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A sunny afternoon in mid May
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My visit to the Reserve on Friday was part recording visit and part recce before showing a group of local Cubs scouts and Beavers round later in the evening. There were two seasons happening at once in the reserve during the afternoon. By the hide there was a strong, cold wind blowing but over on the gorse boundary it was warm and sunny! Here is what I recorded:
Birds:
SC208694 Blackbird, Willow Warbler and Sedge Warbler all heard but not seen.
SC208695 2 x Goldfinch; Chaffinch; Chiffchaff heard but not seen.
SC209695 Blue Tit; Chaffinch; Sedge Warbler; Willow Warbler heard but not seen; 2 x Great Tit; Mallard drake flying over
SC209694 Great Tit; pair of Chaffinch; Willow Warbler.
SC209693 Sedge Warbler in reeds
Other:
SC210694 2 x unidentified spiders
SC210694 Orange Tip butterfly eggs on Garlic Mustard;
SC210694 Large White butterfly;
SC209693 Orange Tip butterfly eggs on Cuckoo Flowers ( Ladysmock)
SC208694 Speckled Wood butterfly
SC209695 3 x Gorse Shieldbug
SC209694 mating pair of Gorse Shieldbugs + 3 singletons + 2 lots of eggs
SC209694 Unidentified bumblebee in gorse
SC209694 Several Muscid flies - probably Eudasyphora cyanella
SC209694 Speckled Wood
SC208695 2 x 7-spot Ladybirds
SC210694 Small Tortoiseshell butterfly on nettles
SC209695 Noon Fly and 2 x Eudasyphora cyanella lies on wooden bench
SC208695 4 x Eudasyphora species flies on ash trunk ( probably cyanella)
SC209695 Unidentified fly ( Green Bottle species?)
SC208695 Helophilus pendulus and Syrphus species Hoverflies
SC208695 2 x 7-spot Ladybirds on Hogweed + Muscid flies ( probably Eudasyphora cyanella)
SC209695 1 x 7-spot on gorse; 1 x 7-spot on Bramble.
SC209695 Primroses in flower
SC209694 Red Campion in flower
SC209694 Rhingia campestris Hoverfly
SC209694 female Sarcophaga species Flesh Fly
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male Chaffinch
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| Goldfinch |
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Large White
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Speckled Wood
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Speckled Wood
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Orange Tip egg on Cuckoo Flower
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close up of the egg
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close up of Orange tip egg on Garlic Mustard
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Garlic Mustard - can you see the egg?
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7-spot with Muscid flies (Eudasyphora cyanella possibly) on Hogweed
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closer view
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7-spot on gorse
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7-spot on Bramble
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at first all seemed normal at the pond
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but then.....
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I noticed the mud flat that had appeared since my last visit
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I discovered the stream was also dry
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twin flies on ash trunk Eudasyphora cyanella
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Eudasyphora cyanella on bench
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Eudasyphora cyanella on a leaf
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female Sarcophaga species ( Flesh fly)
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a Noon Fly, Eudasyphora species + unidentified
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Eudasyphora + unidentified flies
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Rhingia campestris
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Bumble bee in gorse
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view along the boardwalk
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mating gorse Shieldbugs
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gorse Shieldbug eggs
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always laid in two neat lines
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another gorse Shieldbug- note red antenae
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| these stripey Helophilus pendulus hoverflies are nicknamed "footballers" |
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Syrphus species Hoverfly
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view across the meadow to flowering apple trees
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main path to hide
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| primroses |
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very small unidentified snail
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tiny spider in the nettles
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Rowan trees now in flower
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and the Hawthorn
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Red Campion along the gorse boundary
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one of the more open areas
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I was about to leave when another bird watcher on the site alerted me
to the fact that he had just photographed a Reed Warbler in the reeds. I
lingered in the hope of seeing it myself but it did not show so I
hurried home before meeting the youngsters at 6 p.m.
When I
returned to the Reserve around 5.45 the wind had dropped and it was a
delightful sunny evening. There were birds everywhere, notably 2 pairs
of Sedge Warblers round the pond and a Moorhen out on the water. I still
did not manage to spot the Reed Warbler though. The children proved
adept at spotting ladybirds - 4 at SC209694 and 5 at SC208695 and we
also discovered that it takes 7 x little boys in a line to equate to the
wingspan of a Buzzard!
Of some concern was the discovery that there was no water flowing into the reserve and that the water level in the pond was therefore falling too. I'm pleased to say that the cause for this, outside the Reserve, was found and has since been rectified.
It has taken me some time to record this visit on the Blog and, in fact, I have made another visit since. But that's another story for another day!
Please click on photos to enlarge them
With thanks to Steve Crellin for fly identification
