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| Sunshine near the Bowman Bench |
A mid morning to early afternoon visit this week on a sunny but very blustery day. Four species of Warbler either seen or heard and two new pond records for the Reserve made it an interesting visit. Here is what I recorded:
Birds:
SC208694 Great Tit heard not seen; Willow Warbler; Goldfinch; Chiffchaff; Pheasant heard not seen; male and female Blackcap; Woodpigeon flying over; Blackbird; Robin Wren; 2 x Goldfich over; male Chaffinch.
SC208695 Chaffinch heard not seen; male Blackcap; Great Tit; Willow Warbler.
SC209695 Willow Warbler; Woodpigeon over; Blue Tit; Goldfinch x 5.
SC209694 ( hide) Moorhen x 2; Mallard x 3 drakes on water + pair flying away; Sedge Warbler heard but not seen.
SC209694 ( elsewhere) Wren heard not seen; Great Tit; 4 x Goldfinch; female Chaffinch.
Other:
SC209694 7-spot Ladybirds x 2;
SC208695 Small Tortoiseshell Butterfly
SC209694 (Pond life, new dragonfly pond) Lake Orb Mussel x 3 NEW RECORD; Tadpoles several; Pond Skater x 4; Water Boatman; Pond Snails abundant; Caddisfly Larvae x 2 NEW RECORD; Fresh water shrimp; Diving beetle.
SC209693 Cuckoo Flower / Ladysmock in flower.
SC209694 Garlic Mustard in bud.
SC208695 7-spot Ladybird x 5.
SC208695 Green Shieldbug.
SC209695 2 x Hairy Shieldbug; 3 x Gorse Shieldbug.
SC209694 Gorse Shieldbug.
SC209694 "Footballer" Hoverfly x 2 ( Helophilus sp.) and Eristalis sp. Hoverfly x 2.
SC208694 Ground Ivy in flower + honey bee.
SC208694 Red Campion in flower.
SC209694 unidentified zooming bumble bees.
Sc209694 large ginger cat asleep near hide and prowling black cat at back of pond.
SC209694 2 x Small Tortoiseshell butterflies in territorial dispute.
SC208695 7-spot Ladybird x 5.
SC208695 Oulema sp. beetles including mating pair
SC209694 7-spot Ladybird x 2
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| Willow Warblers are back |
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| it was lovely to hear them singing once more |
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| this one was round the old beehive loop |
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| flitting about looking for insects |
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| a composite picture of the Chiffchaff near the compost heaps |
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| The Wren is still proclaiming its territory near the boardwalk |
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| male Chaffinch |
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| Great Tit |
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| there were plenty of Goldfinches about |
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| one of a small flock on the gorse boundary |
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| female Blackcap, |
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| one of our ringed Blue Tits |
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| Hemlock Water Dropwort growing fast now |
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| two Moorhens today - do you notice anything odd about one of them? |
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| Three drakes on the water |
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| Ladybirds and Oulema species beetles |
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| Small Tortoiseshell warming up in sheltered depression |
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| Small Tortoiseshell resting after stoutly defending its territory |
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| new dragonfly pond looks pretty in spring |
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| very clear water now means you can watch the pond activity |
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| snails and water shrimp |
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| Pond Skater |
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| lots of tiny snails |
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| one of several tadpoles |
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| Caddisfly larva inside its house of twigs |
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| Lake Orb Mussel feeding |
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| Water Boatman |
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| Bog bean starting to flower |
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| Eristalis species Hoverfly |
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| and another elsewhere |
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| "Footballer" Hoverfly |
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| they love the nectar rich dandelions |
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| Honey Bee with Marsh Marigolds |
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| Green Shieldbug |
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| well camouflaged Sloe Bug |
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| they are also known as Hairy Shieldbugs |
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| Gorse Shielbug on bramble amongst the gorse |
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| Nursery Web Spider |
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| meet the neighbour ( in field next door) |
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| Cuckoo Flower - caterpillar food plant for Orange Tip butterflies |
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| Garlic Mustard, another of their food plants |
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| Red Campion |
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| Celandines |
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| Ground Ivy flowers were attracting Honey Bees |
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| Rowans coming into bud |
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| ash walk |
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| Blackcaps first spotted over boundary here - later in reserve |
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| on the way to the boardwalk |
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| boardwalk reed bed |
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| view from the boardwalk - no fog this week! |
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| lovely blue sky in fact |
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| meadow with Marsh Marigolds |
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| view from ramp |
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| colourful corner |
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| usual view of hide |
To finish here are a couple of video clips of the new records from the pond.
Quite a fascinating visit this week!
please click on photos to enlarge them
