RXwildlife Sightings

Ternery Pool attracted most of the attention today highlights included at least 90 Mediterranean Gull, 45 Sandwich Tern and 330 Oystercatcher.

Encouraged by Patrick Roper’s recent article on his Brede High Woods blog (see here), I decided to have a look at some flowering Goat Willow near the view-point at Castle Water to check for insects. I found a couple of likely candidates and once I had my eye in there was quite a lot of activity. Butterflies included at least four Small Tortoishell and a Peacock (my first of the year), while the almost constant drone of bees was largely caused in this case by good numbers of queen Buff-tailed Bumblebee. Last but not least the bushes also held, a Drone Fly (see here), quite a few Yellow Dung Fly (here) and best of all a couple of Common Bee-fly (here). In addition, on returning to Lime Kiln Cottage I found a Common Lizard (below) basking on the wood-pile by the gate - it must be spring!

Sunday March 15th
Toads in the shallows here too, adding their primordial croaks to growling of GC Grebes in symmetrical display and the drumming of GS Woopeckers.
Not much else of note around the lake, apart from 3 exotic Mandarins flushed from the willows and a Grey Wagtail on the dam.
In the warm and garlic-scented woods however, a mass of song dominated by the warbling of Redwings crowded in the sunny treetops. Treecreepers are easy to see, vigorously singing and displaying, and at one point a LS Woodpecker arrived in a tall Ash, giving its loud and characteristic ki-ki-ki-ki call a few times before vanishing once more deep into the woods.
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