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| Small Red-eyed Damselfly |
I'm finally back doing my shift for the first Wednesday in two weeks. And for once, its a nice, sunny morning. A perfect day, as it turns out, for dragonflies. They were everywhere you looked and ranging in a variety of colours, sizes and species. From small red-eyed damselflies to large, vibrant emperor dragonflies. These winged beauties were in great numbers and they didn't go unnoticed by those who fancy them as a snack. At Fen Hide, a hobby sat for ages from a bare tree and, later from Reception Hide, circled around the broad catching and eating these dragonflies on the wing.
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| Hobby |
It was a good day for butterflies this morning as well. Though the last few swallowtails were still on the wing this week, I had no reports of one being seen today. However, it were white admirals and silver-washed fritillaries that many visitors were after this time and I've had a few reports of them in a few spots across the reserve. I attempted to find them feeding at the buddleia not far from the Reception Hide a few times throughout my shift. I didn't manage to see either today, but during one trip to the buddleia bush, I did have a surprising encounter. There was a sudden rustling sound by my feet in the undergrowth as I walked by. Looking down, I notice a tail of what I assumed was a rat. Following the tail up a really long, slender body towards its fleeing head, I realised that this 'rat' was in fact a grass snake!
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| Young Great Spotted Woodpecker |
Also today from Reception Hide; there was a bittern making a short flight at the far side of the broad, a male marsh harrier made a couple of food passes to his three young fledglings and a kingfisher made several brief visits. And from my early morning walk, I saw a juvenile great spotted woodpecker and from Fen Hide, I heard several bearded tits pinging away somewhere in the reed beds.
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