Something in the Water

Bird News: Ibsley Water - goldeneye 1, goosander 10.

Mockbeggar Lake - little egret 12, great white egret 1.

Ivy Lake - water rail 2.

The moth trap was quite busy this morning after a mild night, nothing new for the year, but a merveille du jour and a mottled umber were both good to see. The mottled umber is pictured below.

As well as the moths a single hoverfly was also in the trap, an Eristalis pertinax a species that will hibernate and fly again in the spring.

I had to go and look at the fence along the northern shore of Mockbeggar Lake in the morning as we are looking to replace the old fence, which has seen better days. Looking across the lake a group of egrets included the great white egret, I gave digi-binning a try and the result is below.

The sun was out for much of the time and I saw several insects including migrant hawker dragonfly, several red admirals and a late small copper. The copper was very worn, perhaps not surprising at this late date, but it did allow a picture.

Less surprising was a speckled wood, I usually see one or two in November and today was ideal for them. This too was a very worn individual.

Despite these reminders of summer there was no doubt that it is autumn, the light, the dampness in the air and even the smell of the day all spoke of autumn.

When I went to lock up the Tern hide, I had just sat down to have a quick last look, when all the birds from the eastern side of the lake suddenly dashed westwards, in flight or, in the case of the coots by pattering over the surface. At first I though there must have been someone on the bank near the Goosander hide, but looking that way I saw a buzzard perched in a tree, so not a person, but what? Then I noticed the gulls circling over the lake just out of sight to the east of the long shingle spit, there was obviously something in the water they did not like. My guess would be an otter, the reaction of the birds was typical and although it did not come into view I am pretty sure that if I had been int he Goosander hide that is what I would have seen.

A Hot Day with Bite

Bird News: Ibsley Water - great white egret 1, green sandpiper 1, pintail 1, black-necked grebe 1, Egyptian goose 13.

Another ridiculously hot day for October, clear blue sky and a light E/SE wind. The night was warm and I had high hopes for the moth trap, would there be any good migrants? Well no, but a moderate range of locals. I know I have posted red-green carpet before recently, but the one below is a very different looking individual, with a much more contrasting pattern.

There was one new species for the year in the form of 2 deep brown dart, one already quiet worn. This is the better of the two.

As it was the first Saturday of the month the volunteers were working on the reserve this morning, six of us spent the morning sprucing up the area around the Centre. In fact it was pretty busy for a time this morning, as well as our work, Michelle was running a family activity with fire-lighting and shelter building and then the digger that has been pulling out tree stumps for us was taken away through the car park. Luckily things then quietened down, apart for a persistent whine, mosquitoes are everywhere just now and I got bitten numerous times.

Later in the afternoon on the way to lock the hides I came across a pair of speckled wood on the path in the low sunlight. The male wing-fluttering beside the female, which seemed not obviously impressed, although she was not flying away, so I guess she might have been more interested than she looked.

I did not see much else, but Michelle reported that her group found a couple of grass snakes, two smooth newts, a toad and, most surprisingly a raft spider in a puddle caught in an old pond-liner we use to cover a small clay pit.