Nature Notes May

The weather during May was on the whole dry with strong winds. Less reported wildlife during this period compared with previous year.

SIGHTINGS
Birds: Jays, Magpies, Jackdaws, Carrion Crows, Black-headed Gulls, Buzzard, Kestrel, Green/Great Spotted Woodpeckers, Song/Mistle Thrushes, Blackbirds, Robins, Wrens, Nuthatches, Treecreeper, Chiffchaffs, Blackcaps, Goldfinches, Greenfinches, Chaffinches, Bullfinches, Dunnocks, Siskins, Stonechats, Dartford Warblers, Tree Pipits, Cuckoo, Wood Pigeons, Long-tailed/Blue/ Coal/ Great Tits.
Plants in flower: Broom, Wild Geranium, Blackberries, Cotton Grass, Rhododendron.
Reptiles/Amphibians: Slow Worms, Common Lizards, Grass Snakes, Adder
Insects/Bugs/Spiders: Raft Spiders, Sawfly Caterpillars.
Dragonfly: Broad Bodied.
Damselfly: Small Red.
Mammals: Pipistrelle Bats, Grey Squirrels.
Butterflies: Speckled Wood, Small White.

A very quiet month with few noticeable insects, butterflies, dragonflies or damselflies.
The majority of birds have now produced young which have fledged, many seen flying and feeding together in family groups.
The Bog Myrtle bordering the boardwalk has produced a perfume from the leaves.
Sheets of webs covering bushes contain the Sawfly caterpillar, which is green with small yellow spots.
A Cuckoo was heard but not seen at the south east end of the boardwalk, within the woodland.

Nature Facts

During May, young Fox cubs started to learn through play and to eat solid foods. Female Bats looked for nursery sites, to produce young. Adult Frogs left the ponds. Early tadpoles began to metamorphose. The Spring litters of Grey Squirrels were weaned and left the litter drey to become independent. Female Roe Deer produce young during May/June.

Nature Notes April

Another warm dry month with days of prolonged sunshine. The airwaves were full of bird song and the warmth bought forth a multitude of wildlife.

SIGHTINGS
Birds: Jays, Hooded Crows, Magpies, Buzzards, Black-headed Gulls, Heron, Sparrowhawk, Wood Pigeon, Green/Great Spotted Woodpeckers, Chiffchaffs, Pair of Bullfinches, Chaffinches, Goldfinches, Greenfinches, Robins, Wrens, Blackbirds, Blackcaps, Song Thrushes, Pair of Mistle Thrush, Goldcrests, Dunnocks, Siskins, Nuthatches, Treecreeper, Coal/Blue/Great/Long Tailed Tits, Pair of Stonechats and Dartford Warblers, Tree Pipits, a Cuckoo heard calling from beyond the north of the Reserve.
Plants/Trees: Gorse, Violets, Primrose, Flowering Currant, Rowan all in flower.
Butterflies/Moths: Large/Small White, Orange Tip, Comma, Peacock, Brimstone, Speckled Wood, Holly Blue, Heath Moth.
Dragonfly/Damselfly: Small Red Damselfly.
Beetles: Green Tiger Beetle, Ground Beetle, Gorse Weevil, 7 Spot Ladybird, 20 Spot Ladybird, Burying Beetle.
Bugs: Gorse Shield Bug, Pine Cone Bug, Common Flower Bug, Mirid Bug, Ground Hopper, Bristletail, Springtail.
Spiders: Clubiona corticalis, Zora spinimana, Crab Spider, Wolf Spider, Hunting Spider, Money Spider, Raft Spider, Pirate Spider.
Insects: Owl Midge, Black-banded Spider Wasp, Common Wasp, Nomad Bee, St. Mark’s Fly.
Reptiles: Adders, Grass Snakes, Slow Worms (legless Lizard) Common Lizards.
Mammals: Grey Squirrels, Moles, Roe Deer, Wood Mice, Pipistrelle Bats.

After returning from Africa, arriving in mid-April, three singing male Tree Pipits plus several females were heard and seen - the highest number since our monitors have been recording.

A marked increase in numbers of singing male Chiffchaffs and Blackcaps on the perimeter of the Reserve.
Pipistrelle Bats recorded flying at dusk from the second week in April.