Volunteer Graham Osborne recounts the wildlife highlights from a visit over the weekend - thanks Graham for your report and wonderful photos!
After three Sundays off I returned to hides & trails duties at Pulborough Brooks yesterday.
The morning started nicely with views of four cattle egrets on the South Brooks from the Visitor Centre where I was joined by Neil and some visitors. Scanning Upperton’s Field revealed a good number of goldfinches, a pair of stonechats and three whinchats. A visitor told me he had had good views earlier of our two local white-tailed eagles, and regular visitor Mike Jerome showed me a photo he had taken of one of them.
Neil had gone ahead, and I was busy photographing invertebrates by the wetland trail when he reported one of the white-tailed eagles flying off, having been disturbed by the clay pigeon shooting.
My photographic efforts began with a shot of what I believe to be a common nettle-tap moth (Anthrophila frabriciana).
I then came across a Helophilus pendulus hoverfly.
A Tetragnatha sp. spider was wrapping up its prey by the path near Simm’s Pond,
where I also came across my second thick-legged hoverfly (Syritta pipiens) of the week.
Nearby, a Metellina sp. spider (presumably M. segmentata in view of the date) was on its web,
and a couple of nurseryweb Spiders (Pisaura mirabilis) were on some nettle leaves.
Apart from a patrolling migrant hawker and a skulking reed warbler, things were fairly quiet at the ditch dipping ponds. A spike of purple loosestrife was past its prime but still presented a pleasing subject, particularly as it was enhanced by the lurking presence of a crab spider (Misumena vatia). Can you spot it?
Shortly after arriving at Hanger View I was joined by Neil, and later by Nick, as well as a few groups of visitors passing through while we were there. A varied selection of waders was on show, with good numbers of black-tailed godwits, snipe and ruff, as well as three sandpiper species - green, common and a single curlew sandpiper. At one point a juvenile peregrine made a few stoops before flying off.
As the curlew sandpiper was no longer visible following the peregrine’s visit Neil and I decided to head towards Corner View/Jupp’s View to see if it had moved to the far eastern corner of the North Brooks. On the way a southern hawker that was patrolling over the bank past Hairstreak Corner perched conveniently for a portrait.
There was no sign of the curlew sandpiper from Corner View or Jupp’s View, although I did find my only willow emerald damselfly of the day on brambles in front of Jupp’s View, and just before Nick and some visitors joined us a hobby flew past at close range. Fortunately the hobby made a couple of further brief return appearances before we left to return to the Visitor Centre.
On the climb up the zig-zags a peacock butterfly was perched by the path, looking rather gorgeous in pretty much pristine condition. A nice finale to another great day at Pulborough Brooks.