If you want to hear a chiffchaff, now is the time to walk around the reserve. They are in full song. A recent visitor to the reserve who had written their sightings in the bird sighting’s book in the Visitor Centre recorded 20 singing chiffchaffs on his walk!
We are now in Spring, and the duck have mainly moved on, so the lakes are looking emptier. We did a wetland bird survey yesterday and the highlight of my walk were 4 kingfishers, 3 on the Sailing Lake and one on the A1 lakes. It helps to walk with some-one who hears them first and reacts quick enough to see them! A Trail camera picked up another kingfisher, so they must have bred better than we thought last year. We were able to hold our AGM this year and part of it was all about the success of the Trail Cameras. This was the most popular part of the evening with views of our mammals, such as otter, fox and muntjac as well as birds, such as long eared and barn owl and kingfisher.
A pair of Egyptian geese seem to be staying, so I wonder if they are going to breed here this year. 50 cormorant nests have been counted, which is our annual average now and there are 2 heron nests at the back. Blue tits are in abundance. They do not always use our bird boxes. Look at the featured image of the tit using a metal post near the Visitor Centre. Thank you Jackie for yet another of your lovely photos.
Redwings continue to stay with us. They are still making the most of the berries that are left, before they move north.
Butterflies are on the wing. There have been plenty of fresh Brimstones, as well as tortoiseshells and peacocks fresh out of hibernation on our recent warmer days. Also, the odd Comma and there has been a Holly Blue in my garden.
The work parties have been in the areas that we walk our breeding bird survey, to ensure that the volunteers can find their way and do not have to fight through the nettles! Also, we continue to lower the height of the scrub to improve habitat for the birds and insects.
Remember, there is always time to join in with this volunteering. Every little bit helps!
If you are interested or want to know more or to tell us about your Paxton Pits sightings, please contact us on friends@paxton-pits.org.uk