Sandwich Tern, Southern Hawker, Hazel-Leaf Roller Weevil, and some scruffy Swallow chicks
June keeps rolling on - like a weevil!
You won't find this sandwich in your meal deal
Wildlife Sightings at WWT Llanelli from 23rd – 29th June 2025
Highlights: Sandwich Tern, Southern Hawker, Hazel-Leaf Roller Weevil, Swallow
The Sandwich Tern is not a delicious lunch but a relative of the gulls and skimmers. Their 80s-inspired slicked-back black “hair” is one of their distinctive features, alongside a yellow-tipped bill. The two terns that were sticking around on Freshwater Lagoon on Monday blended in well with the Black-Headed Gulls. But you can’t hide from our eagle-eyed visitors for long! Sandwich Terns are summer visitors to the UK and are named for Sandwich Bay in Kent, where hundreds settle down from March onwards. Sandwich Terns hunt for fish by diving from the air into the sea, snapping up their seafood snack as they do so.
Our most recently emerged dragonfly of the summer is the Southern Hawker, and they might be just as interested in you as you are in them! Southern Hawkers are one of the most inquisitive dragonfly species, often hovering near humans to see what’s up. These blue, black and green hunters catch their prey in mid-air, venturing out from their ponds into the woodlands in search of an unsuspecting snack.
Following on with another interesting insect – the Hazel-Leaf Roller Weevil. As the name suggests, these funky red bugs lay their eggs in rolled-up hazel leaves to keep them protected. Once dried out, they look like little cigars hanging from the trees! You’ll easily be able to recognise their elongated black neck and head and short antennae if you spot one! Keep an eye out around the Millennium Wetlands, especially on hazel trees!
Our final highlight of the week are the grumpy-looking Swallow chicks who have just begun to fledge! Still looking scruffy and relying on their parents for food (like most teenagers), it's hard to believe that soon they’ll be old enough to fly all the way to Africa ready for winter!
Other sightings of note this week include a female Marsh Harrier flying over the Reedbeds this morning, a female Sparrowhawk on the Saltmarsh, and three Great White Egrets on the saline lagoon with some Bar-Tailed Godwits nearby. And finally, the number of Mediterranean Gulls on the Freshwater Lagoon has increased to an impressive sixty-seven!
