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

Pond dipping was a big attraction with kids and adults alike.

I must say I assumed there wasn’t much life at all in the water, since I never see anything other than fish. How wrong I was! We found the following in one small spot:

• Tadpoles – quite big ones, some with legs

• Small diving beetles – pure black – max 1cm long

• Water louse

• Caddisfly larvae – wrapped in debris, with just head and legs poking out of the front

• Some sort of nymphs

• Three spined sticklebacks, including pregnant males and very showy red bellied males

• A baby newt – found the next day during clear up

• Small shrimps

After all that fun we had a BBQ and the adults played whack a rat with even more vigour than the children.

………….. hoverfly

Large white

The developing butterfly area is attracting……… butterflies!

Meanwhile a new colour has appeared in the mere

this looks more like a fuzzy satellite image.

Was actually taken 1.5m above water level!

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)

Here’s an arty shot of a bumble bee on a flower in the butterfly garden.

A damselfly in the alligator’s mouth.

OK, so this isn’t an insect. It’s the heron that’s been a near permanent resident on the mere, taking off from the fallen tree.

A fly, on the bridge railing. Common, yes, but interesting in close-up all the same.

A heron goes in for the kill! There’s been one on duty on the mere for a few days.

I imagine it’s all the fish that attract the heron. The mere is teeming with them. Just stand on the bridge for a few seconds and you’ll see plenty. They’re hard to photograph though!

The butterfly meadow is coming along brilliantly with a variety of butterflies seen across the site. Here’s a Speckled Wood.

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

Activity on site Sunday morning. Most creatures naturally adopt a pose to reduce the effects of the prevailing wind.

It has managed to develop one stage further. Tasting not recommended.

Come along to the the Midsummer Madness family fun day on the reserve on Saturday 23rd June. Festivities start at 3:30pm with various activities for the kids and duck racing on the river at 4:30pm. In the evening we’ll have a BBQ – bring your own food and drink! Association members should be receiving a leaflet with full details, but you can download the leaflet as a PDF right now if you want. We look forward to seeing you.