So after being away for a week on holiday, I came back to see this photo in my inbox! Our little owl that sits in the trees behind the Hayling Billy Line has been very busy bringing up these fluffy chicks over the past few weeks. (Photo by Marianne Eagles).
West Hayling Local Nature Reserve is best known for its gull and tern colony where chicks can be seen stumbling around and generally making a nuisance of themselves at the minute. But look around and the reserve is fantastic for a whole host of other wildlife.
The other week we were having a search around and two of our volunteers described a moth/butterfly they had seen. It was black with red stripes. We decided it was the cinnabar moth, a moth that is easily disturbed in the day so can often be seen. Its yellow and black striped caterpillars feed on ragwort and absorb the poison from the leaves making them taste so bad that nothing wants to eat them! (Photo by Michael Johnstone)
Flowers are springing up all over the place now the summer seems to have finally arrived (shouldn’t say that too quickly really) providing a beautiful splash of colour across the reserve. The one to look out for is this bee orchid. One of my personal favourites. Its flowers have a very clever trick that entices unsuspecting bees to come and pollinate them. Most flowers provide nectar in return for insects pollinating them, not the bee orchid. The flowers have evolved to look (and smell) just like a female bee. Male bees see the female and try to mate with it, as it lands it gets covered in pollen which is then passed on to the next orchid that tricks this poor guy! Aside from it being a very interesting plant, it is also very beautiful. (Photo by Tom Bickerton)
Something that I recently discovered are some gorgeous little beetles that live on the strandline. A cub group visited the reserve and we had a go at some seashore hunting. We found all sorts of things including sand hoppers, sea slaters and lots of crabs. But the thing that interested me the most were some tiny beetles with beautiful iridescent stripes down there backs. I recognised them as tortoise beetles (like the name suggests, they draw in all their feet and antennae when threatened) but I hadn’t seen this type before. The wonders of the internet have revealed it to be a (well-named) gold-striped tortoise beetle (I do like it when names are easy to remember!). This is one of my new favourite beetles and with a latin name that means a noteable helmet (cassida nobilis), it must be one of the most well-named beetles I’ve come across! (Photo by Siga from Wikimedia)
So if you’re visiting the reserve, remember to look a little closer at all the wonderful wildlife we have around the site. I would love to hear about your sightings, leave a comment or tell us what you’ve found on the forum.