At this time of year it can seem rather quiet on the reserve on the bird front. Don't get me wrong, there are plenty of birds out and about, it's just that they're pretty good at hiding amongst the somewhat rampant vegetation!
So my focus in the summer tends to move towards the incredible invertebrates that we find on the reserve and this year I've developed a fondness for spiders. Not all spiders, I'm still terrified of the large house spiders, but one particular group - the jumping spiders - are positively cute! Jumping spiders don't spin webs but instead rely on their ability to pounce on their prey. They have eight eyes and the top row of four are arranged in such a way that they look like a pair of large headlights with smaller sidelights at either end. They need good eyesight to help the spot their prey and then judge the distance accurately, so that when they jump they are successful in their hunt. If they overshoot they don't tumble to the ground but they rather cleverly have a string of silk binding them to their wall, fencepost or tree trunk so that they can return to their favourite spot - a bit like bungee jumping then!
The spider pictured above (thanks to volunteer Rob King for the photo) is of Marpissa muscosa - or the fencepost jumping spider. You're most likely to find it on...fenceposts & gates. It's a nationally scarce species, found mainly in the South East but seems to be a regular feature of many of our gateways at Pulborough Brooks. In adult male spiders the palps are swollen so they look like little fur-covered boxing gloves.
Some other favourites are the zebra spider - a small jumper with black & white stripes who again seems to like sunny spots on walls, windows and fences and the sun jumping spiders with bright yellow palps.
Sun jumping spider (Anna Allum)
At the moment, our heathland is particularly busy with invertebrate activity. In addition to the jumping spiders you'll find speedy wolf spiders and labyrinth spiders whose funnel-like webs can be seen easily amongst the heather, gorse and brambles.
Labyrinth spider by Pete Hughes
Along the sandy paths, volcano-like mounds of sand have erupted and when the sun is shining are alive with wasps and bees. Black and yellow digger wasps patrol the heath in search of prey - they are predators - hunting for weevils, flies and bees to take back to their burrows and stock their larder ready for their larvae to hatch out and feed.
Digger wasps doing battle - photo by Pete Hughes
But it's a dog-eat-dog world out there and jewel wasps (sometimes called ruby-tailed wasps) are looking for the burrows of digger wasps so they can sneak in and lay their eggs next to those of the digger wasp. They will hatch sooner and eat the larvae of the digger wasp - they are known as cuckoo wasps as they adopt the same strategy as the bird.
Solitary bees like the bare sandy ground and you can find many of these on the heathland and in the overspill car park (just mind how you go and don't get into an accident whilst you're looking for them here!). Perhaps the most spectacular are the pantaloon bees. The females are particularly fantastic, sporting what I can only describe as furry ginger legwarmers on their back legs. A new discovery are the green-eyed flower bees - lovely furry ginger bodies and bright green eyes. Look for these on the bramble flowers or on the sandy banks.
Pantaloon bee by Pete Hughes, Green-eyed flower bee by Anna Allum
Once I've found these I also admire the spider-hunting and caterpillar-hunting wasps, green tiger beetles, emerald damselflies, four-spotted chaser dragonflies and all the other incredible invertebrates that somehow manage to survive in what seems like a pretty dangerous world - there is always something looking to eat or parasitize you.
I always have my ears open for the chirping of the field crickets that have been re-introduced to the site as part of the national 'Back from the Brink' project. As part of this heritage lottery funded project we're holding a Back from the Brink Heathland safari event this Saturday (23 June) from 10.30 am til 12.30 pm. It is a free event but you do need to book - phone us on 01798 875851 or email pulborough.brooks@rspb.org.uk to book your place. You'll have chance to get up close and personal with these and other special heathland creatures and learn about the work we're doing to manage the heathland for them.
I hope I've inspired some of you to come along and join us on Saturday.