Introduction to Spring Moths at Warnham Local Nature Reserve

Weekend Round-up

Dotted Chestnut - Warnham Local Nature Reserve

A busy weekend around all the sites meant that there was lots of fantastic wildlife reported. Starting off with the moth trap at Warnham Local Nature Reserve which has finally started to get some results after the Beast From The East part 2 hit us last week! The best moth of the weekend was the Dotted Chestnut (Conistra rubiginea) which is nationally scarce and always nice to see in the traps. It is one of the few moths that hibernate after first being on the wing in October/November before reappearing in the spring. The second moth of note which we don't trap very regularly at Warnham is the Grey Shoulder-knot (Lithophane ornitopus) which can be seen below. It is quite similar to the more common Early Grey (Xylocampa areola) but the former is generally paler with the dark antler marks at the head end helping with identification. This is also an interesting moth as its larvae have a tendency to be cannibals!

Grey Shoulder-knot - Warnham Local Nature Reserve

The ringing has been very quiet at Warnham lately and there have been very few opportunities to actually get any of the nets up on the Reserve either due to windy conditions or flooding so it was nice to be able to catch a few birds this weekend. The highlight was this Greenfinch which was the first of 2018. They have been very few and far between in recent years which is a theme carried out nationwide sadly as many of the Greenfinches seem to be struggling to beat some of the avian diseases found in the UK.

Greenfinch - Warnham Local Nature Reserve

Meanwhile at Chesworth Farm I added a new fly to the species list when I found the larval mine of Chromatomyia ramosa on Teasel. This is part of the agromizid fly family, all of which mine leaves of various plants. The adults are very difficult to identify and most of them need genitalia examination to be sure of their identity but many of the leaf mines are quite simple to recognise. In the picture below you can see the light coloured markings which are moving away from the central vein. These are caused by the larvae of the fly eating the leaf from within the leaf structure itself.

Chromatomyia ramosa on Teasel - Chesworth Farm

Finally at Southwater Country Park a quick check of the oldest stand of Blackthorn on the site produced a number of the scarce Brown Hairstreak eggs. They are absolutely tiny so I make no apology for how bad the picture is! This is the second site we have found the eggs at this winter after the Friends of Chesworth Farm found some earlier in the month when carrying out a hedgerow survey on the Farm.

Brown Hairstreak Egg - Southwater Quarry

Friends of Warnham Local Nature Reserve Event

The Beast from the East Round-up!

Warden Life - P. Shergold

Teal - P. Shergold

Ice Skating Coot - P. Shergold

Warnham Local Nature Reserve

Flooding at Warnham Local Nature Reserve - P. Shergold

Today's Sightings:

Little Egret 2, Grey Heron 1, Tufted Duck 17, Mallard 40, Shoveler 1, Coot 2, Jay 6, Wren 2, Song Thrush 3, Blackbird 2, Robin 5, Chaffinch 1, Great Tit 3, Blue Tit 5, Dunnock 1, Woodpigeon 100+, Mute Swan 2, Cormorant 1, Lesser Redpoll 2, Grey Wagtail 1, Common Buzzard 2, Treecreeper 1, Greylag Goose 30+, Carrion Crow 4, Coal Tit 2, Goldfinch 10+

Grey Squirrel 1

Warnham Local Nature Reserve

Warnham Local Nature Reserve

Sightings from today:

Little Egret 1, Moorhen 3, Tufted Duck 17, Cormorant 3, Mallard 43, Coot 6, Little Grebe 3, Great Tit 4, Blue Tit 7, Reed Bunting 1, Robin 3, Long-tailed Tit 2, Chaffinch 1, Carrion Crow 1, Sparrowhawk 1, Woodpigeon 150+, Magpie 2, Greylag Goose 30+, Kingfisher 1, Shoveler 1, Teal 1, Grey Heron 1, Siskin 1, Nuthatch 1

Warnham Local Nature Reserve

Beautiful Day at Warnham Local Nature Reserve

A busy day on the Reserve with plenty of people visiting and lots of bits and pieces to keep everybody entertained. The best sighting of the day was out first butterfly of the year when I stumbled across a Red Admiral basking in Walnut Tree Plantation.

Also of note it appears that the Siskin have finalyl found the feeders and a small group is now mixing in with the Goldfinch flock so keep your eyes peeled as hopefully numbers will stat to build until the end of Feb. David Verrall was again on hand to get a nice picture of this female from the Woodpecker Hide.

Siskin - D. Verrall

A summary of species seen today can be seen below:

Little Grebe 4, Cormorant 3, Little Egret 1, Grey Heron 1, Greylag Goose 30+, Teal 3, Mallard 39, Tufted Duck 19, Common Buzzard 1, Sparrowhawk 1, Pheasant 1, Moorhen 2, Coot 4, Black-headed Gull 100+, Herring Gull 30+, Stock Dove 1, Woodpigeon 40+, Green Woodpecker 1, Great Spotted Woodpecker 1, Wren 3, Dunnock 2, Robin 9, Blackbird 5, Song Thrush 3, Redwing 1, Mistle Thrush 1, Goldcrest 1, Long-tailed Tit 1, Coal Tit 7, Blue Tit 20+, Great Tit 20+, Nuthatch 4, Jay 2, Magpie 6, Jackdaw 60+, Carrion Crow 4, Chaffinch 9, Goldfinch 5, Siskin 2

Roe Deer 1, Grey Squirrel 7, Rabbit 1

Red Admiral 1

Warnham Local Nature Reserve

Sightings from today:

Tufted Duck 14, Black-headed Gull 100+, Mallard 41, Coot 5, Moorhen 5, Cormorant 2, Grey Heron 1, Carrion Crow 2, Pheasant 4, Robin 5, Woodpigeon 29, Song Thrush 2, Blue Tit 4, Great Tit 2, Great Spotted Woodpecker 1, Chaffinch 1, Dunnock 2, Blackbird 3, Magpie 1, Wren 2, Herring Gull 13, Lesser Black-backed Gull 1, Marsh Tit 3, Grey Wagtail 1, Siskin 1, Redwing 12, Goldfinch 13, Jay 2

Warnham Local Nature Reserve

Goosander - I Redman

Late on Sunday afternoon visitors may well have had the fortune of seeing the Reserves 11th record of a Goosander. This stunning male Goosander was photographed by Ian Redman as it spent c15 minutes on the millpond in the late afternoon sunshine before departing in a northerly direction. Ian was sat in the Heron Hide when at 2.50pm the bird appeared to fly in from the south when it landed and drifted around on the lake looking nervous until it eventually flew off at 3.05pm.

Goosander - I. Redman

Goosander - I. Redman

The Goosander is a medium-sized duck and part of  the group known as the 'sawbills' after their long, narrow bills with saw-like 'teeth' which are good for gripping fish. The Goosander is perfectly shaped for swimming underwater after fish due to it having a long and streamlined bodyshape. The male Goosander has a dark green head, a black back and a long, red bill with a hook at the tip and white sides and breast which sometimes have a pink glow. The female is grey with a gingery or rufous brown head and a white throat.

Goosander - I. Redman

Other sightings from today included:

GOOSANDER 1 (Male), Grey Heron 2, Coot 3, Cormorant 4, Shoveler 1, Tufted Duck 21, Carrion Crow 7, Red Kite 1, Redwing 7, Little Grebe 1, Wren 2, Treecreeper 2, Sparrowhawk 1, Pheasant 3, Blue Tit 8, Great Tit 5, Egyptian Goose 2, Nuthatch 2, Blackbird 4, Lesser Black-backed Gull 2, Black-headed Gull 40+, Herring Gull 20+, Kingfisher 1, Robin 2, Great Spotted Woodpecker 2

Warnham Local Nature Reserve

Frosty Start

A wonderful freezing cold morning greeted us at Warnham Local Nature Reserve today and high hopes of decent numbers of gulls arriving with the frost did not come to fruition. I was hoping that the juvenile Iceland Gull from Sunday might make another appearance but for some reason gull numbers were low all day with a maximum of 200 or so on the ice. There were still a few Common Gulls mixed in but not many larger gulls around at all.

The feeders were a little busier once again which is to be expected as the cold weather takes a hold and makes the smaller birds more reliant on the regular food source provided at the Woodpecker Hide. All of the resident tit species were recorded at the feeders today including Marsh Tit which was nicely photographed by David Verrall on the Reserve yesterday.

Marsh Tit - D. Verrall

Other species of note seen around the Reserve today included:

Little Grebe 4, Cormorant 7, Grey Heron 3, Mute Swan 2, Greylag Goose 63, Mallard 45+, Tufted Duck 6, Pheasant 2, Water Rail 3, Moorhen 4, Coot 3, BH Gull 150+, Common Gull 3, Herring Gull 50+, Woodpigeon 300+, Kingfisher 1, GS Woodpecker 1, Grey Wagtail 1, Wren 6, Dunnock 3, Robin 11, Blackbird 22, Song Thrush 5, Redwing 14, Long-tailed Tit 10+, Marsh Tit 1, Coal Tit 7, Blue Tit 50+, Great Tit 50+, Nuthatch 2, Jay 1, Magpie 37, Carrion Crow 3, Chaffinch 7, Goldfinch 20+

Warnham Local Nature Reserve

Warnham Local Nature Reserve

A very cold night with temperatures reaching -5°C meant that three-quarters of the millpond had frozen solid. This meant only one thing...gulls! With last nights influx it was no surprise when I was greeted by over a thousand mixed gulls on my arrival into work. I wandered down to Aston Trelford Hide as this is the best hide to view the gulls from and started to scan through the ever-growing flock. After about an hour I was getting a bit cold and thinking about a cup of tea when I caught a glimpse of a white-winged gull in the flock. Eventually it came into full view and wow!!! It was the Reserve's second record of an ICELAND GULL...after a few quick phone calls to anyone I thought might be interested I set about getting a few photos just in case it decided to depart.

Iceland Gull - 1st Winter

Iceland Gulls breed in the Arctic and then generally move south for the winter but are not usually found this far south. In Sussex we normally have three or four records a year so this was a very welcome sighting. The only other record on the Reserve was in 2008 by previous warden Sam Bayley who had a brief sighting of one on the millpond.
The bird today was much more well behaved and stayed on the ice until about 12.45pm when it flew off towards the tip and sadly had not returned by the end of the day. I would imagine that this bird had been feeding on the tip early morning and then came to the millpond with the rest of the gulls for a brush up on the ice.

The most obvious identifying feature of this bird was it's wonderful white-wings rather than the dark wings of a Herring or Lesser Black-backed. The bird also has a short-stubby beak and very rounded head shape which gives the impression of looking a little dove-like. The bird was slightly smaller than a Herring Gull which rules out the other white-winged gull we see in Britain which is called a Glaucous Gull. 

Iceland Gull - 2nd Record for Warnham LNR

The bird above can be aged as a first-winter.  This means it was definitely born this year, the mottled cream colouration of the bird, the dark eye, pink bill-base and mottled head are all indicators of the birds age. When the wings are closed at rest you can hardly see the extent of the white in the wing but when it flight it is at its most obvious.

Continuing the gull theme there were also several other species of laridae present. These included Common Gull, Black-headed Gull, Herring Gull, Lesser Black-backed Gull and the biggest of them all, the Great Black-backed Gull. The latter is an uncommon visitor to us at Warnham and is only ever found during the winter months. This particular species is much more coastal in its habits and has not yet spread inland as the other species have done. Below is a picture of one of the nine Great Black-backed Gulls seen on the Reserve today.

Great Black-backed Gull - Warnham LNR

Lastly on the gull front today, several of the lads who had come to see the Iceland Gull gave me a ring late morning to say they think there might have been a second Iceland Gull out on the lake. So I quickly grabbed my scope and camera and popped out to have a look at the bird. It stuck out like a sore thumb but it did not look right structurally for another Iceland Gull. It was strong-billed and the same size as the Herring Gulls but not big enough to be a Glaucous Gull. It turned out, on closer inspection to be a totally white Herring Gull which is something I have never seen before but it certainly makes you look twice!

Leucistic Herring Gull - Warnham LNR

After all the excitement of the gulls there was little time to count much else but the other highlight was six Water Rails skating around early morning, the male Bullfinch was again showing nicely from Woodpecker Hide and there were still plenty of Redwing around the site.

Redwing - Warnham LNR

Warnham Local Nature Reserve

Mixed Gulls - Warnham LNR

A beautiful start to the day on the Reserve was followed by a miserable afternoon but this did not stop the wildlife and there was plenty to see around the site. Redwing seemed to be everywhere from dawn onward and there were plenty of Song Thrush and Blackbird around too particularly on Mill Meadow amongst the sheep.

In Walnut Tree Plantation two Roe Deer played hide and seek as they moved around the woodland mainly browsing on the Hazel coppice. There were also lots of Bank Voles whizzing around feeding station at the moment and they are even appearing around the reflection pool.

Roe Deer - Warnham LNR

 As the weather turned cloudy in the evening there was a huge number of gulls starting to appear and at one point I thought it might be a rare occasion where they actually roost on site but just before dusk they did all leave and head in their normal south easterly direction. I had the nets open from first light and managed to catch quite a few birds which was probably down to the cold start. It is nice to see the Goldfinches starting to make an appearance in the nets now and they always brighten up a ringing session.

Goldfinch - Warnham LNR

Warnham Local Nature Reserve

Christmas Wreath Making Workshop

Today saw the first of the Friends of Warnham Local Nature Reserve's Christmas Wreath Making Workshops which, once again, were very well received with everyone making wonderfully festive wares for their houses. There are another two sessions  in the Visitor Centre tomorrow so apologies if you cant get into the cafe for a cup of tea or coffee!

Meanwhile on the Reserve there were plenty of birds around. The male Sparrowhawk was again buzzing around Woodpecker Hide which meant most of the birds in there were very skittish. Still a few moths turning up in the trap despite the overnight wind. A summary of today's sightings can be found below:

Green Woodpecker 1, Great Spotted Woodpecker 1, Coal Tit 1, 4 Goldfinch, Black-headed Gull 23, Pochard 1, Herring Gull 150+, Lesser Black-backed Gull 2, Mallard 35, Tufted Duck 5, Cormorant 2, Little Grebe 3, Moorhen 3, Coot 1, Grey Heron 2, Pheasant 5, Great Tit 20+, Long-tailed Tit 3, Woodpigeon 19, Robin 3, Carrion Crow 1, Blue Tit 30+, Dunnock 1, Nuthatch 1, Blackbird 1, Redwing 6

Grey Squirrel 2

Winter Moth - Operophtera brumata

Moth Trap:

Brick 1, Winter Moth 7, December Moth 3

Warnham Local Nature Reserve

Little Grebe - Warnham LNR

Not much coverage on the Reserve today but the four Little Grebes have been showing well from all of the lakeside hides if you can bare the biting cold winds. A summary of the species seen today can be found below:

Little Grebe 4, Grey Heron 1, Mallard 36, Shoveler 1, Moorhen 1, Coot 1, Cormorant 3, Black-headed Gull 92, Herring Gull 12, Blackbird 11, Song Thrush 1, Goldcrest 1, Great Tit 30+, Blue Tit 40+, Bullfinch 1, Tufted Duck 5, Mute Swan 2 (juvs), Treecreeper 1, Great Spotted Woodpecker 1, Wren 4, Redwing 10+, Long-tailed Tit 12, Nuthatch 1, Robin 3,

Grey Squirrel 6

Warnham Local Nature Reserve

Redwing - Warnham LNR

The Redwing were the main event at Warnham Local Nature Reserve today with up to ten birds stripping the berry bushes by the Visitor Centre. It is amazing to see these birds so close and this has now become an annual event at the Reserve as they slowly getting lower and lower in the tree as they feast on the bounty of berries. There are not many berries left as the Woodpigeons and Blackbirds also seemed to have sussed how nice they are to eat!

Elsewhere on the Reserve patient observers in the Woodpecker Hide might have noticed it was particularly quiet in there at the moment and this is down to the male Sparrowhawk I blogged about last week seems to have taken up residence in there at the moment. Today he managed to catch himself a Great Tit off one of the feeders so I am sure he will be back again tomorrow.

There were plenty of birds around the ringing area this morning mainly mixed in with the large roving Tit flock which seems to be doing circuits of the site at the moment. Of note was this Nuthacth which is not a common bird to catch on the Reserve despite them being seen on a daily basis around the feeders.

Nuthatch - Warnham LNR

Warnham Local Nature Reserve

Willow Tit Nest Box Project - P. Shergold

Paul and Kevin were putting up the last batch of Willow Tit boxes as our project continues to try and get Willow Tits breeding in Sussex again. Willow Tit was last seen officially seen at Warnham LNR on the 20th September 2015 and currently are in huge decline nationally. We have had nest boxes up around the reserve since the project start in 2010. We have tried a number of different designs all of which are a specific to the needs of Willow Tits and thus far we have only had one attempt at breeding.

On the Reserve there were plenty of bird around and it seems the Redwing have found the berry bush by the centre and they are stripping it at a rate of knots! Make sure you have a look at the bush on the left of the path as you approach the Visitor Centre from the car park.

Mute Swan 1, Tufted Duck 3, Shoveler 2, Black-headed Gull 60+, Herring Gull 40+, Teal 1, Little Grebe 2, Wren 4, Robin 20+, Blue Tit 50+, Great Tit 30+, Coal Tit 5+, Cormorant 4, Blackbird 10+, Moorhen 3, Coot 2, Kingfisher 1, Long-tailed Tit 15+, Sparrowhawk 1, Treecreeper 3, Redwing 2 Magpie 8, Grey Heron 2, Great Spotted Woodpecker 2, Jay 1, Goldcrest 1, Woodpigeon 30+ (Paul Shergold, Kevin Attree, David King & Neil Henry)

Warnham Local Nature Reserve

Treecreeper - I. Nicol

A bitterly cold day at Warnham today meant that the feeding station was the place to be for bird activity if you could stick it out in the biting cold notherly wind. Ian Nicol managed to get this lovely photo of a Treecreeper which is often a very hard species to photograph unless near the nest in the breeding season so well done Ian. Not much reported in the sightings diary today but a summary below:

Treecreeper 1, Long-tailed Tit 6, Mallard 36, Little Grebe 2, Black-headed Gull 28, Herring Gull 18, Tufted Duck 9, Sparrowhawk 1, Blue Tit 20+, Great Tit 15+, Mute Swan 2, Greylag Goose 160+, Grey Heron 1, Kingfisher 1, Grey Wagtail 1

Warnham Local Nature Reserve

Sunset over Rookwood

Another clear, cold but beautiful day however a very cold north-easterly wind made it a little uncomfortable to be out in. This time of year gives wonderful light if there is a frost and today was no exception with an excellent sunrise and sunset.

Gatwick Greenspace Project were at the Reserve today helping us with the Willow Carr management and also fixing the second boardwalk at the north end of the Reserve. If you have walked on it over the past couple of weeks you might have noticed it bounced in certain areas and this was due to the legs rotting. Kev Lerwill and his group of twenty or so volunteers managed to jack the boardwalk up and then insert concrete posts to anchor the boardwalk to which has worked a treat. Thanks to Kev and all the volunteers for fixing this, its back to full working order now.

We then got called out to a Herring Gull which had got a plastic bag caught on its foot and had then filled with water and it wasn't able to take off due to the added weight of the bag. The rescue boat was launched and soon Jo, Andrew and I were off across the millpond. As is normally the case we get to within a few metres of the bird and miraculously the bird becomes free and flies off! And that is exactly what happened on this occasion. We decided to have a quick row over to the Swan Island to see if any Snipe were roosting on there and sure enough three flushed from the reedy edges of the island. A summery of sightings can be found below from today:

Common Snipe 3, Tufted Duck 8, Shoveler 2, Mallard 30+, Greylag Goose 160+, Mute Swan 2, Coot 2, Moorhen 4, Cormorant 4, Grey Heron 1, Little Egret 2, Kingfisher 1, Grey Wagtail 1, Pheasant 2, Goldfinch 10+, Chaffinch 4, Magpie 4, Carrion Crow 3, Jackdaw 20+, Robin 4, Blackbird 8, Redwing 3, Blue Tit 30+, Great Tit 10+, Coal Tit  4

Harlequin Ladybird 1

Warnham Local Nature Reserve

Warnham Local Nature Reserve - M. Symonds

A wonderful wintery day weather-wise on the Reserve today with hardly a breath of wind which made for some beautiful views over the millpond such as the view captured by Margaret Symonds from the Tern Hide.

Horsham Green Gym were busy in the Millpond Plantation thinning out the Birch regeneration and also clearing some Hazel stands to make way for a new fence line which we hope to install in the spring. It is very important we keep on top the Silver Birch which left unmanaged would take over the woodland. The aim of the thinning is to remove most of the stunted or small Birch to make way for the larger trees to continue to flourish but also to allow sunlight to reach the forest floor which essential for the species which need dappled light such as Bluebells and Primroses. Lots of the timber is left on site with a small percentage used for fire wood and crafts.

Birch Thinning - R. Allison

Not much by way of sightings reported today as we were all busy but of note the Cetti's Warbler was again seen from the Tern Hide it seems to favour the reedbed in front and often flies between that and the reedbed in front of the dam wall. Below is a summary of the rest of the species noted:

Grey Heron 1, Cormorant 3, Mallard 24, Shoveler 2, Coot 2, Moorhen 1, Black-headed Gull 100+, Wren 1, Pheasant 4, Blue Tit 10+, Great Tit 10+, Coal Tit 1, Nuthatch 1, Redwing 1, Pied Wagtail 1, Grey Wagtail 1, Greylag Goose 160+, Tufted Duck 6, Goldfinch 12, Chaffinch 10+, Cetti's Warbler 1

Grey Squirrel 4

Warnham Local Nature Reserve

Egyptian Geese - L. Lockyer

Liza Lockyer spent the morning on the Reserve and manged to photograph the pair of Egyptian Geese which have been a regular feature since last spring. Egyptian Geese are a native of sub-tropical Africa it was brought to Britain in the late 17th century as an ornamental bird for benefit of wealthy folks wildfowl collections.

The Egyptian Goose has struggled to establish itself in Britain for the past 300 years due to the cold winters we experience. Egyptian Geese breed very early in the season with young often being seen from January onward. This obviously means they are very open to the elements, and due to this they often succumb to poor weather.  Another factor which leads to poor success rate of rearing young is the fact they nest in tree holes. The cavity in the tree therefore needs to be quite large to fit the bird in and due to health and safety issues with tree safety cavities of this size, nest sites are often limited in availability!

The pair at Warnham today seemed to think that the weather was suitable and love was in the air and Liza was luckily on hand to photograph the incredible mating ritual of the Egyptian Geese. They will continue to mate for a while yet until the female will begin to lay eggs in the new year so fingers crossed we will have little goslings trundling round in January or February.

Egyptian Geese Mating - L. Lockyer