Hi All
Just a quick note to wish you all a Happy first of April and tell you about some recent sightings. How many of you have been caught out by an April fool?
As i write it is another lovely day and the temperature reached alomst 19C. I had my first blackcap of 2014 singing today at the back of the cottages. The return of another of our 9 breeding species of warbler, can you guess them all? Answers at the bottom of this post. Bee's and butterflies were in abundance with Brimstone, Peacock and Small tortoiseshel. Lapwing were displaying and calling over the reserve a real spring feel. Redshank were visible from the Gadwall hide and the Kingfishers continued to display and mate so they still have not completed their first clutch, but should be any day now.
Dave, one of our volunteers who looks after the wildlife garden has been beavering away for the past couple of weeks knocking the garden into shape, and he has done a marvelous job. All the winter debris has been cleared and the spring flowers and blossoms are inviting in early venturing insects. He has added a selection of new plants to flower through the year and bring some colour. He has also created some new features with a new compost pile and various log piles to give some minibeasts a new place to live. Next time you are here have a look round!
Over the weekend of the 29 and 30 March Toby from the Rye Meads Ringing Group (RMRG) had 2 Red Kite, 6 Jack Snipe (including 3 caught and ringed), 3 Blackcap (his first for the year) and a couple of first butterflies for the year with 3 male orange tip and a green-veined white.
So still plenty to see and experince
Thanks
Vicky
Breeding warblers - cettis, blackcap, garden, chiffchaff, reed, sedge, whitethroat, lesser whitethroat and grasshopper