Date: 13th May 2025
Time: from 8:30 a.m.
Weather: dry, sunny, light wind, 15°C to 19°C
During my visit to the reserve this morning, I had 5 new site records for 2025: Lesser Whitethroat, Hairy Dragonfly, Common Blue Damselfly, Burnet Companion and Figure of Eight.
After hearing and seeing a singing male Lesser Whitethroat at my St. Nicholas Church local patch site on most visits there since 13th April 2025, I finally recorded this species at the reserve this morning. I initially heard a singing male Lesser Whitethroat on the east side of the path from the storage shed to the Eastfield Road entrance before I eventually saw it as it flew out of the bushes from one side of the path to the other. Much later, I also heard what I assume was the same singing male Lesser Whitethroat in bushes either side of the path just west of the storage shed.
In the Thorny Wood meadow area, I saw a single Burnet Companion.
I had a brief view of a Hairy Dragonfly hawking over the bushes adjacent to the track to Fox Pond and I saw a single Common Blue Damselfly on the southern section of the boardwalk.
As I left Meadow Pond,
there was a large colourful caterpillar on the boardwalk which the Seek app on my phone suggested was that of the Figure of Eight
moth and this was confirmed by subsequent research when I arrived home.
Other highlights during my visit were as follows:
Butterflies: Green-veined White (1), Orange Tip (1), Comma (1), Speckled Wood (1)
Dragonflies and damselflies (in addition to the above): Large Red Damselfly (1), Blue-tailed Damselfly (1)
Chiffchaff: 4 singing males (none seen)
Blackcap: 4 singing males (none seen)
Great Spotted Woodpecker: 1 calling bird seen flying over the path from the storage shed to the Eastfield Road entrance
Mallard: male and female seen on Fox Pond and another or possibly the same pair seen later by Puckles Pond
Grey Squirrel: 1 seen in the wooded area near Puckles Pond
Species recorded during this visit were as follows (heard only records in italics):
Lesser Whitethroat
Green-veined White
Burnet Companion
Hairy Dragonfly
Here are some photos from my visit ....
Site totals for 2025 to date (2024 totals in brackets):
Birds = 34 (38)
Total species list for the site:
Birds = 49
Love nature .... act now
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