Heatwave wildlife

Hello

A few birds of interest in the Scaldwell Bay at Pitsford Reservoir this morning included an Osprey, an adult Yellow-legged Gull, four Great White Egrets, a Grey Wagtail and at least one Green Sandpiper. The Scaldwell meadow was alive with butterflies including plenty of Marbled Whites.

The floating rafts were checked today and there are large numbers of young and fluffy Black-headed Gull chicks and four pairs of Common Terns are nesting with the first chicks now hatched. The Common Terns are still at a very low ebb after being hit very hard with the bird flu a few years ago and their numbers seem to be low everywhere regionally.

The Sand Martin bank at Pitsford now has birds working on their second broods, with the majority of the first brood youngsters already flying and away. There are no Tree Sparrows nesting on the reserve this year and with only one known pair nesting just off the reserve.

Two Little Terns were again at Eyebrook Reservoir and Hollowell Reservoir this morning provided for a Common Sandpiper and four Little Ringed Plovers.

In the Nene Valley at a site not disclosed, a Cattle Egret was seen feeding two well-grown youngsters and the complex at Earls Barton New Workings/Whiston Wetlands supported five Avocets, a Green Sandpiper and a drake Red-crested Pochard.

Green-eyed Hawkers (or Norfolk Hawkers if you like) have turned up today in the Welland Valley west of Gretton Weir, Billing Pits and again at Ditchford Pits...Scarce Chasers now seem to be common along the Nene Valley east of Northampton...we are still waiting for our first record of either species of these dragonfly at Pitsford! 😶

Regards

Neil M

Common Blue Damselfly
and Large Red-eyed Damselfly.

Four-spotted Chaser.

Five-spot Burnet.

Red Admiral.