Middle of July

Red Kite and Common Tern (c) Bark

The moor is beginning to quieten down now, at least in terms of raucous birdsong, courtship and territorial disputes. There are still youngsters in and out of the nest to be fed and in some cases second broods to be created. 

Young Goldfinch and young Blue Tit (c) Bark

Newly independent juveniles are gathering in mixed feeding flocks and roving through the hedgerows and scrub.

Newly fledged Wren (c) Bark

We are also beginning to see returning waders and the first of the autumn passage migrants. Last week we recorded the first Common Sandpiper and first Greenshank of the year. We also had a flyover Siskin on Saturday morning and I have heard that Siskins have been seen on garden feeders up in Stanton St John. 

Redstart (c) Nick Truby

There are at least three male Redstarts on and around the reserve at present. Two of them are still in the tall broad hedge alongside the first part of the path out to the Pill. 

Juvenile Whinchat (c) Nick Truby

A young Whinchat was found in the same hedgerow, earlier than we normally expect to see them on passage.

Juvenile Tern on the bank..... (c) Bark

At the second screen, the two Common Tern chicks that I had presumed would drown when they fell from the raft are now fully feathered and flying with their parents, but still returning to the mud bank to be fed on the ground. 

.......and now flying (c) Bark

Out on the raft we could see at least six more chicks at differing stages of development. It was impressive to see how half a dozen Terns could chase away a Red Kite from the airspace over the lagoon, diving in with what can only be termed kamikaze attacks. 

Tern Kite aerial battle (c) Bark

Over Greenaways during the breeding season Lapwings attempt the same tactic but the Kites ignore them. When the terns go into the attack they don’t hold back, they really seem to mean it!

It is the turn of the northern lagoon to have water levels dropped this year and muddy margins are already starting to show out on the right-hand side. It is well worth watching this area closely, with the reedy edge being very ragged and sparse. It looks just the area to see Water Rails or as the season progresses even a Crake creeping about. We saw a Bittern stalking along the northern edge, disappearing in and out of the reeds, seemingly appearing and disappearing at will, its plumage is so cryptic.

Raven (c) Bark

There is a family party of four Ravens frequenting the moor and its surrounds. They announce their presence with their characteristic deep cronking, sometimes flying close together and sometimes calling to each other from a distance. Their vocalisations sound to be more than just contact calls they seem to be more of a conversation. While they were flying across Greenaway’s last week one of the bird performed a series of tumbling manoeuvres. It looked like an expression of pure exuberance, doing something just because you can. When they are flying and calling together like that, it is easy to see how they became a fixture of Norse mythology and significant characters in folklore.

Top Emperor and below Brown Hawker with a darter lunch ! (c) Bark

It has been a very good year for Dragonflies and all of the large species are on the wing now with a supporting cast of smaller Darters and Damsels. I have seen pristine newly emerged Emperor Dragonflies and last weekend what I first thought was a mating pair of brown Hawkers, turned out on closer examination, to be a Hawker consuming a captured  Darter. There is no family solidarity!

Speckled Wood, Holly Blue, Purple Hairstreak and Small Copper (c) Bark

Bees, Butterflies and Bugs throng to the abundant bramble flowers and cow parsleys as they open in the sunshine. There are invertebrates everywhere on the reserve, but the Roman Road is one of the best places to see the greatest variety. 

Bumble Bee, Soldier Beetle, Long-horned Beetle and a weird Fly!! (c) Bark

In a few weeks time the Brown Hairstreaks will be on the wing and will draw in numbers of butterfly enthusiasts to see them. If you look closely and carefully, whilst waiting to spot the Hairstreaks, you can find all sorts and shapes of other invertebrates; Long -horned Beetles, Bumble Bees, Solitary Wasps, Hover Flies, Grasshoppers and Bush Crickets, it is a rich and varied habitat.

Young Sedgie (c) Bark