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| a summer morning in the meadow |
Wednesday morning looked like my best opportunity to visit the Reserve this week. I opened up the hide shutters soon after nine and was immediately struck by the number of white butterflies fluttering about the vegetation which has encroached into the pond area. Seconds later I saw a small brown bird fly across with a very large white butterfly in its beak! I saw this twice more and the bird turned out to be a Reed Warbler, obviously feeding young. Here is what else I recorded:
Birds:
SC208694 Goldfinch flying across; Woodpigeon x 2 flying over; 2 x Pheasant heard at the same time from different directions; Willow Warbler; Buzzard over adjacent field; Raven flying over croaking; Chiffchaff heard not seen.
SC208695 juvenile Robin.
SC209694 ( hide) 2 x Reed Warbler ( 1 carrying food)
SC209694 ( elsewhere) male and female Chaffinches in the apple trees; 4 x Swallow flying over; Willow Warbler; 2 x Woodpigeon flying over; Wren heard not seen; Heron flying over.
Butterflies:
SC209694 2 x Meadow Brown; Small White; Green Veined White; Large White; Common Blue; Red Admiral; Comma; Speckled Wood.
SC209693 Speckled Wood x 3.
SC208694 Common Blue; Small White;Speckled Wood x 5; Green Veined White.
SC208695 Large White; Meadow Brown; Speckled Wood; Red Admiral.
SC209695 Speckled Wood; Meadow Brown x 2.
SC210694 Large White; Meadow Brown; very ragged Small Tortoiseshell.
Numerous unidentified Whites flying throughout reserve.
Other:
SC210694 Field Grasshopper
SC209694 2 x Common Darter; Blue-tailed damselfly;
SC208694 unidentified Hawker dragonfly flying over brambles
SC208695 unidentified micromoth on Hogweed
SC208695 Common Green and Grypocoris stysi capsid bugs and tiny flies on Hogweed
SC208695 Hoverfly in bracken
SC209694 small colourful spider - Metallina?
SC209694 Soldier beetles
SC209694 Lacewing
SC209694 Froghopper
SC210694 7-spot Ladybird
SC208694 7-spot Ladybird (slightly damaged)
SC209693 Inkcap x 2
SC209694 Incap x 12
SC209694 Silk Button Spangle Gall caused by gall wasp Neuroterus numismalis
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| my first view of the Reed Warbler |
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| note the insects in its beak |
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| male Chaffinch on the Gorse Boundary |
When I returned to the hide on two further occasions during the morning the Reed Warblers were still there.
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| again, note the insects in its bill - indication it is feeding young? |
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| juvenile Robin |
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| Speckled Woods were everywhere |
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| a very ragged Small Tortoiseshell |
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| Large White on Marsh Woundwort |
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| Large White on Spear Thistle |
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| Large White on Purple Loosestrife |
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| taken through the hide shutters |
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| the beauty of brambles! Red Admiral and Meadow Brown........ |
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| and a Comma.......... |
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| and a Speckled Wood |
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| Speckled Wood |
Brambles provide nectar, berries, bird nesting sites and wildlife cover all year round.
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| this 7-spot appears to be slightly damaged |
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| 7-spot feasting on aphids |
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| Common Darter on Bog Bean |
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| apologies the out-of-focus close-up |
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| Blue-tailed Damselfly also on Bog Bean |
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| and sitting on the Duckweed |
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| Greater Water Boatman ( Backswimmer) |
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| two types of Capsid Bug on Hogweed |
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| Field Grasshopper |
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| Froghopper - result of all that earlier Cuckoo Spit no doubt |
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| Hoverfly species in bracken |
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| Lace Wing - a new Record for the Reserve |
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| Marmalade Hoverfly also enjoying the bramble nectar |
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| to be identified - micromoth on Hogweed |
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| Soldier Beetle |
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| colourful spider - Metallina? |
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| have the wasps finally stopped building their outdoor extension? |
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| Inkcap fungus |
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| Silk Button Spangle Galls on oak ( Gall Wasp Neuroterus numismalis) |
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| Oxeye Daisy near the dragonfly pond |
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| there were many unidentified White Butterflies in the meadow |
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| which continues to look beautiful with Meadowsweet and Loosestrife |
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| also Sneezewort |
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| usual view of the boardwalk |
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| and usual view from it |
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| the entrance to the old beehive loop |
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| the gorse boundary path |
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| no flowers on the gorse at present |
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| the dragonfly pond |
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| the bench has been moved to the shade |
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| berries ripening on the nearby Rowan |
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| the usual reedy bend photo |
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| and the hide in the distance |
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| an early view from the hide ramp |
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| and later with cloud building up |
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| through the shutters |
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| cool and shady under the willows |
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| but there were Speckled Woods in the patches of sunlight |
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| not a bird in sight from this spot, unlike last week |
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| ripening Rowan berries - a future feast for Blackbirds? |
Whilst in the hide for the final time I turned on the Merlin Birdsong App which confirmed I was truly watching Reed Warblers, but it also told me there were Crossbills on the scene. I could neither hear nor see a Crossbill and the fir trees where they were most likely to be were some distance away. Merlin comes up with some strange results from time to time and I'm afraid I was rather sceptical on this occasion. It was time to go home and I closed down the shutters once the Reed Warblers vanished. However, the very next day Crossbills were seen in the firs between the reserve and the churchyard! What I pity I had not investigated before leaving on Wednesday! I did call in briefly on Friday while passing but could neither see nor hear Crossbills from the reserve or in the churchyard, so they had moved on. In future I'll take more notice of what Merlin is trying to tell me!
Whilst there on Friday I also saw a Wall Brown butterfly, making a total of 10 butterfly species seen on the reserve this week.
please click on photos to enlarge them
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