May seems to be over in a flash, hasn't it? It has been warming up, but due to the amount of rainfall over the month, Strumpshaw remains a place where wellies are advised. The good news is that we have opened the Meadow Trail for the summer, but is very boggy. And after some recent sudden downpours, the Fen Trail and Lackford Run also got quite a soaking. So if you want to visit us, good walking boots or wellies are advised!
Despite the soggy conditions, there's been plenty of warm days and this was enough to entice the swallowtails out from their chrysalis. The first one was seen on May 13th along the Lackford Run. Since then, they have been seen on most sunny days. Best places to look are from the nectar garden and on the flag irises outside reception, but you can find them anywhere on the reserve.
In bird news, we had a few interesting reports this month, but the stand out highlight was a visitor from the other side of the Atlantic. On the 4th and 5th of May, we had an American golden plover at Buckenham. It looks very much like a European golden plover but has more black in the plumage especially on the underside.
We had a few osprey sightings with one on the 2nd at Buckenham and at least four reports at Strumpshaw (May 5th, 6th, 11th and 17th). The red-throated diver was also spotted along the river until mid-May. A few other noteworthy highlights included a honey buzzard on the 18th, a turtle dove also on the 18th and a mandarin duck on the 24th. But the most unusual sighting this month was a peacock that decided to pop over from Strumpshaw Hall to stroll around the roof of the reception building on May 17th.
For a couple of weeks, we had a firecrest singing in the woodland trail, initially reported on the 4th May. The song is high pitched (older ears may struggle to pick it up) and fast. Similar to a goldcrest but as if someone pressed the fast forward button. If you manage to spot it up in the canopy, you will notice the white supercilium (band above the eye) and the crest being more fiery orange than golden yellow like a goldcrest.
While in the woods, keep a lookout for spotted flycatchers. They returned in late April and can be seen near the far end as you leave towards the pumphouse. Listen out for a call that's similar to a squeaky wheelbarrow.
Common terns and swifts have also returned. The cuckoos have been making a lot of noise too and one seems to like calling from a few favourite spots along the river.
At least three bitterns continue to boom for the third month running with one being close to Fen Hide. Crane activity also continue to rise as three adults have been seen flying over the reserve every day. You should be able to see them from the reception. An otter might also turn up there if you are lucky.
Other than swallowtails, there are other insects around to look for too, including Norfolk hawker and scarce chaser dragonflies, cardinal beetles, silver-y moths, ruby-tailed wasps and ichneumon wasps (the latter two can be found on our bee hotel log in the nectar garden).
I've been noticing a lot of new plant species popping up across the reserve, especially now that the meadow trail is open. Yellow flag irises (everywhere), marsh marigold (a couple of plants by the sluice gates along Fen Trail), quaker grass (in the meadow trail) among many other things are just a few you can look out for right now. However, my plant of the month for May goes to the common twayblade. If you look behind the picnic benches at the start of the trails, you will find some circles of chicken wire. Peer into them and you will see one green plant with little green flowers that kind of resemble tiny green figures. This is a twayblade, an easily overlooked orchid but it is a very fascinating plant once you learn about it. It attracts tiny insects such as ichneumon wasps to pollenate it by luring them in with a scent. The insect follows a groove to the lip of the flower. Once in position, it triggers a mechanism that causes the plant to 'explode' its pollinia to the insect's head with a fast-drying sticky liquid. The insect is startled and flies away with the pollinia glued onto it until it finds another twayblade flower.
As we move into June, we hope summer isn't quite as much of a washout as spring has been so far. We need more sunshine to lure out the swallowtails. We expect the reserve to be very busy now that they are on the wing. You should also keep an eye out for the first marsh orchids in the meadow trail as they should be in bloom soon. Just remember your wellies! See you next month!
In the meantime do not forget to take a look at our events page https://events.rspb.org.uk/StrumpshawFen full of activities, guided walks and opportunities to explore Strumpshaw Fen with an expert guide.