This floral display has benefitted newly emerged insects on the wing too. I had my first common blue butterflies yesterday (larvae of which feed on bird's-foot trefoil), common blue damselflies, four-spot chasers and several other butterfly species on the wing. I was pleased to see some Coleoptera in the form of Oedemera lurida, Cantharis rufa and Cantharis rustica and the stunning lime green sawfly, Rhogogaster is always a treat.
Bird highlights recent have included a little stint, first reported by volunteer Stuart Carlton and another or same subsequently seen by several others on Phase 2, large groups of dunlin on passage, turnstone and sanderling seen by Carl, hobbys galore over Phase 1, with up to 9 reported one day last week, a brief view of a bittern on the silt lagoons from the public footpath, lapwing and ringed plover chicks doing well on Phase 3 yesterday and a sand martin with a large number of white tail and rump feathers seen by volunteer Dave Roberts yesterday.