With thanks to volunteer Graham for his wildlife report and photos.
On Saturday, having helped visitors with parking during the morning, I spent the afternoon on the heathland with my camera, and managed to get a few photos.
A Heliophanus sp. spider was on some Gorse flowers.
A couple of Small Copper butterflies had a brief aerial battle before settling on the ground.
I saw several Green Tiger Beetles, including a mating pair.
A Black-banded Spider Wasp was digging a burrow in which to bury its spider prey.
At Black Pond I saw a few Large Red Damselflies, including a pair in tandem, and a couple of Four-spotted Chasers were resting on stems.
Back at the Welcome Hut our regularly visiting Common Lizard was undisturbed by the close approach of observers.
An Emperor Moth could be seen flying around the Hut before it was skilfully netted by Rob. After a short walk back to the heathland Anna released it onto some Gorse, enabling a couple of visitors and me to get a photo. An excellent finish to the day.
On Sunday it was back to my Hides & Tails duties. The weather was bright and sunny, and there were lots of visitors on the wetland trail.
A Blackcap and a Garden Warbler were singing near the top of the zigzag path, both out of sight. A Nightingale was singing strongly near Fattengates Courtyard, and I came across a small group of visitors on the access path who had had fleeting views of the bird. After a short while it was spotted, and I was able to provide (partly obscured) scoped views to a couple of visitors before it flew off. Cuckoos seemed to be singing from every direction, though as usual not very easy to see.
At West Mead Hide I was pleased to see that a couple of pairs of Tufted Ducks were still present.
A brood of three Lapwing chicks could occasionally be seen, and a family of Canada Geese were on the pool.
A scan of the sky revealed a distantly circling Hobby. It gradually flew closer, occasionally catching dragonflies. Eventually it swooped down over the water in front of the hide, providing an impressive display to a hideful of visitors before flying away.
I had planned to check out three Wood Sandpipers that had been reported from Winpenny Hide, but the hide was so busy that I decided to continue on the trail with a view to returning during the afternoon. At the top end of Adder Alley I at last had a brief in-flight view of a couple of Cuckoos. I then took a detour down the Pig Run. Continuing a short distance along the footpath I tried but failed to get a clear view of a Reed Warbler singing from the reeds in the adjacent ditch. However, I did manage to get a partial view of a Sedge Warbler singing from a nearby bush.
After a short spell at Hanger View, from where I shared a good view of the Green-winged Teal with several visitors, I made my way back towards Winpenny Hide. As I turned the corner on Winpenny Path I saw a very young Song Thrush on the path in front of me. I got a few shots of it before it scuttled off into cover.
WInpenny Hide was still quite busy, but not completely full as it had been earlier. The long-staying Ruff was showing well and a visitor pointed out a single Wood Sandpiper at reasonable scope-viewing range. In between helping visitors to get views of these waders through my scope I attempted to get some photos of three Lapwing chicks that were fairly close-in. Eventually I was able to get a few shots of the three of them together.
After returning to the Visitor Centre and handing in my radio, I decided to stay a while in the hope of getting a couple more photos before heading home. I checked Upperton’s Pond for newt action and I was not disappointed, getting a shot of a Palmate Newt near the water surface just as it was about to lunge for some prey.
I was joined at the pond by a few visitors, one of whom mentioned that he had just seen an Adder at the bug hotel near the top of the zigzag path. I decided to investigate for myself, and I was pleased to find an Adder basking on the 'top floor’, providing a superb finale to a truly great weekend at Pulborough Brooks.