Recent sightings from 03 to 09 August 2020
The week was heating up towards the weekend not only in regard to temperatures but also in regard to sightings. All week long we had some “usual suspects” around us such as the green woodpecker and there was a noticeable increase in swallows which could be seen flying over the reserve with some house and sand martins as well as the occasional swift mixed in. Starlings also started to form little flocks and were flying over in small groups during the afternoons. Whilst there were less shelducks along the coast than in previous weeks, there was still a decent number of curlews around and little egrets were sometimes seen standing amongst them. At the weekend two marsh harriers were seen hunting over the salt marshes. A peregrine was spotted on Thursday and a sparrowhawk was circling close to the visitor centre on Sunday. On Monday a kingfisher showed itself in all its glory and willow warbler and bullfinch were seen on several occasions during the week. There was a good number of sedge, reed and Cetti’s warblers in the reedbeds although they were rather difficult to spot. Reed buntings also kept a very low profile. On Sunday the only bearded reedling of the week was recorded. On the lagoons the mute swans with cygnets were one of the main attractions alongside the always active little grebes and a small group of teals. Saturday brought two rarities in the form of a grasshopper warbler which was heard singing in the reedbeds near the coast path and four tree pipits which were flying past.
Photo credit: Curlew by Jeremy White
We got the moth trap out in the night from Thursday to Friday and found no fewer than 38 macro and 16 micro moths. To name but a few there were peach blossom, willow beauty, ruby tiger, flame shoulder, rosy rustic and mother of pearl – all of those show once again that some moths have very poetic names which makes them even more fascinating. Shaded broad-bar, 6-spot burnet, oak eggar and brown-tail were other moths seen this week. On many of the ragwort plants all over the reserve you could find the distinct stripy caterpillars of the cinnabar moth.
Photo credit: Cinnabar moth caterpillar by Hannah Beynon
Once again it was a great week for butterflies with 15 different species recorded. The beauty of them is simply staggering and comes in many different shapes and forms. Even commoner species such as large and small white are sparkling so brightly when the sun is shining on them and when you have a closer look at the speckled wood with its intricate patterns then it is simply magnificent even without being the most colourful butterfly. Common blue and holly blue might be small in size but add a splash of colour and the bigger ones such as red admiral, peacock and small tortoiseshell are simply stunning with their spectacular colourful displays. The brightly coloured clouded yellow, a migratory species making its way to us from North Africa – a journey which is taken via several generations – was seen on Monday and Friday.
Photo credit: Speckled wood by Stefan Zitzmann
Emperor, common and ruddy darter, black-tailed skimmer and southern hawker were the dragonflies spotted this week. These slightly alien looking creatures with their unique flying abilities are always a firm favourite with our visitors. Blue-tailed, common blue and the rarer small red-eyed damselfly were seen working on the next generation. There was also a wealth of hoverflies around such as the superb ant-hill hoverfly and an impressive musk beetle was found along the coast path. Weasel and stoat were both seen running across the paths once again, and Saturday brought a sighting of a grass snake as well as a common frog which visited us near our information point. It was posing nicely and allowed some great close-up views.
Photo credit: Common frog by Stefan Zitzmann
Goldcliff lagoons were once again the go-to-place when it comes to seeing wading birds. Avocet, green, wood and common sandpiper, turnstone, bar-tailed godwit, knot, ruff, grey plover and a little stint which made an appearance over the weekend were amongst the rarer waders present this week. Once again there was a good number of black-tailed godwits and dunlins and the glossy ibis was seen regularly. Wheatear, stonechat and yellow wagtail were some of the most interesting passerine sightings this week.
Once again, a week full of natural beauty which is all around us. Keep your eyes open and you will be rewarded – guaranteed!
Avocet, Bar-tailed godwit, Bearded reedling, Blackbird, Blackcap, Black-headed gull, Black-tailed godwit, Blue tit, Bullfinch, Buzzard, Canada goose, Carrion crow, Cetti’s warbler, Chiffchaff, Common sandpiper, Common whitethroat, Coot, Cormorant, Curlew, Dunlin, Dunnock, Glossy ibis, Goldfinch, Grasshopper warbler, Great black-backed gull, Great spotted woodpecker, Great tit, Green sandpiper, Green woodpecker, Greenshank, Grey heron, Grey plover, Greylag goose, Herring gull, House martin, Kingfisher, Knot, Lapwing, Lesser black-backed gull, Linnet, Little egret, Little stint, Long-tailed tit, Magpie, Mallard, Marsh harrier, Moorhen, Mute swan, Oystercatcher, Peregrine, Pheasant, Raven, Redshank, Reed bunting, Reed warbler, Ringed plover, Robin, Ruff, Sand martin, Sedge warbler, Shelduck, Shoveler, Sparrowhawk, Starling, Stock dove, Stonechat, Swallow, Swift, Teal, Tree pipit, Turnstone, Wheatear, Willow warbler, Wood sandpiper, Woodpigeon, Wren and Yellow wagtail.
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!