A relatively good forecast today and some good temperatures and light winds saw me heading for this cracking little reserve to see what i could find.
As on my previous visits in years gone by, i will split the visit into families of insects, birds etc. as there is so much to record here of interest.
Birds
On today's visit it was nice to see a few spring migrants which included my first local Willow Warbler of the year, 3 singing male Blackcaps, 3 Sand Martins and at least 8 Chiffchaff.
Out going winter visitors included a lovely Drake Pintail, which gave some nice views from the Wader Hide.
A few other nice sightings included at least 2 Siskin and a pair of Avocet and Oystercatcher each.
Hymenoptera
This is a family i really need to get to grips with better, but on today's visit i managed to photograph a few nice species which included Clark's-mining Bee, Early-mining Bee and Tawny-mining Bee. The latter are really distinctive and a species i have seen in our garden at home.
Syrphidae
Probably my favourite family of insects after Odonata and today saw several nice species being seen, with a lifer in the form of Cheilosia pagana. A group of 5 males were watched lekking on a silver birch trunk and involved much chasing and sparring, which was great to watch .Other highlights included my first Chalcosyrphus nemorum of the year, a lovely female Eristalis intricaria, several Eristalis pertinax and Epistrophe elegans.
Lepidoptera
It was a pretty good visit today regarding Butterflies with a good 6 species recorded, this included 6 Brimstone, 5 Peacock, 1 Small Tortoiseshell, 3 Green-veined White and my first records of the year of Speckled Wood(2) and Comma. Unfortunately i didn't manage to photograph any of the species seen.
Heteroptera
Only 1 species was recorded on today's visit, the diminutive Birch Sheildbug, really smart little insects and great to see.
Arachnids
One species was really apparent on today's visit, the fairly common Pisaura mirablis, with at least 6 seen and i even managed to photograph a sun bathing male.
Amphibians & Reptiles
Three species were recorded today, the Common Frog which i have photographed below, 2 lovely Smooth Newts and a couple of Common Lizards, adding some welcome variety to the species list for the day.
Wildflowers
It was really nice to walk around the reserve today and see several species coming into flower now along with the flowering Willows. I managed to take photos of two species, Marsh Marigold and Lesser Celandine, both really glowing in the spring sunshine.
Spider Sp. Pisaura mirablis
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| Female Tawny-mining Bee |
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| Marsh Marigold |
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| Male Early-mining Bee |
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| Female Clark's-mining Bee |
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| Female Eristalis pertinax |
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| Birch Shieldbug |
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| An Immature Common Frog |
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| Female Eristalis intricaria |
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| Male Chalcosyrphus nemorum |
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| Male Cheilosia pagana, a new species for myself |
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| Not As Sharp As I Would Like, But This Species Was Difficult To Photograph, So I Cropped The Image Above This One To Show The Subtle Dark Tips To The Antennae Which Help Identify The Species |
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| Male Clark's-mining Bee |
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| Lesser Celandine |
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| Phone-scoped Image Of A Female Gadwall |
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| Male Epistrophe elegans |
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