Cliffe Pools - June 2005

With the coming of June spring turns to summer and the breeding season for much of the reserve birdlife slowly draws to a close. By the middle of the month most of the reserve waders and ducks will have large or fledged young and songters like nightingale will have stopped singing for the season. Nevertheless there is still plenty of songbird activity with families of newly fledged young in evidence, also many species, such as skylark, blackcap, reed and sedge warbler, raise 2-3 broods over the summer and will continue to sing for some weeks to come.

By mid June spotted redshank and green sandpiper are the first migrant waders to be seen returning from the Arctic, these individuals are usually failed breeding birds. These birds can be seen on the northern lagoons and pools, often in the company of avocet & young which have been late breeders at Cliffe in recent years.

Other wildlife in the month to be seen includes ever more insect life with butterfly species such as common blue, small heath and speckled wood are on the wing plus dragon and damselfly species such as the hairy dragonfly, broad bodied chaser and the azure, blue-tailed and common blue damselflies.

Finally by June the May flower displays of hawthorn and cow parsley have gone over now to be replaced with the white sprays of elder, pinks of dog rose and the mauves and purples of common vetch and tare.

Latest sightings.

1/6; 400 shelduck, 20 black-tailed godwit, 66 avocet, 3 grey plover, 5 1st summer little gull.

4-8/6; 1 female woodchat shrike.

5/6; 1 mediterranean gull, 1 v.rufous hepatic female cuckoo.

10/6; 1 green sandpiper.

11/6; 1 little stint.

14/6; 110 avocet.

17/6; 630 shelduck