Recent Sightings (30th May-1st June)
A few notable sightings from the reserve during the past few days. 3 Spoonbills are still viewable from the British Steel Hide (1st June). Lesser Whitethroats have bred on the reserve with adults seen feeding recently fledged young near Hopkin's Folly. A 1st-summer Common Gull was seen on the NRA scrapes, and Cuckoos have been seen from the British Steel Hide and heard singing from the reserve. It's very hard to tell how our breeding Lapwings are doing, with the vegetation now very tall and thick in most places on the main island. But 2 large, well developed young were seen from the first screen on the 1st, and there are almost certainly more in amongst the vegetation. An Otter gave incredible views in a ditch near the Welsh Water Hide on the 30th, much to the dismay of the local Mute Swan pair and their 6 cygnets. A few new Odonata species for the year have been noted including Black-tailed Skimmer, Emperor and Red-eyed Damselflies have been seen mating on Deep Water Lake recently, which is exciting news. A male Small Blue Butterfly was seen near Water Vole City, one of only a handful of records of this tiny Butterfly since the reserve opened. A Small Yellow Underwing (moth) was seen near the canoe safari.
