Recent Sightings from 10th to 16th May
It has been a generally wet week at the Wetlands with heavy showers, persistent rain and even hail featuring early in the week. It can prove challenging for nesting birds but many of the species found here are totally at home surrounded by water. Tufted ducks, gadwall and little grebes have been working hard on the lagoons. Coots with youngsters are also busy finding food for their chicks. These diving species forage for food in vegetation at the bottom of the ponds and lagoons. Mallards have been milling about in and out of the reedbeds, as they do, and a pair of greylag geese have been switching between the foreshore and the lagoons.
Photo credit Male mallard in the rain - Jeremy White
Photo credit Mute swan in a hail shower - Sarah Parmor
Photo credit A break in the weather and a little grebe chick waits to be fed - Sarah Parmor
Despite the rain the reserve is still alive with birdsong most notably reed and sedge warblers, chiffchaff and Cetti’s warblers can be found anywhere on the reserve. Common whitethroat are holding territories all along the foreshore and hedgerows. Look out for these extrovert little birds, small but mighty, they often combine their song with a jerky display flight as they rise to around 10 metres before descending with wings spread. Another display specialist the skylark has been heard and seen this week. The cuckoo has been heard most days and there have been several sightings of bittern in flight again this week.
It is about this time of year that the dragon and damselflies appear and this week we had the first sighting of a common blue damselfly. As we move into summer the wetlands will be a fabulous place to see these water loving species. There have also been further sightings of shrill carder bee queens which are newly emerged from their winter hibernation. The wet weather meant we only had a few moths in the trap on Thursday night but one was the first migrant moth of the year, a common but nonetheless striking Silver Y with it’s fabulous Mohican hairstyle. We also had a couple of beautiful micromoths Cochylis atricapitana and Ancylis badiana. A treat for the staff as they were leaving on Saturday was a lovely knot grass sheltering on a gate.
Photo credit Silver Y moth - Kevin Hewitt
Photo credit Knot grass moth camouflaged on a gate - Rhiannon Munro
There have been some fabulous views of swifts and swallows this week. High flying swifts have been seeing travelling at real speed across the sky. In contrast graceful swallows swooping low over the lagoons making the most of the insects hovering there. There have been house martins spotted too but not in great numbers. The rain isn’t all bad as there’s nothing like a heavy bout of rain followed by warm sun to bring out the insects. A great time to watch the acrobatics of the swallows and house martins as they feed on the wing, sometimes just inches above the water. These birds also need some wet weather to create the mud required for nest building. Hopefully after an unseasonably cold, dry April and a slow start they can get now get going with the breeding season.
Photo credit Look out for swallows with their long forked tails - Jeremy White
Photo credit Wet weather means plenty of mud for nest building - Jeremy White
Even though the rain may not be everyone’s cup of tea, there is something to be said for getting out there and soaking up what wetland life has to offer. A fitting end to #MentalHealthAwarenessWeek.
Bittern, Blackbird, Blackcap, Blue tit, Bullfinch, Buzzard, Canada Goose, Carrion Crow, Cetti's warbler, Chiffchaff, , Common whitethroat, Coot, Cormorant, Cuckoo, Curlew, Dunnock, Gadwall, Goldcrest, Goldfinch, Great tit, Green woodpecker, Grey Heron, Greylag goose, Herring gull, Hobby, House martin, House sparrow, Jackdaw, Lesser black backed gull, Lesser whitethroat, Long tailed tit, Linnet, Little egret, Little Grebe, Long-tailed Tit, Magpie, Mallard, Marsh harrier, Meadow pipit, Moorhen, Mute Swan, Peregrine, Pheasant, Raven, Reed bunting, Reed warbler, Robin, Sand martin, Sedge Warbler, Shelduck, Snipe, Song thrush, Sparrowhawk, Starling, Stonechat, Swift, Tufted Duck, Wheatear, Whimbrel, Whitethroat, Willow warbler, Woodpigeon, Wren,
Brimstone butterfly, Brindled beauty moth, Buff tailed bumblebee, Clouded drab moth, Comma butterfly, Common carder bee, Common quaker moth, Early bumblebee, Early tooth striped moth, Heart and dart moth, Knot grass moth, Orange tip butterfly, Powdered quaker moth, Red tailed bumblebee, Shrill carder bee, Shuttle shaped dart moth, Silver Y moth, Small white butterfly, Speckled wood butterfly, St Mark's fly,
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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