Four-spotted chaser and mother shipton moth, Ben Lewis
Finally a decent looking forecast for the weather for a bank holiday weekend. The next week looks like it will be kind to the swallowtails (and swallowtail watchers). They have begun their emergence now so there should be a decent chance of seeing one as long as there is sun and not too much wind. They have been seen for the past 4 days now, but a certain element of luck is still needed in these early days. My tip for spotting them is to; firstly ask at reception to see where they have been seen, secondly find nectar; they particularly like pink flowers (ie red campion/ragged robin) but I’ve also seen them on hawthorn blossom. They will be emerging from the fen and can be seen all around the reserve, but the hotspots are Lackford Run, Sandy Wall and the nectar garden by the reception.
The birds at the fen have remained the same, we still have good numbers of warblers singing from the reedbed and associated trees, kingfishers can be seen flying back and forth feeding their young. 3 cuckoos were seen along the riverbank on Thursday including one female . All of our usual migrants have returned including a ‘singing’ spotted flycatcher around the log circle by the office.
Buckenham still has good numbers of breeding waders, including lapwing, redshank and snipe. Many of the lapwing can be seen with young in tow, its always good to see them, partially for the cute factor, but also as a sign of a good breeding season. Passage waders this week have been somewhat limited due to the time of year, but have included black tailed godwit and ruff.
Dragonflies have really taken off this week with 6 species of damselfly, banded demoiselle, hairy hawker, scarce and four-spotted chaser as well as the first report of Norfolk hawker.
While surveying I managed to see a moth that could well be new for the reserve this was mother shipton, a photo is above. This moth is named after a 16th century witch from Yorkshire, her face can be seen on each of the moths wings!
Otter sightings are still confined largely to dawn and dusk, however one was seen at lunch time today at tower hide, so you never know when one may show itself!
This week should see an increase in all insect life and the birds should still be singing well, although now the leaves are out they are slightly more challenging to see. Swallowtail butterflies should be increasing in number each day, especially if we get some warm sunny days.
It is half term so there will be a family nature trail in the area near to reception as well as pond dipping, a great way to get children out and about to enjoy nature, ask at reception for more details.