This morning, 2 Mediterranean Gulls circled No.3 bed and landed briefly on the scrape.

No.3 bed

New brood of Black necked Grebe with at least 2 young on back-the 7th brood this year.Also, a brood of 9 tiny Shelduck in front of the Morgan hide. Over 40 fledged Black headed Gull chicks on Morgan hide spits.

Brian Martin and David Spencer

Willow Warbler ?

Wren opposite the screen in full song

Found what looked like a Common Shrew (dead) on the pathway coming from the bank towards to Winter seed crop area.

1 adult Mediterranean Gull flew over the bed this morning. Yesterday a male Wigeon was roosting on the scrape.

Photo of a Green Nettle Weevil. This weevil is tiny (7-10 mm) and is fairly common on No.3 bed.

Cheers David

Photo of Myathropa florea - a wasp mimic, from No.3 bed. I think!

Cheers David

Photo of an unidentified Hoverfly sp. from No.3 bed.

Cheers David

Photo of an unidentified Beetle sp. from No.3 bed.

Cheers David

Another shot of a Golden Bloomed Grey Long Horn Beetle from No.3 bed.

Cheers David

Photo of an unidentified fly sp. from No.3 bed.

Cheers David

Photo of an unidentified fly sp. from No.3 bed.

Cheers David

Photograph of a Snipe Fly from No.3 bed

Cheers David

Photo of Thereva nobilitata (Common stiletto) from No.3 bed today.

Cheers David

Photo of Cheilosia illustrata - one of the bumblebee mimic hoverflies from No.3 bed today.

Cheers David

Photo of a Large Skipper from No.3 bed today.

Cheers David

Photo of a Green Lacewing from No.3 bed today.

Cheers David

A pretty lazy morning on No.3 bed, starting with breakfast at 6.30 am in the Morgan Hide, then some intensive studying of the breeding water-birds, with a bit of insect photography thrown in. Highlights were of 2 Little Ringed Plovers, 7 adult Black-necked Grebes with 5 young and new broods of Gadwall and Little Grebe. Overhead, 70 Swifts, 2 Sparrowhawks, 3 Buzzards, 2 Kestrels and a few hirundines were notable. The 350 or so Black-headed Gulls present have raised 40 chicks so far, despite an unprecedented level of predation. Yet again, a passing Lesser Black-backed Gull stopped off to take a chick off one of the nesting platforms.

Photo of a Green Sawfly, Empis tesselata

Cheers David Bowman (with David Spencer, Paul Hazlehurst, Sue Haddock, Brian Martin, Helen Allan and George Dunbar)

For once a dry day with some sunshine at times. The first Meadow Browns of the year have emerged and I found 4 across the reserve. One of the Peregrines was on the viaduct and on No.3 bed was a new brood of 7 tiny Pochard young. In the Sandpit Pond area there were plenty of Bee Orchids and I counted 19 spikes in a very brief survey. No doubt there are many more in this area. Photo; Poppies on No.4 bed

Photo of a pair of Green Leaf Weevils from No.3 bed today.

Cheers David

Photo of a Green Sawfly from No.3 bed today.

Cheers David

Photo of a Large Skipper from No.3 bed today.

Cheers David

Photo of a male Black-tailed Skimmer from No.3 bed today.

Cheers David

Photo of a Golden Bloomed Grey Long Horn Beetle from No.3 bed this morning. This species is expanding its range from its south-eastern and midland strongholds. I saw four on the path round the meadows today.

Cheers David

Photo of an immature male Black-tailed Skimmer, which was spotted by Paul Hazlehurst on No.1 bed on 11th June.

After the disappointment of the phalaropes leaving overnight it was nice to see my first black tailed skimmer from the path by the Sybil Hogg hide, also a pair of kingfishers flashing past the tower hide. At one point three teal splashed down in front of the hide which got my heart racing for a second but alas as delicate as they are they weren’t phalarope. Very nice to meet BRIAN MARTIN for the first time in the ten years i have held a permit !!, thanks for the info and help, this applies to all the helpful and knowledgeable people I meet on the reserve. Keep up the good work

Azure Damselflies mating

This was taken on the path just before the bridge.

Little Ringed Plover

This was taken in front of the John Morgan Hide but this was the best i could get due to the distance it kept between us.

Oystercatcher

Taken from the John Morgan Hide before it flew off.

Red-Eyed Damselfly

This was spotted by another member as we were leaving the reserve over the footbridge so this was the best shot i could get as we were on the bridge.

Unfortunately, no sign of the phalaropes today but here is a better shot of the pair taken by the finder Roly Pitts.

A record shot of the pair of Red-necked Phalaropes which were found this afternoon on No.3 bed and were still present at 7:00 p.m. Apologies I do not know the finders name but he also reported 2 Avocet. There have only been two previous records of Red-necked Phalarope in 1985 and 1987.

A fine morning on No.3 bed with for once no sign of any LBB Gulls! The best day of the year so far for Black necked Grebes with 5 broods present and a total of 11 adults and 6 young. This almost certainly represents a minimum of 6 broods to date,possibly seven. The almost complete absence of Gadwall broods has been of concern but a female with 8 small young from the south platform was welcome. Over 150 adult Gadwall are currently on No.3 bed. A Cetti’s Warbler was in song inside the east bank and 2 Red Admirals were on the bed. Both Mute Swan broods are doing well.

Brian Martin and David Spencer

There has been a small influx of Painted Lady butterflies and eight have been seen since the weekend. Whether this is the precursor of a larger arrival remains to be seen and any further records would be extremely helpful. Also present were 20 Speckled Woods and my first Red Admiral of the year on No.2 bed. A Little Egret and a Little Ringed Plover were on No.3 bed but the Common Tern reported by Bert Lloyd had departed. Photo; Bee Orchid

Photo of a Large Skipper from No.3 bed yesterday.

Cheers David

Some good bird records this morning included: a pair of Common Terns mating in front of the Morgan Hide,10 Black-necked Grebes with 3 young, 2 Little Ringed Plovers, 15 Teal and 140 Gadwall. Then a pleasant, if slightly sticky, hour photographing insects around the meadows.

Photo of the Common Terns mating.

Cheers David (with Brian Martin and David Spencer)

Painted Lady on the footpath besides No.2 bed.

Reed Bunting (Emberiza Schoeniclus) - from the Tower Hide

Emperor Dragonfly (Anax imperator) - No3 Bed

There were lots of Dragonflies and Damselflies at the New Pool on No.1 bed today including the first Emperor Dragonfly of the season, plus 2 Black-tailed Skimmers, 17 Four-spotted Chasers, 4 Large Red Damselflies and numerous Common Blue, Azure and Blue-tailed Damselflies.

Photo of a Black-tailed Skimmer.

Photo of a Swollen-thighed Beetle from No.3 bed

Cheers David

A survey of the northern section of No.1 bed produced 23 Common Blue and 6 Large Skipper. Also of note were 3 Little Ringed Plover and a pair of Grey Wagtails near the viaduct.

An early summer’s day on No.3 bed produced some rewarding sightings, along with some great company. We started at 6.30 am with 4 Black-necked Grebes in front of the south screen, while three adult Little Ringed Plovers which dropped onto the scrape were probably failed breeders from elsewhere. Most of us then completed a breeding bird survey of No.2 bed, leaving Helen and Sue to check out progress with our breeding Peregrines. We were delighted to hear that they’d found three well-grown young being tended by the adult pair, which we later all spent time watching. Then off to check out our breeding Little Ringed Plovers finding that two pairs had successfully produced young, with a third pair also present. Then back into the Morgan Hide for lunch before conducting a mini “bug safari” round No.3 bed in mid-afternoon and managing to photograph some of the denizens of the lush path-side vegetation

Any help with identifying the insect in the photo is welcome!

Cheers David Bowman (with Dave Steel, Alan Warford, David Spencer, Brian Baird, Helen Allan, Kelly Ainsworth and Diane Shepherd)