Recent Sightings Weds 16th and Friday 18th August – A Tale of Two Seasons
Thanks to volunteer Phil for his latest report
Mid-August is an interesting time at Pulborough Brooks. Astronomically there is still a month of summer left, meteorologically there is only 2 weeks, but for the wildlife summer and autumn are already co-existing.
After much rain and some rather autumnal temperatures in recent weeks our wardens have been working hard to remove excess water from the Brooks using the sluice gates to the river. They have clearly been successful in creating muddy margins to the flood pools and this week has brought in a good selection of waders. On Friday 20 snipe were seen on the South Brooks from Hail’s View along with a few dunlin, green sandpipers and greenshank.
On the North Brooks there were a few lapwings, black tailed godwits, dunlin, both little ringed and ringed plover and, most unusual of all, a spotted redshank showing a clear eyestripe. Earlier in the week on the North Brooks a flock of about 50 lapwings was a welcome taster for the autumn and winter spectacle to come. Some visitors reported seeing a yellow wagtail on the mud.
On Friday a tractor was busy mowing some of the fields on the South Brooks. This provides suitable grazing for our winter wildfowl, especially wigeon, and helps to ensure there is suitable habitat for our breeding waders next spring. A number of birds including kestrels, buzzards, marsh harrier and a herring gull were investigating the effects of this maybe hoping to find easier pickings in the shorter grass.
At Winpenny Hide a small flock of goldfinches was feeding on the nearby thistles.
As autumn progresses we will most likely see much larger flocks.
The recent wet weather has prompted many fungi to appear, not least of which are the plate sized parasol mushrooms seen by the old path between West Mead and Redstart Corner.
It is much more usual to see these later in the autumn.
Back in summer there is still much butterfly and dragonfly activity on the reserve. Brown hairstreaks have been seen by many people, but for me are still proving elusive. Common blues seem to be more prevalent just now and are reaching the peak of their 2nd brood period. This attractive female was seen on Wednesday by the edge of the field behind the Hanger
We are also in the peak 2nd brood period for holly blue and I found one of these on Wednesday in the bushes near Nettley’s Hide.
A visit to the top heathland pond on Wednesday turned up a small red damselfly.
This is a first on the reserve for me, although it has been recorded before in low numbers. It is a heathland specialist so will not be found in other areas of the reserve. Note the red legs as the much more common large red damselfly has all black legs as well as being noticeably longer.
The brown hawker dragonflies prominent earlier in the week seemed to have given way to southern hawkers which can sometimes be seen away from water perching higher up in trees. This specimen was seen on Wednesday in the trees to the right of the old path between West Mead and Redstart Corner
On Friday at the pond by Redstart Corner a pair of ruddy darters were mating in tandem with the female laying eggs by dipping the tip of her abdomen into the pond. This fascinating pair was difficult to photograph but this shot gives some impression.
We are starting to see common darters more now and its quite normal for them to perch on the paths or wooden fences from which they can derive extra warmth. This enables them to fly quite late into the Autumn and it’s not unusual to see them in November. On Friday one was leading me on down the path between Redstart Corner and Winpenny perching frequently.
Just behind Winpenny I was surprised by a very late flying broad bodied chaser female. Mid-August is at the end of their annual flight period. This specimen is seen unusually on its underside and its abdomen has turned mostly a dark brown colour, whereas the ones seen earlier in the summer were the more usual brilliant gold.
I had Friday lunch on the seat near the master ash tree in the hope of seeing a brown hairstreak without any luck. However, a brilliant yellow coloured darter provided some compensation, perching on the brambles next to the seat.
This is a female common darter, probably not many days old as the abdomen tends to become duller with age. This can be distinguished from the similar ruddy darter by the yellow stripes on the legs. The ruddy darter has all black legs. Nearby on the grass was another more cryptic common darter, showing some red on the abdomen.
Initially I assumed this to be a male, but on closer inspection it is actually a female which has developed some of the usual male red colour. The shape of the appendages at the tip of the abdomen gives the game away – in the male the 2 prongs would be much closer together.
Back to autumn again on Friday afternoon some very dark clouds and strong winds threatened a big downpour. Some people hurried back to the safety of the Visitor Centre but I diverted into West Mead hide to admire the dramatic sky and the strong wind ruffling the surface of the pool.
However the clouds soon passed with no rain and I was able to sit out on the café terrace over tea feeling summery once again.