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

Ducklings

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?

posts

08.04.08

it's interesting to see the alternative uses made of the information signs by animals on the site.
Some wild, some less so.

A resident wren often perches on one post in particular,
by the main bridge, meanwhile, two more residents use them as lookout points.


a jay, busy gathering nest material.

Pippin, just one of four cats spotted this day.

an elusive, but noisy chiffchaff on the railway emankment.
No post needed, just leafy cover.

the obliging heron

07.04.08

on the reserve today, poking about on the margins of the main lagoon, occasionally taking flight to go to the opposite bank.

Slowly he got nearer and nearer, with me crossing the bridge to perhaps sneak a closer shot.

don't annoy the siskin

a dull, wet day -however, the reserve is busy



the cute siskin are quite happy, until another species drops in for a snack that is.
They then turn in quite a performance, flapping and squawking to deter unwanted visitors.

jays, while big, noisy and colourful, are actually very shy.
This one was caught in the millisecond he realised I was watching him from the hide.

sightings, plus

Sunday 30.03.08

a fox near the river.
a male blackcap near the bog area.
the reed buntings.
an industrious working party.
coffee and cake.

plus



the "resident" sparrowhawk patrols the skies over the reserve.
-always inducing panic alarm calls around the site when it's abroad.

a perky robin

an even perkier wren

butterflies are go

Sunday 30.03.08
the newly planted butterfly meadow area next to the hide,
has proved itself a success, so early in the year too.



comma perched on "honesty"

comma perched on a perenniel wallflower

peacock sunbathing on a stone

fritillaries appear again.
how long will they last this year??

A bird in the hand is worth ....

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!