Wildlife sightings for 26th May 2022
Lesser Whitethroat singing from the sheltered lagoon
Birds:
1 Lesser Whitethroat - sheltered lagoon (main lake/sheltered lagoon border scrub)
1 Little Ringed Plover - main lake
2 Oystercatcher - main lake
1 Kestrel - marsh
1 Common Tern - over main lake
1 Hobby - over N high
Reed Warbler (60+), Cetti's Warbler (25+), Sedge Warbler (5+), Chiffchaff and Blackcap (20+) all singing around the reserve. Dragonflies and Damselflies are on the wing or emerging and many new summer flowers are popping up around the reserve, including orchids in the wildside. Lots of Hirundinidae and Apodidae filling the skies! Kestrel is a regular visitor and loves the wild grasslands and wildflower meadows found around the reserve. It's amazing how quickly Kestrels will react and recolonise rewilded grasslands and brownfield sites. They are an excellent indicator species for small mammals and the reserves team regularly see both Bank Voles and Field Voles sneaking through the hedgerows.
Flowering plants: Great Burnet, Salad Burnet, Bee Orchid, Southern Marsh Orchid, Pyramidal Orchid, Cut-leaved Crane's-bill, Dove's-foot Crane's-bill, Goat's Beard, Yellow Flag Iris, Yellow Rattle, Common Bistort, Jack-by-the-hedge, Bugle, Herb Robert, Cuckoo-flower, Ox Eye Daisy, Rowan, Wild Cabbage, Dogwood, Guelder Rose, Bramble, Common Vetch, Dog Rose, Elder, Common Mallow, Birds-foot Trefoil, Grass Vetchling, Deptford Pink, Beaked Hawksbeard, Smooth Hawksbeard, Creeping Cinquefoil, Red Campion, White Water Lily.
Butterflies: Brimstone, Small White, Large White, Green-veined White, Orange Tip, Peacock, Holly Blue, Common Blue, Speckled Wood, Painted Lady, Small Heath.
Dragonflies/Damselflies: Four-spotted Chaser, Broad-Bodied Chaser, Black-Tailed Skimmer, Hairy Dragonfly, Blue Tailed Damselfly, Azure Damselfly, Banded Demoiselle, Large Red Damselfly, Emerald Damselfly.
Other insects: Alder Leaf Beetle, Poplar Leaf Beetle, Wasp Beetle, Thick-Legged Flower Beetle, Buff-tailed Bumblebee, Ruby-Tailed Wasp, Green Lacewing, Red-headed Cardinal Beetle, Cinnabar Moth, Yellow Underwing, Mother Shipton.
