Although in the birdwatching world the summer months of July & August are often considered quiet months of the ornithological year, here at Tophill Low the sightings log has been full of a whole range of resident and visiting species. In July and August many breeding birds will moult, allowing adult birds to renew all feathers after the damage and deterioration of their plumage caused by the whole process of nesting, breeding, feeding and fledging youngsters. New fledglings will often also moult so that by mid autumn they too have a new set of feathers. This means that in the woodland, visitors will see less of the woodland species, as birds remain hidden, to remain safe. Listen carefully though and you will hear the contact calls between parents and their young, often high pitched with short, sharp notes, keeping the family together and away from danger.
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| Blue tit - Maurice Dawson |
In the next few months our nest box volunteers will be checking boxes across the reserve to see whether they have been used this season, adding to our data set on breeding birds. Together with this information, earlier in the summer a team of volunteers helped to map the breeding birds on the reserve. This was the first time this had been carried out for several years. Maps of the whole reserve where created, plotting where different species were showing signs of breeding, whether it was birds singing, carrying nesting materials, displaying or feeding young. One highlight to note was the number of black headed gull nests on south marsh, and the number of common tern nests, both up on last year, a real success, especially when colonies of black headed gulls nearby have been severely hit by avian flu this season, in particular the colony at North Cave wetlands.
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| South Marsh East |
Ducks are peculiar in that they moult all their flight feathers; the long, wing feathers; at once. For about a month, they can't fly and are very vulnerable to predators. To provide some protection, particularly for the brightly-coloured males, the moult starts with their bright body feathers. These are replaced by dowdy brown ones, making them look much like females. This eclipse plumage is temporary until the new flight feathers regrow. As in this eclipse plumage all the ducks look like females it can be very difficult to tell them apart; they also hide away a bit more so again the marshes seem quiet of birds. Hence at this time of year these ducks can be overlooked, but a couple of regular visitors managed to spot not just one, but two female blue winged teal, in amongst the ducks on south marsh. These birds were first seen on 23rd August and can still be found this weekend, the middle of September. Distinctive with a large pale blue wing patch, these duck are an autumn visitor from north America where they can be found from Nova Scotia all the way to Texas. A small number are recorded in the UK each year.
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| Blue wing teal - Lee Johnson |
Kingfishers and marsh harriers are the reserve’s iconic species, with many visitors coming to Tophill just to enjoy great views of these birds. Both species have been successful this year in terms of breeding which means that sightings have been across the reserve for both species. Watching a newly fledged marsh harrier trying to gauge whether a willow branch will take its weight has to be a highlight of watching these birds this summer.
As we plan and manage the different habitats across the site each year then it is very rewarding to see how species, that have been targeted in these plans, make use of the reserve. This has been the case for the passage waders that visit the south marshes every year to refuel for their onward journey to their wintering grounds. Work carried out on the ditches that allow the water levels on the south marshes to change have been cleared, vegetation around the edges has been cut back and the valuable mud exposed. A total of twelve green sandpipers were seen in mid August, there have been regular counts of 12 common snipe, lapwings have reached over 200 birds, all good to see. However, all these counts have been surpassed by an unprecedented count of 53 black tailed godwits on site at the end of June. Other species of wader have been greenshank, spotted redshank, ringed plover, dunlin, little stint, ruff, avocet and wood sandpiper. A respectable variety for an inland site and its thanks to all the volunteers and their hard work helping the Tophill Low team manage the reserve.
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| Common sandpiper - Maurice Dawson |
When visitors find it difficult to locate the birds in the summer months, attention is drawn to the other wildlife on the reserve. Butterflies are perhaps the easiest to identify and a number of butterfly counts were carried out to submit sightings to the national Big Butterfly Count in early summer. Interesting records were marbled white in north scrub grassland, this species has been recorded here for several years, but only in this area. Another was a hummingbird hawkmoth near the office buildings, along the butterfly, buddleia border. A total of 18 species have been recorded.
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| Marble White - Margaret Boyd |
Dragonflies and damselflies are less recorded although many visitors see them. Their fast and flighty nature makes them a bit more difficult to identify but with some careful watching, especially in areas like the reception pond, a range of species have been noted. One that is relatively new to the reserve, and to this area, as its distribution moves ever northward, is the Willow Emerald damselfly. This has been seen ovipositing into a willow branch just by the reception pond.
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| Willow Emerald - Pat Hogart |
Marsh frogs seem to have bred successfully with the reception pond full of tadpoles developing nicely into adult frogs. Great crested newts have been seen by people pond dipping this year which is the first time that they have been noted in reception pond. Unfortunately, one met an untimely death in the jaws of a grass snake just recently.
Roe deer are often seen on site, otters less often but as is quite normal on the reserve, north marsh is the best location for sightings. A family of young hedgehogs had to be caught and rehomed to a rescue centre after they were spotted trying to fend for themselves around the picnic area a few weeks ago; apparently they all seem to be doing well and have been given the best chance we can.
All visitor sightings are so valuable so we would encourage visitors to jot down their records in the sightings log, either in the birders hide at reception or in the log in the reception hut near the car park. With the support of visitors we can continue to log our wildlife and really get a bigger picture of how fantastic the reserve is for local wildlife.
A big thank you for your help in this.
