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| Ginnie's bench basking in the sunshine |
My final visit to the reserve in April was on a sunny Saturday
afternoon. The visit was unplanned but my husband had called in that morning and reported hearing a Sedge Warbler so I decided at short notice to head down there for my exercise in the hope of seeing or at least hearing it for myself. I was not disappointed and had the reserve all to myself so social distancing was not a problem. The first thing I noticed was that the grass had been cut following the recent relaxation of the rules concerning horticultural contractors and gardeners. Thanks once more to Rushen Commissioners for arranging this. Here is what I recorded:
Birds:
SC210694 Chiffchaff heard but not seen
SC209693 Chaffinch
SC209694 Pheasant heard but not seen; 2 x Great Tit; Woodpigeon; Chiffchaff heard but not seen; Moorhen on pond; Sedge Warbler heard near path junction and briefest glimpse;Chaffinch
SC208694 Robin; Great Tit; Willow Warbler; Sedge Warbler near the boardwalk
SC208695 Chaffinch; Chiffchaff heard not seen;
SC210694 male Blackcap
SC209693 Willow Warbler
Other:
SC209693 male Orange tip butterfly
SC209694 male Orange Tip near hide + unidentified white
SC209695 3 x Gorse Shieldbugs; Small Tortoiseshell butterfly ; male Orange Tip Butterfly
Sc209694 Gorse Shieldbug; 4 x male Orange Tips seen together; Peacock butterfly;
SC210694 male Orange Tip
SC208695 Noon Flies on Ash trunks and Rowan trees in blossom
SC208694 Bumblebees and Hoverflies throughout reserve
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| Willow Warbler |
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| While there I marked the damaged bridge with tape | |
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| and likewise the boardwalk, to draw attention to the hazard |
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| Sedge Warbler |
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| Moorhen |
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| Cuckoo Flowers, also known as Ladysmock |
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| Stitchwort in the damp meadow |
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| Rowan tree in blossom |
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| Red Campion |
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| Small Tortoiseshell |
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| Peacock butterfly |
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| I was trying to take the bumblebee on the blossom! | | |
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| Reserve looking very lush at present |
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| in whichever direction you look |
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| Hemlock Water Dropwort almost obscuring the stream |
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| freshly mown grass near the Bowman bench |
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| flowers on the Ash tree |
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| Gorse Shieldbug |
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| Honeybee on dandelion |
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| looking back towards the road - not a soul in sight |
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| Hogweed in flower on the gorse boundary |
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| Noon Fly on Ash trunk |
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| 40 shades of green? |
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| Water level very low in pond after one of the driest Aprils on record |
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Shortly after my visit Janet and Guy Thompson kindly repaired the damaged bridge and boardwalk. Grateful thanks to them both!
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| seems we had had some ducklings earlier in the month |
I could hear a hide shutter banging in the wind so ventured in to close it taking suitable precautions for my hands. I was interested to see what others had been recording during the month.
Apologies for the late posting of this visit.
Clicking on the photos enlarges them
