May 15th Strumpshaw Fen

I was like walking in a daydream this morning. Soaking up the warm sunshine and the sound of birdsong as I made my way around the reserve before my shift began. There was a sense of laziness, a sense that the natural atmosphere around me was 'chilling out'. I was so relaxed from the beauty of it all that I hadn't realised that everything was mostly being heard than seen. The birds were eluding me, but I knew that they were there. A grasshopper warbler was reeling somewhere out of sight, but I could hear it from inside the Fen Hide. I was able to see many of the other warbler species (whitethroats, chiffchaffs, blackcaps, willow warblers and sedge warblers), but they refused to stay in my line of sight longer than half a minute, and in some cases, half a second.

Bluebells

This week, a few exciting things have been showing up at Strumpshaw while I was away. A ring ouzel had been spotted for a couple of days in the pasture fields. Sadly, it had disappeared for the last two days before today, but I wanted to check if it had returned this morning anyway. I walked along the river to the Pumphouse and scanned the fields. Nothing. It was clear that it was completely long gone. Completing my circuit through the woods, the sight of the bluebell display made the ring ousel-less walk a little better. It may not be as impressive as the one I saw at Foxley Wood the other weekend, but it was good enough for me at that moment.

Brimstones

In other news, the first swallowtail had emerged yesterday, a day early to the usual emergence date. It meant that swallowtail fever had now officially begun. I was hoping that I would see one from around Reception Hide, but I wasn't so lucky this time. You'd have to go to the Lackford Run to have a chance to see it. At least there were plenty of other butterfly species to enjoy. During my early walk, I managed to spot my first small copper of the year as well as plenty of hairy dragonflies. In the flower bed, red mason bees were checking out the stump with holes drilled into it, while orange-tips, green-veined whites and holly blues fluttered over the flowers. I especially couldn't tear my eyes away from the mating antics of a pair of brimstones as a female was trying to entice an interested male to mate with her, though he kept ruining the moment to chase the other butterflies away.




At the Reception Hide, despite not seeing a swallowtail, I was pleased in seeing several hobbies high in the blue sky amongst the many swifts up there with them. I was also busy writing up the sightings board when a kingfisher made an appearance so brief that it disappeared before I had a chance to see it. I also saw today; marsh harriers, reed buntings, a great crested grebe, great spotted woodpeckers, a brief glimpse of a distant bearded tit, swallows, mallard with ducklings, a couple of muntjac deer and a Chinese water deer.