I saw a woodpecker today in their usual spot – the tall dead trees at the far end of the site. I have heard a very loud knocking made by a woodpecker in the past but had never seen one till today…This was definitely a woodpecker but was pretty small – smaller than the collared doves in the tree. Looking back on the blog, it is a great spotted woodpecker that has been sighted, as far as I can see – but I would have guessed this was a lesser spotted, from its size
Author Archive
Sunday, June 29th, 2008 | Author: Alison
Yesterday rare migrants, common vagrants, residents and fairly scarce summer visitors were spotted at the site. Unfortunately we also had some sightings of vermin. Olivia is going to dispose of an unpleasant looking purplefooted mouse
Ann tried to splat a common rat (rattus horribilis) whilst Steve supervised when to hit it.
A new colourful species of butterfly was sighted. It got attached to this little boy
A dragonfly was spotted which is endemic to the site
This young visitor thought she’d take a duck home
This little boy thought the duck was a fake
Jack caught this new species of duck (anas plasticus)
(and a very pleasant summer party was enjoyed by all)
Category: uncategorized
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Monday, April 28th, 2008 | Author: Alison
RESERVE MANAGER’S REPORT March – April 2008
Already, this year, there have been butterflies seen on the perennial Wallflower (Bowles Mauve) in the Butterfly Meadow. The bees seem to love it too.
Lots of small fish have just appeared in the Mere last week – especially noticeable near the main bridge.
The new bird feeding station has proved to be a success. There have been sightings of a female Brambling, Siskins, and two Reed buntings (a first for the Reserve) feeding at the station.
The Water rail is still around. Also there is a pair of Kingfishers about at the moment which hopefully will breed on the Reserve.
Notable flora in bloom include Primrose, Green Alkanet, Ramsons, Violets, Marsh Marigold, Cowslips, Fritillary, Perennial Wallflower and the first Bluebells. The native Daffodils and Snowdrops have finished and Cow Parsley is taking over instead.
Howard
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Wednesday, April 23rd, 2008 | Author: Alison
Saw these eight ducklings (funny triangular forms in photo on right) at the weekend near the willow tree in the pond. Today I could only see one chick but maybe it was another batch. But then where are the other ducklings?
And where, BTW, are the kingfishers? I haven’t seen them for 2 weeks, whereas for the last few months I’d see them every time I visited the site. Has anyone seen them recently?
Category: birds
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Tuesday, April 01st, 2008 | Author: Alison
Last Saturday I was watching the kingfisher from the bridge with Sheila and Howard. I thought I would get a bit closer and use my new 20 x binoculars. So I stood by the bench and got a good view. Then I thought I was seeing things but to my amazement, there was another kingfisher virtually hidden behind the male, sitting quietly on the branch but further into the bush. The male did usual things like catching a fish and bashing its head on the branch, while the female stayed put quietly, not doing anything much. Sheila and Howard also came and saw the female – it was magic!
Category: birds
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Sunday, February 11th, 2007 | Author: Alison
Although strictly this is not a sighting, it is sightings related. Simon Barnes’ book is entertaining and informative. Here is a bit I like:
He talks about jizz recognition (this is something I can do with herons) – ‘But looking and absorbing the shapes and sizes and movements of a bird is how you begin to get the hang of them. From the chaos of biodiversity comes a pattern and from the pattern comes the beginning of an understanding. You acquire the skill of jizz recognition simply by looking at birds you have already identified; because you see, identification is the beginning not the end of the process, and that is why birdwatching, good and bad, is the exact opposite of trainspotting’
Category: birds
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Saturday, January 20th, 2007 | Author: Alison
Sunny and windy today. Saw first snowdrops near toolshed. Also a marsh marigold near the far end of the bridge. Took photos of wintry teasels and our Green Man sculpture. Returned home covered in burrs, looking as if I had been sleeping in a ditch.
Category: first sightings, plants
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Saturday, January 06th, 2007 | Author: Alison
Wildlife report
There is not much noticeable at this time of year but the bats were still in evidence in November but are probably hibernating now. The Mallard population seems to be staying at the same level (between 15 -20 birds). A Sparrowhawk is sighted regularly, along with Great Spotted Woodpeckers (who are doing a great deal of damage to one of the old pollarded willow trees). Sheila has seen a Redpoll twice but no Redwings at all this year. Still, it is early days yet. There seem to be quite a lot of cats in the area which, unfortunately will take out the bank voles, etc, but they may also help keep down the rat population, so they are a mixed blessing!
Flora
A single Marsh Marigold flowered on Xmas Eve (or was first noticed then!). This must be a record. Some of the trees are in bud – it seems as if they have only just lost their leaves.