A wealth of sightings for you as Spring gleefully unravels it's way into the seasonal procession. We seem to be hearing more and more singing chiffchaffs on a daily basis, and the reserve has also recorded it's first wheatears and sand martins of the year. There is much to be seen still on the raptor front as well, with one of the Dyfi ospreys (Blue24) returning on the 24th, and the continued presence of hen harriers, notably a female who tarried around Marian Mawr pools on the 15th. Other bird sightings include two yellowhammers at the feeders on the 2nd. a great white egret by the Saltings trail on the 15th, and a veritable feast of interesting activity on the 28th, which included a single gargany, 3 willow warblers, a cetti's warbler at Covert Du, yellowhammer, and 2 little ringed plovers on Breakwater fields.
A stroll along the boardwalk on warmer days may provide encounters with the caterpillars of Drinker and Oak eggar moths, both of which I have seen on Covert Coch in the past few weeks. These species hibernate in the larval stage over the winter before emerging to recommence feeding in the Spring, and have a wide range of food plants (including heather, bramble, blackthorn, and bilberry for Oak eggars, and a variety of grass species for Drinkers). For those wanting to see adult lepidoptera, brimstone are being observed on the reserve with increasing regularity, as well as the odd red admiral. Following on from last blog's lesser celandine, wood anemone is another early spring bloomer, preferring dry woodlands of deciduous trees, and the first are just starting to come into flower in Coed Penrhynmawr. Hopefully a prelude to a burst of their white flowers in the next few weeks.
A game of spot the brimstone, Gonepteryx rhamni
Finally, another fungal feature. This week, the scarlet elf cup, which grows on branches rotting on the ground, apparently most often from lime and maple, though the specimen below was under an oak.
Scarlet elf cup, Sarcoscypha coccinea (Chris Goding)
Spring is well and truly underway!