New Hythe Lakes 7th June

I had a very pleasant few hours at New Hythe lakes today and managed to see 43 species of birds which is pretty good by my reckoning, especially as there is so much leaf cover to hide them now.

There were lots of fledglings around, especially Whitethroats and the parents were taking advantage of the thousands of damselflies and other insects which are now appearing all over the site.

WHITETHROAT

I was greeted immediately by a Nightingale which was heard and then seen just off the car park which was a very pleasant way to start. I made the mistake of walking round the sunken marsh path first, the undergrowth, which is now so high and dense was soaking wet after yesterday's rain and I had to wade through it, getting absolutely soaked to the skin in the process. Waterproof trousers will be the order of the day next time. But never mind, I was rewarded with a Lesser Whitethroat, some Reed Buntings and a Gt Spotted Woodpecker among others for my trouble.

Other good sightings included a Garden Warbler singing well and showing nicely down the railway track. A Common Tern gracefully picking insects I believe, from the surface of Streamside lake where a Kingfisher called but wasn't seen. Two Hobby's over Abbey Mead showing off their aerial manoeuvres. A couple of solitary Shelducks on the river, hopefully their other halves were sitting on eggs somewhere close by. And lastly a trio of Jackdaws flying towards the river alongside Brooklands lake. Surprisingly this is a year tick for me at New Hythe, you don't see them too often on the actual site.

Butterflies and dragonflies were noticeable by their absence, a single Holly Blue and a Speckled Wood and a couple of unidentified dragonflies were seen although there were quite a few day flying moths around none of which were in posing mood.

And finally...........

On my post dated 3rd June I showed a picture of a small beetle, Oedemera Nobilis and mentioned that I hadn't found a common name for them. Two bloggers came to my rescue and suggested that it was called Thick-kneed or Fat-legged beetle on account of the male's shapely thighs! Well above are two of the said boys who are possibly playing 'Ring a ring of Roses' I think. So many thanks to Shy Songbird and Rob click on the link to visit their blogs.