Recent Sightings from 24th to 30th May
It’s the last week in May and normal play has resumed with plenty of warm sunny weather this week at the Wetlands. This is the time of year when wildflowers and the insects that feed off them really come to life. The reserve is alive with colour from the bright purple southern marsh orchids to carpets of yellow buttercups. Perfect for pollinators, these diverse flower meadows attract many different species of bees and this week we have seen tree, early and garden bumblebees as well as red-tailed, white-tailed and buff-tailed bumblebees. Common carder bees have been seen daily but also this week we have seen a more uncommon brown banded carder bee and almost daily sightings of the rare shrill carder bee. This pale coloured bee is one of our star species and the reserve is a real stronghold for this little bee, often identified by its “shrill” high pitched buzz.
Photo credit - Wildflower meadow (Jeremy White)
Photo credit - Scarlet pimpernel with forget-me-not (Jeremy White)
Photo credit - Shrill carder bee (Sarah Parmor)
Photo credit - Tree bumblebee (Sarah Parmor)
Photo credit - One of hundreds of southern marsh orchids in bloom (Jeremy White)
Not to be outdone, birds of course are incredibly active at this time of year feeding their young. Bitterns have been seen in flight several times by visitors. Mute swans and Canada geese have been guiding their chicks for leisurely paddles across the lagoons. Little grebes too have been seen feeding young. The youngsters don't take long to start learning the skills of diving and they are fabulous to watch. Reed warblers and Cetti’s warblers have become more visible of late making the most of the warm weather and male cuckoos have been vocal all week. There is one cuckoo close to the visitor centre who occasionally throws in an extra note to his song which becomes more of a “cu-cu-koo”.
A male and female wheatear turned up behind the visitor centre on Friday and seemed happy to remain there all day. Possibly the star sighting of the week has been a beautiful barn owl seen over several days not far from the visitor centre.
Photo credit - Bittern in flight (Jeremy White)
Photo credit - Mute swans with young (Jeremy White)
Photo credit - Male and female wheatear at the visitor centre (Sarah Parmor)
We had a very successful moth reveal from Thursday night’s trap. A total of 21 species with seven stunning poplar hawk moths. There were also six green carpet moths, a male and female common swift, two common waves and a pale prominent amongst them.
Photo credit - Poplar hawk moth on clover (Kevin Hewitt)
Photo credit - Common wave with fabulous feather like antennae (Kevin Hewitt)
With May now over we can look forward to a summer spectacle at Newport Wetlands. We know how dependant our wildlife is on the food source provided by wildflowers and grasses, and #NoMowMay has been a big success... but at the reserve we will be looking forward to a #NoMowJune just as much.
Please note that we take our recent sightings list from the visitor sightings board that anyone can contribute to. This is great as everyone can get involved, but obviously can lead to potential errors too as they aren’t always verified! We try to keep this list as accurate as possible but if you see something unusual feel free to comment here!
Visitor Information
The car park is open 9am to 5pm and the charge is £3.00. Please pay (cash or card) at the welcome hut. There is no charge for RSPB members, please remember to bring your membership card to collect a free car parking token. The visitor centre is open for access to toilets (9am-5pm) cafe and shop (10am-4pm) and access to the reserve is via the Perry Lane gate by the welcome hut. The play area is closed. Dog walking is permitted on the dog walking route only (follow the signs) and please have dogs on leads at all times as there are ground nesting birds and wildlife all over the reserve. Thank you.
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Barn owl, Biting stonecrop, Blackbird, Blackcap, Blue Tit, Brown-banded carder bee, Buff-tailed bumblebee, Buttercup Buzzard, Canada Goose, Carrion Crow, Cetti's Warbler, Chiffchaff, Collared Dove, Common blue damselfly, Common carder bee, Common mouse ear, Coot, Cormorant, Cuckoo, Cuckoo flower Curlew, Dunlin, Dunnock, Early bumblebee, Forget-me-not, Four spot chaser dragonfly, Garden bumblebee, Garden warbler, Goldfinch, Grasshopper warbler, Great tit, Green Green veined white butterfly, Green woodpecker, Grey heron, Greylag goose, Herring gull, House martin, Jackdaw, Jay, Kestrel, Large white butterfly, Lesser black-backed gull, Lesser whitethroat, Linnet, Little egret, Little grebe, Little owl, Long-tailed Tit, Magpie, Mallard, Marsh harrier, Moorhen, Mute Swan, Orange tip butterfly, Oystercatcher, Peacock butterfly, Peregrine, Pheasant, Pied wagtail, Pochard, Raven, Red campion, Reed Bunting, Reed warbler, Robin, Rook, Scarlet pimpernel Sedge Warbler, Shelduck, Small white butterfly, Southern marsh orchid, Speckled wood butterfly Sparrow hawk, Swallow, Swift, Tree bumblebee, Tufted Duck, Woodpigeon, Wren, Whitethroat, Yellow iris