Thanks to our volunteer Phil for his report and photos.
I am writing this with another very warm spell of weather at an end and an autumnal chill in the air and while out walking earlier in the week I couldn’t help noticing that some seasonal colour was starting to appear in the trees. Visiting Pulborough Brooks earlier today (Friday 25th September) a strong north westerly wind made it impossible to stay too long at the Hanger and Jupps View.
The Covid crisis has ensured that this has been the strangest year in living memory, but the summer weather has had a strangeness too, particularly in April and May. These months are of course spring not summer but this year delivered a record amount of warm sunshine and they felt more like summer. At lockdown in March Pulborough Brooks was still suffering from the remnants of the winter flooding. By the time I was allowed to return in early June much of the reserve had completely dried out, with no rain to replace the floodwater gradually draining into the Arun, soaking in to the ground or evaporating in the sunshine.
My first view of Black Pond after lockdown, usually alive with dragonflies in June showed little more than a puddle, and it remains to be seen whether this has a longer term effect on the pond’s ability to hold a good population of dragonflies and damselflies. This year I have seen no emerald damselflies on the reserve, usually a banker by the Black Pond.
Another absent species this summer has been the migratory painted lady butterfly. After the bumper year of 2019 in some parts of the UK, and a good year at the reserve, I have not seen one anywhere this summer leaving a big question mark about why.
But while this sounds rather gloomy there have been other things to celebrate. For example, Black Pond may have dried out but there was good evidence in June that a pair of grey wagtails had raised chicks there during the lockdown. There was the avocet pair that successfully raised 3 chicks at the reserve, a first for this species here. A spoonbill spent a whole day on The North Brooks in early July, my first sighting here, and in late July a group of cattle egrets dropped in to the North Brooks to spend some time with the Highland cattle.
My best highlight was finding a purple emperor butterfly at the Hanger, and for many species butterflies seem to have done well at both Pulborough and more generally this year, despite the lack of painted ladies. For a few weeks in July the path between West Mead and Redstart Corner was teeming with small and Essex skippers. Another example was the small heath typically found round the short grassy areas at Redstart Corner and Adder Alley. My first records of this species at Pulborough was only last year but this year it has done very well, and I noticed earlier this week that a few were still flying.
On Friday 18th I returned to the reserve after a 3 week absence having sneaked a week’s holiday in Devon, perhaps just in time given the increasing Covid restrictions. It was a pleasantly warm day and there was plenty to see. Ruff were present on the North Brooks with a few dunlin, snipe and black tailed godwits and it is likely that we will now continue to see these species regularly throughout the autumn and winter.
Clouded yellow butterflies could be seen in various places, most notably feeding on yellow flowers next to the Zigzag Path.
I have written before about my favourite ivy bush at the far end of Fattengates Courtyard which attracts large numbers of hoverflies, ivy bees and hornets to its nectar rich flowers in September. On Friday 18th it was in full swing and completely alive with insects.
On Monday 21st I attended for the monthly WeBS Count with an uncomfortable feeling that given the Covid situation this might be my last visit to Pulborouigh Brooks for some time. This strengthened my resolve to enjoy every minute of my time in this special place. I checked out the ivy bush again, admired small copper, common blue and more clouded yellows down the Zigzags and finally made my way to Redstart Corner pond to check out the dragonflies.
This pond has miraculously kept its water in the driest of summers and I settled in to indulge my favourite pointless pastime of trying to photograph dragonflies in flight. Anyone who has casually tried to do this will most likely have concluded that it is completely impossible, but maybe my heightened sense of needing to make the most of everything was inspiring my co-ordination and I managed several in focus shots of a Southern Hawker flying over the pond.
It was difficult to tear myself away from this fascinating insect with its amazing manoeuvrability but time pressed and I had to move away.
On Friday 18th I noted some wigeon in eclipse plumage on the North Brooks, my first of the season, and today numbers were pushing towards 100, a sure sign of the advancing season and there is nothing strange about that in September. I will just hope that I am allowed to witness the large flocks that will be gathering over the next 2 months for the winter.
This a reminder that despite having to deal with the Covid pandemic it is still as urgent as ever to do all we can to protect wildlife. This is true on a small scale through for example habitat management, promoting awareness in the general public, issues we are very familiar with at Pulborough Brooks, and for the much bigger challenge of climate change.
The sights of the last week seem like a fitting end to a strange but in many ways an interesting summer. We may find there are many more strange summers to come on the reserve and have to adjust to coping with a new normal just like we’ve had to adjust our lifestyles in the last few months.