Knot Makes Swift Return, with Breadmaking

Bird News: Ibsley Water - about 3000 martins, mainly sand martins over the lake and house martins over the trees, 1 swift, 3 dunlin, 1 knot, 1 ringed plover sp (too far to be sure), 1 hobby.

Ivy Lake - great white egret (the usual colour-ringed bird), 1 Cetti's warbler.

We were busy pretty much all day with a group of visitors from National Parks around the country. They were all volunteers from a project called MOSAIC which aims to encourage access to the countryside and especially National Parks by people who do not usually visit. We did a short walk, pond-dipping, looked through the moth trap and finished up with fire lighting and "bread" making. Actually some of the bread was really good, especially the bits flavoured with blackberries.

Hopefully they all saw something in the work we do at Blashford that they could take home, even if Blashford is not quite as challenging as the high Peaks or Northumbrian Fells. As they were cooking I found the robber-fly below resting on the upturned wheel barrow, that is why the background is such a fierce yellow.

Birds today were just at the start and finish of the day for me. The martins were again over Iblsey Water and as I locked up I once again found a single swift. Reported were 3 dunlin and a knot, I assume this is one of the two that were about for several days last week. I also spotted a single juvenile "ringed" plover, it was right up at the north end of the lake seen from the Tern hide, it was moving like a little ringed plover, but I could not say for sure. Also as we locked up the great white egret was on Ivy Lake, this was the first time I had seen it since it first returned in July! A singing Cetti's warbler in the Ivy silt pond completed the day, although this bird was there yesterday, but I forgot to include it in the blog.

Arctic Terns

Bird News: Ibsley Water - c1000 sand martin, 4 dunlin, 1 green sandpiper, 5 arctic tern

Ivy Lake - 2 green sandpiper.

On both of the last two mornings the ringers have been in and caught a lot of birds. Yesterday 110 mixed sand and house martins were caught and this morning more martins and the fourth sparrowhawk of the year, an adult female pictured by Kevin Sayer.

The moth trap was quite well filled although the only new for the year moth was a centre-barred sallow, a real autumn species.

The birds of the day for me were the 5 arctic tern over the south-west corner of Ibsley Water, I don't see them that often and this group, all adults, consisted of birds in a range of plumage from full summer to almost full winter plumage. They are much more elegant in flight than common terns, a result of the different proportions of their wings, which are much longer in the primaries. The 4 dunlin were new and I could find no sign of the knot or ringed plovers, both of which had been around for some time.

Later we were working around the shore of Ivy Lake, opening up the views from the Ivy South hide where two hobbies went over, calling loudly. The other notable wildlife we saw were several water scorpions in the lake, I did try a picture but it was too dark.

Long Overdue Reserve First (for me at least)

Bird News: Ibsley Water - 1 swift, 1 osprey, 1 goshawk, 4+ wigeon, 3000-5000 sand martin, c1000 house martin, 1 wheatear.

Ivy Lake - 3 green sandpiper.

At least in the morning there were many thousands of sand martin over Ibsley Water and hundreds of house martin over the trees to the east. A lot of the sand martin were at times perched on the ground on the long shingle spit to the east of the Tern hide, I got a poor picture, but something of the numbers is clear even if the birds are not.

The moth trap was relatively quiet but the sun came out and there was the first common emerald damselfly of the year at the Centre pond and a fine male southern hawker dragonfly.

It was volunteer day today and we made further good progress clearing the north shore of Ivy Lake, the two shots are "before",

and after the day's work.

I had lunch int he Tern hide and was rewarded with an osprey which drifted down from the north, it was probably an adult, certainly it was not a juvenile. Very soon after I found the swift drifting about high over the lake. Then, perhaps best of all, a juvenile male goshawk flew west over the north of the lake, on the way narrowly missed catching a collared dove, my first goshawk at the reserve and long overdue.

Martins, Martins, Martins

Bird News: Ibsley Water - thousands of sand martin again, 500+ house martin, 1 swift (2 reported), 2 knot, 2 ringed plover, 1 redshank.

A moderate catch of moths last night included a late ruby tiger, a dark swordgrass, otherwise pretty much as expected for the time of year, but including 3 autumnal rustic (pictured below) a sign of the changing season.

There were also a couple each of hedge rustic and the rather beautifully marked feathered gothic.

Although the day was much better than yesterday the number of martins over Ibsley Water may actually have increased, there were certainly thousands, but how many I could not really estimate. There were more house martin, but I failed to see a swallow at all. The swallows have not all gone, in fact this evening I heard that further down the valley there are a pair still incubating their third clutch of eggs! I have seen house martin with young in the nest at the start of October, but never swallows so late.

A visitor to the reserve today found a second raft spider on the Centre pond. This prompted me to look up their life history. I confess I had not appreciated they usually live for three years, so these two should be full grown nest spring, if they survive the winter. Something to look out for next year.

Blow-ins

Bird News: Ibsley Water - knot 2, ringed plover 1 ad, 1 juv, common sandpiper 1 juv, peregrine 1 ad. male, sand martin 2000+, swallow c10, house martin c100, arctic tern 1 juv and little gull 1 juv .

No pictures due to terrible wet, windy weather, but as a result lots of birds. The "count " of sand martin was a guestimate at best, there could have been 5000, but the single swift was good and possibly my last until April next year. The rough weather was also responsible for the arctic tern and little tern both, no doubt, storm-driven.

Let's hope for better weather tomorrow.

Birds and Bug Hunters

Bird News: Ibsley Water - A juvenile wheatear, 1 knot, 1 juvenile ringed plover, 3 adult common tern, c700 sand martin, 1 swift and 8 goosander reported. A mixed flock of small birds reported included a spotted flycatcher. Overhead a hobby and a raven.

Arrived in heavy, fine rain to find the wheatear cowering right under the front of the Tern hide, trying to stay dry. I could not really see much else although there were clearly hundreds of sand martin over Ibsley Water.

It was the first Sunday of the month so it was volunteer day, luckily the rain stopped and we were able to clear some more of the willows at the top of Ivy Lake. Not really a bird friendly activity so wildlife was limited to one very large common frog.

At lunchtime I had a quick look out of the Ivy South hide, just in case. Yesterday the great white egret was reported from there, but this report was nothing compared to, a surely not serious, report in the book of pygmy cormorant!!!! The worry of course is that one day there will be one, so I just had to take a look. Unsurprisingly no luck on either count.

In the afternoon I was doing a public event looking for fifty types of "bugs". With a selection of moths from the trap followed by the raft spider and, alder sawfly larva all at the Centre we were off to a good start even before we went to the meadow. In the meadow we found meadow grasshopper, long-winged conehead and, only days after the first reserve record, a lesser marsh grasshopper. Then out on the lichen heath for field grasshoppers and small copper. Elsewhere we found three species of harvestmen, common blue damselfly, common darter, common carder bee, woodlice, slugs, snails, ants, wasps, bees and various flies. We lost count but agreed we had well exceeded the fifty target.

Thursday in Brief

Bird News: Ibsley Water a black-tailed godwit was the only new bird that I saw today and apart from an unattributed report of the great white egret the only thing of note.

Other News: good numbers of migrant hawker and brown hawker dragonflies around generally. A brimstone butterfly beside Mockbeggar Lake and 3 hedge rustic in the moth trap.

The volunteers made great headway with clearing the willows from the shore of Ivy Lake now that the water level is down. Normal Thursday morning weather prevailed and it was a good task all round, still lots to do, but we are getting there.

In the afternoon I moved the ponies across to Mockbeggar Lake shore as they have eaten off the grass on Ibsley Water now. Moving them now should give time for a bit of grass growth to give fresh feeding for wintering wildfowl later in the year.