Our big wild stock take is progressing well, although I must say that some sunshine wouldn’t go amiss – it would be nice to increase our tally of butterflies and dragonflies.
We are currently just shy of 80 species of birds with highlights of garganey, little ringed plover, nightingales, 8 species of warbler, yellow wagtail, peregrine, nightjar and tawny owl.
Almost matching this total is the ‘other wildlife’ with mammals including 3 types of bats, bank vole, weasel and stoat, as well as the more predictable rabbits, grey squirrels and fallow deer. A small selection of butterflies and dragonflies has been supplemented by a decent haul of moths on Saturday for our ‘after dark’ event with 3 types of hawkmoth, my personal favourite the buff tip (who looks just like a twig of silver birch) and the aptly named ‘scorched wing’ who looks like, you’ve guessed it, a singed sliver of paper!
This one is a poplar hawkmoth - we caught 5 of these beauties in our moth trap - and relased them all unharmed the following evening.
Off on a bug hunt this afternoon, commandeering any families who arrive to help me - sharp young eyes and being closer to the ground mean that children are a great asset. Forgive me if I return to regale you with tales of several species of woodlice!
Our stock take continues until midnight on Friday so if you are coming to visit then we’d love to hear what you have seen. We’ll be attempting to add to our tally with a session of pond dipping tomorrow afternoon (2 pm – 4pm) - all welcome.
To make sure we end the stock take with a flourish we are holding an ‘after dark’ evening walk on Friday (30 May 8.30 pm – 10.30 pm). I’m banking on a good collection of moths, a fluttering of bats, a bevy of newts, hooting owls and churring nightjars. If you would like to join in then we do have a few places left - just call the centre on 01798 875851 to book.