As we’ve been watching the sun get higher and hotter as each day goes on, the wetlands have had no short supply of wildlife to keep us captivated while we all try and stay in the shade.
Our usual suspects have been at large again, with the Canada Geese and their four not-so little goslings have been entertaining all. The Little Egret, Grey Heron, Tufted Ducks, Mallards, Moorhens and Coots have kept us company while ice cream is enjoyed in the shade of the Café, with Goldfinches, Greenfinches, and Long Tailed Tits frequenting the grounds surrounding the visitor’s Centre. Out on the reserve, sightings of the Hobbies, Peregrines and Marsh Harriers continue, with the occasional Cormorant seen perched on the pylons.
The choruses of various Warblers, Wrens and Chiffchaffs make for a lovely backing track while we’ve been seeing more and more star appearances of our resident celebrity, the Bittern, who has been sighted over the past few weeks on an almost daily basis in flight over the western parts of the reserve.
A page to take out of our resident’s book: As the Summer comes into full effect, we’re seeing our wildlife appear more actively during the early mornings and evenings, rather than throughout the heat of the day. Funnily enough, our visitors have started to take notice of this and some follow suit, recognising that the best times to see our abundance of bird’s, insects and the elusive mammals, are between the early hours of the morning up until midday, and from half 3 onwards as the reserve starts to cool from being baked in the sun for the afternoon.
Saying that, the heat and humidity isn’t a bad thing for all. In fact, it’s been brilliant for something very special: Moths. Every Friday night over the past 4 weeks the Moth traps have been out, to be collected and observed on the following morning. Each Saturday morning, our numbers have grown in terms of total number of moths recorded and total number of species, with our record being set at 700+ individual Moths and 130+ species including our star species the Poplar and Elephant Hawk moth
Jack Alexander
Ieuan Evans
Common toad, Crab spider, House Spider, Bearded reedling, Bittern, Blackbird, Blackcap, Black-headed gull, Blue tit, Bullfinch, Buzzard, Canada goose, Carrion crow, Cetti's warbler, Chaffinch, Chiffchaff, Coal tit, Collared dove, Common Whitethroat, Coot, Cormorant, Cuckoo, Curlew, Dunnock, Feral pigeon, Gadwall, Goldcrest, Goldfinch, Great spotted woodpecker, Great tit, Great white egret, Greenfinch, Grey heron, Herring gull, Hobby, 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, Mistle thrush, Moorhen, Mute swan, Oystercatcher, Peregrine falcon, Pheasant, Pied wagtail, Raven, Red kite, Reed bunting, Reed warbler, Ringed plover, Robin, Sedge warbler, Shelduck, Snipe, Song thrush, Sparrowhawk, Spoonbill, Starling, Stonechat, Swallow, Swift, Treecreeper, Tufted duck, Whimbrel, Willow warbler, Woodpigeon, Wren, Honey bee, Long-horned bee, Thick-legged flower beetle, Brown-banded carder bee, Buff/white-tailed bumblebee, Common carder bumblebee, Early bumblebee, Garden bumblebee, Red-tailed bumblebee, Shrill carder bee, White-tailed bumblebee, Common blue butterfly, Holly blue butterfly, Large skipper butterfly, Large white butterfly, Marbled white butterfly, Meadow brown butterfly, Painted lady butterfly, Peacock butterfly, Red admiral butterfly, Ringlet butterfly, Small skipper butterfly, Small white butterfly, Speckled wood butterfly, Azure damselfly, Black-tailed skimmer dragonfly, Blue tailed damselfly, Broad-bodied chaser dragonfly, Common blue damselfly, Emperor dragonfly, Four spot chaser, Hairy dragonfly, 6-spot burnet moth, Blood-vein moth, Bramble short moth, Bright-line brown-eye moth, Buff-tip moth, Burnished brass moth, Common swift moth, Cream bordered green pea moth, Cream Spot Tiger Moth, Elephant hawk moth, Emperor moth, Obscure wainscot moth, Peach blossom moth, Peppered moth, poplar hawk moth, Scarlet tiger moth, Setaceous hebrew character moth, Shoulder striped wainscot moth, Small square spot moth, Bank vole, Common shrew, Fox, Grey squirrel, Mink, Otter, Rabbit, Stoat, Weasel, Bee orchid, Common spotted orchid, Marsh helleborine, Pyramidal orchid, Southern marsh orchid, Grass snake.