May 2023 was an eventful month indeed. Despite some rainy days and the odd thunderstorm, the days were getting warmer. The big news this month, of course, is that we celebrated the coronation of King Charles III. With an extra 3rd bank holiday this May, it became a very busy month at Strumpshaw. It has been a great month for me as the sightings board has been full almost every day. Which means there's a LOT to talk about today, so let us begin.
We start with possibly the biggest and most exciting news we've had at Strumpshaw in some time. We are proud to announce that we have a pair of cranes nesting on the reserve for the first time! On May 17th, the first ever crane chick hatched and words cannot describe how happy we all are. Best views of the cranes are from Tower Hide and Fen Hide, but you will be very lucky to spot the chick over the reed cover. Fingers crossed that it survives!
Now, the exciting news doesn't stop there. We are also pleased to announce the news most of you have been anticipating. Swallowtail season is here at last! They were much later than they were last year (which was May 12th). This year they appeared on May 21st, 9 days late. Pick a nice sunny day and fingers crossed, you will hopefully see one at the nectar garden. Another place to look is the meadow trail, which is now open (though it can be a bit boggy, so walking boots or wellies are advised).
Swallowtail
There's been a few migrant highlights this month. First up a single night heron reported on May 3rd, then 3 were seen the next evening. Night herons are mostly active from dusk onwards. Apparently, they weren't easy to see as they were deep in willow scrub on the opposite side of the river opposite the pumphouse before leaving towards Brundall at around 9pm. No one has seen them since.
Over at Cantley, there was a report of a great reed warbler on May 14th. This is basically a big reed warbler that's the size of a thrush. It then disappeared before another appeared on the 25th right in front of the reception at Strumpshaw. There was even a common reed warbler getting in on the photos, so we were able to to compare the two birds.
Great reed warbler
All of our spring migrants have arrived now. However, I did miss out a few from my last report. So, here's a quick rundown on those I missed. Common tern (April 25th), Arctic tern (May 1st), spotted flycatcher (May 3rd - at least 2-3 pairs in the wood now), wheatear (April 25th - about 2-3 of them were seen near pumphouse in early May) and common sandpiper (April 29th at Buckenham, May 1st at Strumpshaw).
Cantley produced many other interesting things this month including a cattle egret (May 1st - May 3rd) and there's been a few reports of spoonbill (May 10th and May 20th-23rd - up to 3 of them) and glossy ibises (May 23rd - 14 of them - and May 29th) as well as a single sighting of a honey buzzard (May 28th). Meanwhile, Buckenham produced a curlew sandpiper (May 23rd) and a sanderling (May 28th). There's also plenty of wood sandpipers on the marshes of both reserves as well as the odd spotted redshank, whimbrel, yellow wagtails and many lekking ruff looking rather splendid in their various coloured plumages.
The reception hide was entertained by the activities of wagtails this month. A pair of grey wagtails were flitting by the front of the hide and we expect a nest is nearby, just like last year. At least 8 hobbies had also been seen swooping over the reception's broad on May 3rd. You may need to look up high for these falcons, which look like large swifts (which are also up high in the sky) with scythe-like wings. Also listen out for cuckoos, grasshopper warblers (one has been reeling near Fen Hide) and lesser whitethroats (at least two have been heard along the river this month).
We are getting a few kingfisher and otter sightings this month, though not as many as previous months. Bitterns, on the other hand, are doing well with plenty of activity being seen from Fen and Tower Hide as we expect at least one possible nest somewhere on the reserve. Marsh harriers are definitely on nests now as we've been seeing plenty of food passes and nest materials being brought in.
The first damselfly (a large red) emerged on April 29th, while the first dragonfly (a hairy dragonfly) was on the wing on May 2nd. By May 20th, species such as Norfolk hawkers, scarce, broad-bodied and four-spotted chasers are on the wing.
Scarce chaser
I'm very pleased to see many water vole sightings written on our sightings board and there's been the odd hare seen along Sandy Wall. In fact, while preparing for another day of work out on the Mid Yare Valley on the 29th, our team discovered a leveret (a baby hare) under one of our trailers in our workshop courtyard!
Temperatures are about to rise as we head into summer. It should bring out the swallowtails for the many hoping to see one. There are other things to see next month as well, of course, including (hopefully) a meadow full of orchids. See you in the next report!
We have an action packed events programme for those interested in seeing butterfly, dragonfly, moth and fen orchids now is your chance to book a place, just follow this link: events.rspb.org.uk/strumpshawfen