An adult Med Gull was preening for some time on the Slurry Lagoon late afternoon. Also present was a Black-tailed Godwit and a Green Sandpiper plus an adult Little Ringed Plover. The Gadwall reported the other day with eleven ducklings has increased her brood to an incredible fourteen! JMD.
Monthly Archives: June 2011
Green Sandpiper – 27th June
This morning two Green Sandpipers and three Little Egrets were on the Slurry Lagoon. There was also a Brown Hawker and thirty Six-belted Clearwings. RW.
Later in the afternoon a Black-tailed Godwit arrived on the Slurry Lagoon. RW.
Little Ringed Plover – 26th June
This morning there was a juvenile Little Ringed Plover on the Slurry Lagoon. There were still eight Red-crested Pochard and the Gadwall had all eleven ducklings and the Mallard still had her five. There were good numbers of Small Skippers about and two Black-tailed Skimmers and one Four-spotted Chaser with some Red-eyed Damselflies on the Small Gravel Pit. PS. AE
A juvenile Little Ringed Plover was feeding on the Slurry Lagoon’s waters’ edge for some time this afternoon. There were also still four Red-crested Pochards on the Slurry and the Gadwall still has all eleven of her ducklings. Unexpectedly not many butterflies were about – the most interesting being a Small Skipper. JMD.
Red-crested Pochard – 24th June
There are still eight Red-crested Pochard on the Slurry Lagoon. A Water Rail was calling from the Slurry Lagoon reed bed to the south of the bench on the Causeway. By the railway bridge, on the up-river side, a Willow Tit without a tail was seen and heard calling. At first I thought it was a juvenile but it more likely had a close encounter with a Sparrowhawk. A Hobby did a magnificent stoop, half the length of the Lower Path, and rose with what looked like a warbler, perhaps a Chiffchaff, in its talons. It flew off with it in the direction of Holme Pierrepont. PS
Red-crested Pochard – 22nd June
This morning there were seven Red-crested Pochard on the Slurry Lagoon. Also present were the two male Wigeon and a male Shoveler. The Gadwall still has all eleven of her ducklings and a Mallard now has five. There is still no sign of the Pochard ducklings though. Two recently fledged Common Terns were dipping for insects from the water surface. PS.
Pyramidal Orchid – 17th June
There are now several Pyramidal Orchids in flower on the site and the Spotted Orchids are doing very well this year. In the morning three foxes came out to play on the shore of the Slurry Lagoon, much to the consternation of the assembled ducks. PS.
Common Tern – 15th June
The first of the juvenile Common Terns has made it onto the Slurry Lagoon. It was expertly picking insects from the waters surface while its parents were aggressively attacking passing crows. The Gadwall duck still had all eleven of her ducklings with her. Also present were a pair of Teal and now two male Wigeon. PS.
Orchid Walk – 11th June
A group of us enjoyed a walk at Netherfield Lagoons looking at the orchids this Saturday morning. Despite the odd, dodgy looking cloud, the weather stayed fine as we ambled around the site. The scrub clearance along the northern bank of the Slurry Lagoon has been successful. We saw some lovely displays of Common Spotted Orchid (Dactylorhiza fuchsii). One or two of them were pure white whilst others were hybrids with the Southern Marsh Orchid (Dactylorhiza praetermissa), their flowers being a slightly darker pink and their leaves showing variation in the extent of spotting. There was a fine specimen of Southern Marsh Orchid, with no spots on the leaves and two large spikes of quite deep pink flowers. However, they still weren’t really dark pink/magenta enough to be totally ‘pure’ Southern Marsh Orchid, but who cares, they were magnificent!
We next walked along the Causeway to see the Pyramidal Orchid (Anacamptis pyramidalis), which was beginning to bloom with two beautifully pink spikes. It was then on to the end of the Causeway to look for Bee Orchids (Ophrys apifera). We checked the usual area on the outer bank of the Deep Pit and found a few specimens in flower, once we’d got our ‘eyes in’ so to speak. They are hard to spot, but once you’ve seen one you can usually find a few more nearby. We continued to look for them as we wandered around the Deep Pit and found a few small colonies scattered along the banks, but you have to look hard to find them.
Also along this bank are the Northern Marsh Orchids (Dactylorhiza purpurella), which Dave Wood found last year. We had a good look at these smaller marsh orchids, with deep magenta flowers, through our binoculars to save us all climbing the fence but none of us could be 100% sure of their identification, despite having a variety of botanical books to consult!
It was then on to the Small Gravel Pit to admire the new information board and dipping platform, before heading home. It was an enjoyable way to spend a Saturday morning.
Pochard – 11th June
This afternoon a female Pochard was seen on the Slurry Lagoon with seven ducklings. There is also a Gadwall with eleven ducklings. There were three Red-tipped Clearwings, a Meadow Brown, a Four-spotted Chaser and a Black-tailed Skimmer RW.
The Orchid Walk went well and several more Bee Orchids were found. JC.
Spotted Orchids – 9th June
The Spotted Orchids are showing well now and are flowering all over the site. The dry spring may well have affected them as the flower spikes are a little smaller than usual. The Marsh Orchids are beginning to go over now but the Spotted/Marsh hybrids are looking very strong. Unfortunately the Bee Orchids have crashed this year and I have only managed to find about nine plants so far. The Pyramidal Orchids are also down on previous years. PS.
