After a long waiting game, the iconic sound of the cuckoo circled the reserve this week. A quiet Thursday morning was soon flipped on its head as visitors descended off the reserve with beaming smiles, eager to share the good news. It has been heard everyday since with a couple of sightings too! A lovely walking group touring the country were treated to a double sighting and another calling in the distance on Sunday. The traditional date for the arrival of the cuckoo is April 16th so it kept us hanging on for 9 days! The wait is truly worth it, the excitement never tires each time we hear them.
Image Credit: Jeremy White
Bittern were heard and marsh harrier spotted on a regular basis. Buzzard and Peregrine falcons were spotted over the bank holiday weekend, a nice addition to our city nature challenge records. A couple of nice sightings over this weekend were pied flycatcher, bearded reedlings, whimbrel, and lesser whitethroat. Swallows and house martins filled the air at times, whilst reed warblers and sedge warblers were very active in trying to attract partners and to mark their territories with singing continuously.
Image credit: Jeremy White
A little grebe pair have chicks up on the reserve and outside the café, we have moorhen chicks learning the way of life on the water. Canada geese goslings have also been seen making their way around their new home. Other nice sightings have been oystercatcher, curlew, little egret and shelduck all down on the foreshore. Even when the tide is out, the curlews call can be heard. The insect world is thriving, Southern hawker dragonflies, common carder bumblebees and small white butterflies to name a few.
Image credit: Phil Ray
Bearded reedling, Bittern, Blackbird, Blackcap, Black-headed gull, Blue tit, Bullfinch, Buzzard, Canada goose, Carrion crow, Cetti's warbler, Chaffinch, Chiffchaff, Collared dove, Common Whitethroat, Coot, Cormorant, cuckoo, Curlew, Dunnock, Gadwall, garden warbler, Goldcrest, Goldfinch, Great black-backed gull, Great spotted woodpecker, Great tit, Greenfinch, Herring gull, house martin, House sparrow, Jackdaw, Kestrel, Lesser black-backed gull, lesser whitethroat, Linnet, Little egret, Little grebe, Long-tailed tit, Magpie, Mallard, Marsh harrier, Meadow pipit, Moorhen, Mute swan, Oystercatcher, Peregrine falcon, Pheasant, pied flycatcher, Raven, Red kite, Reed bunting, Reed warbler, Robin, sedge warbler, Shelduck, Song thrush, Swallow, Tufted duck, Wheatear, whimbrel, willow warbler, Woodpigeon, Wren, honey bee, Buff-tailed bumblebee, common carder bumblebee, early bumblebee, Green-veined white butterfly, holly blue butterfly, large white butterfly, orange tip butterfly, Peacock butterfly, speckled wood butterfly, brindled beauty moth, Common quaker moth, flame shoulder moth, Hebrew character moth, powdered quaker moth, Round Winged Muslin Moth, bank vole, brown rat, Grey squirrel.