Anything that has been spotted on the nature reserve
The two swans on the long pond,(female with blue ring), have now taken over from the last pair in which the female (white ring TYP) died. They are now the chasing and not the chased, see attached photo of the most recent pair to be harassed by them. Hawthorn trees are doing very well, see […]
Best day this week, the air was clear and the hills looked really close, see photo. Now the nesting period has officially finished, Natural England have been busy, carrying on where they left off, in February, cutting and burning Willow trees in the dip north of the butts, see couple of photos. They have also […]
The Painted Lady butterflies are still very plentiful especially where there is any nectar. Natural England were busy bruising the bracken in the area just after the second to last gate, see photos. A Reed Warbler has started singing again, in the middle clump of reeds near the path, see photo. Managed a photo of […]
Yesterday afternoon hundreds of Painted Lady butterflies were in the first field, feeding on Common Knapweed and on the marsh,Sea Lavender. There were also two different sizes, one was the same as the small Tortoiseshell and the other was about half the size again, is one an immigrant and the other a local ?? Other […]
All along the paths are sand piles mounted outside small holes and the other day we found a culprit, a Sand Wasp, see photo. These insects lay their eggs on dead prey, see the attached link, https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2017-11/uow-dwa110317.php Bartsia is now in flower and we are finding it growing outside the usual areas, a good area […]
During the walk on the reserve, to and from the Natterjack ponds, lots of butterflies were disturbed but unfortunately they were nearly all Meadow Browns. In contrast, walking through a lane to the stable there was an excellent variety, including a Holly Blue ( also in the garden yesterday), along with Comma, Small Tortoiseshell, Gatekeeper, […]
Spotted a Heron on the long pond this morning, normally this time of year they are more numerous and fighting for the best spots. We also spotted a couple of female Back-tailed Skimmers on the main path from gate 4, more detail on this photo than the last one. The last photo attached is of […]
Yesterday we came across a Herring gull lying down, in the field after the Chalets, as we approached it was clear to see the problem, a large piece of cloth was stuck in it’s beak. We tried to catch it but it still was well enough to fly, and ironically probably now die of starvation. […]
Badgers must really like honey and be immune to bee stings, we found the remains of a dug out nest with one lonely bee trying to make sense of the devastation, see photo. This easterly wind has brought a massive influx of Painted Lady’s and at the moment, except for a few Meadow Brown, they […]
The first field is full of Marsh and Spotted Orchids this year, and posibly some Hybrids, see photos. There are a group of White Iris growing in the lower tip, not sure exactly what type, see photos. Dyer’s Greenweed is everywhere especially down the paths. A couple of Blackbirds are feeding their young at the […]