Now, what frantically darts about seemingly on urgent business and loves strawberry plants. No, not a human! It has a wingspan of 3cms- first clue- and is black and white-second clue. It has large eyes and body in relation to its size and is part of an ancient family. I am sure many of you will realise that it is a butterfly which has only been found on the reserve in the last couple of years.
With the turn in the weather last year, when there were times when you wondered whether any butterfly could survive followed by a very wet winter and spring, it has been a relief that we have had some decent weather. The butterflies and other insects seem to be agreeing. Having been away, we took a short walk yesterday to see if we could see this butterfly- yes, I am talking about the Grizzled Skipper. We had cleared some bramble away on one of our work parties, which made looking for the Skipper easier and I only tripped over once! In about 30 mins we found 9 butterflies. They are territorial butterflies and some of them were already looking as if they had been fighting. We had a nightingale singing in the background. Hopefully a mate turns up soon. Also, the willow warbler, as well as whitethroat, garden warbler and blackcap. They were also enjoying the drier weather.
We walked on to look at the tern rafts, which are being used, but it looks as if black-headed gulls have won the day. Common Terns are around. Let’s hope they can find somewhere locally to nest and make up for last year, where Avian flu took its toll. The Cuckoo was always in the background. Great that they have made their journey back from Africa safely. Kites were also displaying in the air.
Something else I saw in the garden this morning, which is worth looking out for on the reserve, with the warmth making them more active, is a grass snake. I heard a rustle down the end of the garden and thought it was a young bird then a fully grown snake slithered past. I have occasionally seen them in our compost bin enjoying the warmth.
Otters have been seen recently on the reserve and of course the Dragons and Damsels are out and about. We saw lots of Damsels as we walked around and our first hairy Hawker as we walked up the back path parallel with the Sailing Lake Road. The Green-eyed Hawker-(Norfolk Hawker) has also been spotted in the last couple of days.
The Bat Group were out today surveying the boxes. One box had 14 little faces staring at the endoscope! They must have very efficient cooling systems!
Let me know about your sightings at Paxton Pits on friends@paxton-pits.org.uk
Best wishes
Ann