Many sightings to report since Wednesday. Best bird was probably a spoonbill seen by many on thursday which unfortunately overshot and possibly went down on Watton Carrs somewhere. Also the same day the osprey was sighted again, 3 little egret over D reservoir, a red crested pochard on South Marsh East and hobby hunting over O res wood. A 4 foot grass snake gave good views from North Marsh hide too. Cuckoo was also seen today - and lucky regular Mark Cobley kindly brought us these images taken last Saturday outside North Hide.
On Friday 3 water vole were at the same location, and a stoat was seen carrying a squirrel back to the wildlife centre. There are now a number of scats visible on the paths around, but their presence does not seem to have affected the bats which can now be heard squeaking in the Centre Walls as the day heats up.
On Saturday East Yorkshire Bat Group made their spring visit, finding around 12 bats using the boxes - on this occasion being all soprano and nathusius's pipistrelle. Common white wave was one of the better moths to be found pictured, and spider of the week was this impressive but common house spider in the centre.
Sunday was quiet with just a hobby being seen carrying presumably a hirundine near South Lagoon, but great news was the sighting of the willow tits with fledglings near the new pond in D woods - the first breeding success in many years. A chiffchaff was also seen with young, and the mistle thrush continues to delight careful observers near the water treatment works feeding some healthy looking youngsters - Mandy Sears has kindly sent us these shots of them in their fortress - and also of the geese family currently making trips round O res a hazard - parents of one greylag and one canada should make for interesting results...
Today saw a few dragonflies about - a hairy on North Marsh and several broad bodied chasers on the new D woods pond, including the individual above, and a few common blues on North Scrub pictured. Chiffchaff was on the path to the hide - one of the few birds still singing loudly pictured above. And the carpet moth sp. was seen in D woods - one for Doug, Martin and Richard as nothing obvious appeared in the time I could spare (but it will no doubt be something common!)
