We have had a lovely & warm weekend on the reserve, matched by some exciting wildlife!
The Mere has remained abundant in waders recently, including one Green Sandpiper, three Greenshank, 14 Black-tailed Godwit, 21 Ruff, 22 Redshank, and 235 Lapwing. A pleasant charm of 65 Goldfinches danced across the Mere on Friday which was a delight for our visitors. Other highlights included a Common Tern, a Little Grebe, and 17 Pink-footed geese.
Over at Ron Barker, an Osprey stole the show on Friday, flying low over long wood as part of its migration back to west Africa, along with one juvenile and one adult Marsh Harrier. 34 Cattle Egret and 46 Yellow Wagtail were sighted enjoying all the insects that our herd of English Longhorn cattle flushed out. Our resident Kingfisher was enjoyed by visitors sat on the rock perch on the banks of the sluice. One Barnacle Goose, two Snipe, two Great White Egret, and three Stock Doves also made an appearance.
Back over to Harrier Hide, you will find thousands of geese with 1300 Greylag and 535 Canada geese seen roosting here during the day. As well as this our families of grebe have also shown well, with eight Little Grebe seen along side two adult and three juvenile Great Crested Grebe.
Looking to the back of our reserve from Tomlinson, it has been birds of prey galore! A Barn Owl has been seen regularly hunting in the mornings after the wet weather of last week; two Buzzards have been seen soaring and circling high in the sky; one Kestrel has been seen hovering in search of prey.
Our moth trap has had some exciting visitors in the last week including: Poplar Hawkmoth, Burnished Brass, Frosted Orange, Canary-shouldered Thorn, Engrailed, Nutmeg, Copper Underwing, Brimstone Moth, and an Oak Hook-tip.
Picture of a Barn Owl.
