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| Hemlock Water Dropwort near the boardwalk |
Birds:
SC209693 ( near the road) Great Tit
SC210694 ( near the entrance) Sparrow x 2; Robin; Great Tit; Willow Warbler heard but not seen.
SC208694 ( through the willows) Willow Warbler , Sedge Warbler , Chiffchaff and Magpie all heard but not seen.
SC209694 ( hide) Mallard drake; Swallow; House Martin.
SC208694 ( boardwalk) Willow Warbler
SC209694 ( gorse boundary) Chaffinch; Sedge Warbler heard but not seen.
SC209694 ( willows near path junction) Willow Warbler
[There were also 2 sparrows outside the reserve on the Ballakilley land opposite at SC210694]
Ladybirds:
SC208694 7-spot Ladybird
Butterflies:
SC210694 ( entrance) Wall Brown; Red Admiral; Unidentified White flying.
SC209694 ( Wild flower meadow) Common Blue
SC208694 ( compost area) Speckled Wood x 2
SC208694 ( willows) female Orange Tip
SC208695 ( beyond boardwalk) Speckled Wood
SC208695 ( beehive loop) Speckled Wood
SC209695 ( orchard entrance) Speckled Wood
Unidentified Whites flying throughout the reserve.
Other:
SC209693 ( near road boundary) Rhingia campestris hoverfly
SC209694 ( path junction) Bee. (Bees in Hemlock Water Dropwort throughout Reserve.)
SC208694 female Common Blue Damselfly
SC208695 ( beehive loop) Common Wasp
SC209694 ( main path to hide) female Common Blue Damselfly
SC209695 ( inlet pipe for stream) Water Crickets
SC210694 ( near entrance) Stinking Iris in flower
SC208694 (dam) Cultivated purple iris and native yellow flag iris in flower together
SC208694 (near compost) Horsetail growing apace and a good patch of nettles.
SC210694 ( noticeboard) the Ox-eye daisies are now in flower and attracting insects.
SC209694 ( gorse boundary) some lovely white and pink Hawthorn blossom on the boundary.
SC208694 ( willows) The willows are now seeding, making everywhere look like a snowy day!
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| Willow seed |
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| Willow seed on the compost heap |
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| The cause of all the "snow" |
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| Speckled Wood Butterfly |
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| Another Speckled Wood butterfly |
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| female Orange Tip butterfly |
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| Common Blue Butterfly |
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| Robin on the "Nesting Birds" notice ( I would have loved to get this photo from the other side of the notice!) |
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| Hemlock Water Dropwort attracts many insects |
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| A female Common Blue Damselfly |
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| Photo left uncropped to give an idea of small size of damselflies |
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| Another female Common Blue Damselfly |
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| Ox-eye daisies attract insects when in flower |
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| Horsetail near the compost heap |
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| Solitary Mallard on the pond |
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| Recently planted iris in flower in the wildflower meadow |
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| Stinking Iris near the entrance Flowers are followed by bright red berries in the autumn |
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| Looking towards the hide across the wildflower meadow |
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| Hide seen from the opposite direction |
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| a sea of yellow buttercups near Ginnie's bench |
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| and still more buttercups elsewhere |
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| even stinging nettles look attractive back lit! |
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| looking across the reed bed towards the private land known as the orchard |
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| a colourful mix of cultivated and native iris |
Regular visitors to the Reserve will have noticed the wattle hurdles which have been erected by the Hide. There is still one more to go up and they will eventually have live willow planted in front of them, the hurdles just being a temporary screen. Our thanks to Tricia Sayle, Reserves Officer, and "The Muckers" for making and supplying the hurdles which were made from coppiced willow from other Wildlife Trust Reserves. Landscape gardener, Stephen Whittaker, kindly collected and delivered them to the Reserve in his van and two Southern Group Committee members, Janet and Neil, spent an evening putting them in place.
So why are they there? Well, it is oh so tempting to go round the front of the Hide to admire the pond instead of viewing it from inside through the shutters, especially on a lovely sunny day. But of course this immediately puts up any wildlife that might be on the water or in surrounding vegetation and they don't come back for a considerable time. Pedestrians coming along the paths, especially from the direction of the wooden bridge, are also clearly visible to any wildfowl on the water, which inevitably then fly away. To avoid this disturbance the screens have been put in to prevent both problems until the hawthorn and willow have grown up sufficiently to make a natural screen.
So please sneak into the Hide quietly, open the shutters, sit patiently awhile and you may be surprised by what is out there just waiting to be seen. Many thanks for your cooperation in this.
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| coppiced willow hurdle |
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| two panels in place |
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| a third panel will be added when time permits |
