Still Plenty to See

Thanks to volunteer Ian for this piece...

So here we are. One minute it’s spring, and it’s dawn chorus walks and bird surveys, and then, in what seems like a blink of an eye, we are into August, and late summer.

This is largely viewed as a more quiet time on the reserve, and in many aspects it is. The breeding birds have done just that. Fledglings have, well, fledged, and there is certainly less singing to be heard, but don’t be fooled by the relative silence, as there are still birds and other wildlife around, and they’re still doing interesting things.

On a recent day of volunteering on the reserve, I arrived early so that I could take a walk around. It had been a while since I had wandered around, and I felt the need to see how the reserve was changing as the weeks were passing. It was a beautiful, sunny, morning, and quite still. As I started my stroll down the main path to the first semi-clearing, I am greeted with the song of a willow warbler.  These little birds are still singing their musical, descending song.  Further down the track, and I notice that lots of insects, especially flies, seem to be sunbathing, getting warmed up in the early sun, and they disperse as my shadow is cast upon them.

Continuing on, I round the corner to be slightly unsettled by the willow sculpture of the weevil in the meadow.  Even though I know it’s there, the initial sight of it catches me out for a second or two. Past the willow weevil, and around the corner, and it’s alive with birds. Great tits, blue tits and long-tailed tits are busying themselves, searching every last nook and cranny of the shrubs and small trees in this area for insects and caterpillars. A wren darts across the path in front of me, and while I’m standing and looking through my binoculars, a hoverfly stops dead by my head, filling my left ear with a high-pitched buzzing sound.

A few metres further, and my attention is caught by something in the bracken. There are two garden warblers and I watch as they appear to be having a shower! They seemed to be brushing against the dew soaked bracken fronds and then using the water as they preened. I don’t thing that I have ever seen this before. As they exhausted the supply of water from one plant, they moved to the next, and kept preening as they went, oblivious to my observations.  I continue down into the valley, across the bridge and into Clough Meadow. Again, it’s alive with insects, and there is also a great view across and down the valley, and I sit on one of the benches for ten minutes just taking in the view.

Remembering that I need to be at the visitor centre, I get walking again, and am greeted by some young blackcaps skulking around in the undergrowth by the side of Clough Meadow Cottage. They look like this year’s brood; I suppose they’re the blackcap equivalent of teenagers. They just pick their way through the shrubs and small trees looking for food. They are currently quite plain, grey birds, but you can see that the top of their heads is beginning to darken to form the ‘cap’. Also, high up in a birch tree, there is a great spotted woodpecker. They seem to be all over the reserve at the moment, and you can often see on the feeder by the visitor centre.

Passing the pond, and I struggle to tell if there is any water in it or not. There isn’t, but the layer of smooth mud and silt makes it look like a freshly laid concrete floor that is not yet dry. This will be changing, as there are plans to restore the pond to its former glory. Over the bridge, and up the hill. I’m running out of time, so this part is walked fairly briskly, and it gets the heart and lungs working a bit harder. Through the gate and into the wood, through the plantation, and then into the meadow. The meadow has changed a great deal since I last saw it. Grasses have grown tall and turned brown, and dominate the area, although a brief stop and look reveals that the flowers are here, but just hidden. Back at the visitor centre, I meet with Rob (Assistant Warden) and as we stand on the viewing platform to discuss what the day will involve, I spot a hobby flying towards and above us, and then turn towards the road and out into open country; a great way to end a nice walk, but a moment of panic for our resident swallows!