Late May at Farlington Marshes
28 May 2009
The reedbeds are alive with song from Sedge Warblers and Reed Warblers. Much is going on down in the reserve and an early morning visit will reward you with good views of Sedge Warbler and possibly the elusive Bearded Tit. The Bearded Tit is one of the most popular birds with visitors but often one of the hardest to see. In order to see these reed dwellers its worth spending some time at the lake or building viewpoints scanning the reedbeds for movement or listening out for the characteristic pinging call. Bright still days are best and if you put in the time you will be rewarded.
It's very quiet on the wader and wildfowl front with most of our wintering birds having returned to the far north to their breeding grounds. That said you can still get great views of resident species such as Lapwing, Redshank and Dunlin. There is always the chance of a surprise visitor as well as the May Bird Watch Event proved. A Curlew Sandpiper was seen feeding alongside some Dunlin in the mud on the lake. Although these birds are annual visitors to the reserve they normally arrive in late summer stopping off whilst on passage from their breeding grounds in Siberia to their wintering grounds in Africa. This individual is probably a young bird that has failed to get to the breeding grounds and that will possibly stay in the area until late summer.
Insect numbers are increasing with good numbers of butterflies, dragonflies and damselflies showing. There have been good numbers of Painted Ladies flying through, these butterflies are a migrant flying up from North Africa throughout Europe. This year has seen remarkably good numbers of this species.
There is a lot to see on the reserve so why not drop in and take a look.
