Sightings

Recent sightings – 23/06/2026: 4 or 5 very tiny new moorhen chicks + parents on canal by TG entrance; 24/06: 1 juvenile moorhen, 1 adult; 04/07: mallard + 3 v small ducklings, 1 brown juvenile moorhen, greater spotted woodpecker high up on a dead tree; masses of tall yellow vetch, several medium-size dusky brown butterflies, & gatekeepers and some whites. 07/07: large brown chaser-type dragonfly insect hovering over Swan Lake; smaller red chaser-type, dusky brown butterflies, water skiers on pond, very low water levels, several metallic blue demoiselles, pink hemp agrimony in flower all along the water margins, creamy meadow sweet in flower, white flowered bindweed, mauve buddleia, wild clematis in flower, ripe blackberries – very early! – some pink 'eternal' sweet pea in flower, teasels in flower, many lesser burdock in flower, with various wild bees visiting, mulleins in supreme yellow majestic flower! Another new family of 3 MINISCULE (ie just-hatched) moorhen chicks, with 2 adults, near the nest opp boardwalk. Sat 11/07: 2 juvenile moorhens perching on a semi-submerged branch in the Mill Stream, female mallard + 6 small ducklings a few days old, moorhens + 3 tiny chicks.