Meet the Bats this Sunday!!!

Warnham LNR - Summer Holiday Pond Dipping

Riverside Walk 2017

Paddington Bear™ - At Warnham LNR 

This weekend saw the annual Riverside Walk around Horsham's beautiful countryside take place. This fantastic event is run by the Horsham Town Community Partnership and the charity chosen to support in 2017 was Action Medical Research.  The walk began at Horsham Rugby Club and passed through three of the Countryside Teams sites. The first stop was at Chesworth Farm for a well deserved drink and toilet stop. As you can tell from the photos below the blisters had not set in to any of the participants yet!

The Friends of Chesworth Farm Drink Stop

The Friends of Chesworth Farm were on hand to replenish liquids and offer a toilet break before the 250+ participants of all ages carried on their 13-mile mission. From here the throng of walkers, joggers and disabled ramblers meandered their way around the outskirts of Horsham to Warnham Local Nature Reserve where the lunch stop and live music from The Toons were provided and very well received. Paddington Bear™ also made an appearance here to meet and greet and give moral support to the participants, he of course was accompanied by his trusty marmalade sandwich! The 1st Roffey Scout Group also did a fantastic job with providing the range of marquees and tents for the fatigued walkers to enjoy a well-earned perch!

                                                           A well earned lunch break at Warnham LNR

The walkers then continued on their merry way taking in the wonderful countryside and wildflower filled meadows as they neared the end of the trek. Leechpool & Owlbeech Woods was the last of the Countryside Sites that they visited and by now the peleton had diminished somewhat as people started to feel blisters, aches and pains of a hard days exercise! There was still lots of smiley faces which is the main thing and everyone seemed to have enjoyed the day.

Owlbeech Woods - Nearing the end!

This was yet another brilliant event and I would like to congratulate Jane and her team from the Horsham Town Community Partnership for running such an well received event. In total over £1500 was raised for a very worthwhile charity by the walkers with Frank Talbot raising over £800 on his own! What a star! A truly brilliant effort by all and a pleasure to be involved with the event once more.

WELL DONE WALKERS!!!

Warnham Moths & Birds

Oak Beauty - Warnham LNR

You might well think that as it is winter there would be very little by way of moth activity on the Reserves but this is not the case at all. Over the past couple of weeks you might have seen the odd moth start to appear in your headlights. These are almost certainly Dotted Border which is a dainty moth in the Geometridae family. The moth trap at Warnham has been pretty good with lots to look at considering the time of year.

Small Quaker - Warnham LNR

Common Quaker - Warnham LNR

Hebrew Character - Warnham LNR

As you will notice above many of the moths at this time of year are what everyone thinks of as 'boring brown moths' however this is for very good reason. At the time when the adults of these moths are on the wing there is very little by way of colour in our environment. The leaves are yet to come out and the habitat they frequent is mainly a brown, beige colourless one. So there would be little use being bright pink and green like an Elephant Hawkmoth as you would simply get eaten by a predator.

As the leaves come out and the flowers start to appear so do the more colourful moths which I will show you later in the year but for now, most of the moths we catch will be camouflage for the time of year so they are not boring moths at all but in fact very sensible moths!

Early Grey - Warnham LNR

Another interesting fact about our winter and early spring moths is that they adopt a very different approach to being eaten to that of our summer moths. You will be well versed in how active a summer moth can be around a light as they buzz around your living rooms and just how hard they can be to catch to release back outdoors. This is due to the warm ambient temperature that they have the energy to try and escape capture. In the winter it is quite the reverse due to the lower temperatures they simply play dead rather than try and flee to preserve energy.

Meanwhile Paul Shergold has been busy with the camera again around the Reserve and has managed to get some excellent photos. The Kestrel seems to have found a mate so fingers crossed we might have a new pair on site. The Teal have been seen displaying and finally I managed to see a pair mating in front of Tern Hide yesterday. The Mute Swan pair seem to be having issues with deciding exactly where they would like to nest and they now have two half built nests! Thanks to Paul for the excellent photos.

Kestrel - P. Shergold

Teal - P. Shergold

Mute Swan - P. Shergold

Warnham LNR - Walnut Tree Plantation

Bramble Bashing at Warnham LNR

Another cold morning greeted the volunteers from Horsham Green Gym as they paid a visit to Walnut Tree Plantation at Warnham Local Nature Reserve. This mornings task was to cut back the ever encroaching Bramble from around the Hazel coppice which was planted in 2015. The Bramble up until now has helped us protect the new Hazel saplings from being browsed by Roe Deer but it has now become too extensive so the group did a great job removing some of the Bramble.

As you can see from the photo above the hazel whips eventually started to appear once we got deeper into the Bramble. The next job was to remove the tree tubes from the whips that had died, the use of the Bramble to protect the whips was pretty effective here and there weren't to many that had been browsed off and killed. It is hoped that the increased light levels afforded by the scrub clearance should give the whips an excellent growth year coming up.

 Once all of the tree tubes had be removed we started the last section of the coppice job which was to reinstate the woven hedge which serves as a barrier to keep most of the public to the paths.  In this area of the Plantation the ground flora is very good so we try to keep trampling to a minimum and Helen and Peter were rightly very proud of the job they had done with the barrier! Thank you very much once again to all the Horsham Green Gym members who attended the task. The next volunteer task is at Broadbridge Heath Bike Jumps off Byfleets Lane on Tuesday 31st January. This is a very exciting project of turning the now redundant BMX jumps into a butterfly haven. The meeting location is postcode: RH12 3PA or the OS map ref is TQ152 319

Job Done!

Our visitors have also been busy with their respective cameras this week and we have had a number of photos sent in for use on the blog. I hope you enjoy the lovely selection sent in by one observer this week of a few of the common species seen around the Reserve at this time of year. Also of note the Water Rail(s) seem to have taken up residence in the Woodpecker Hide once more so keep your eyes peeled on here for some nice photos 

 Robin

Great Spotted Woodpecker

Grey Squirrel

Owlbeech Woods - Volunteer Task

Leechpool Woods

A stunning morning greeted us as we set off early for a morning of heathland restoration with Horsham Green Gym at Owlbeech Woods. The ground was frozen solid and there was an eerie mist which clung to the trees as Sam, Judith and I headed up early to start the fire. The task today was to head to Redwood Hill Enclosure and uproot/pull the invasive Downy and Silver Birch which had been sprayed in late summer. 

Redwood Hill Enclosure - Owlbeech Woods

This morning we were bathed in sunshine as the ground began to defrost and there was a definite warmth in what the sun had to offer...spring is on its way...maybe! This mornings task was attended by nearly 30 keen volunteers which allowed us to get through a lot of the birch in the target area. It will only take small group in the near future to finish off the south-east corner of Redwood Hill Enclosure which will make a huge difference this summer. We have recently been able to get a tractor and mower into this area which has meant we can manage the area more effectively in the future. The use of mower as well as our sheep and cattle is that it focuses on one particular area more intensively whereas the livestock do a more 'all-round' job. 

Usually this type of approach would not be the ideal scenario as it leads to the habitat all being of one age a bit like a lawn and limits the biodiversity in the area. Those of you who visit the heath regularly may have seen some rather random bits of mowing particularly in this enclosure but also in Broom Heath and Middle Heath. This is an attempt by us to get a range of ages to the heather in particular but also to create some bare areas for the heathland invertebrates to thrive in by scuffing the surface with the mower. 

Before

Above you can see how effective the group were this morning; the first photo shows how the area looked as we started to uproot the birch at the beginning of the task. Some of the birch were huge, up to 15ft in height with root balls of well over 2ft in diameter but this was nothing to our band of merry men and women and they made light work of all that we could throw at them! The photo below shows how the enclosure looked just before we ended today's task. We now expect the Bracken to try and take a foothold here but that little problem is for another task later in the year!

After

It was a fantastic morning both weather-wise and productivity-wise so thank you very much to all the excellent volunteers who came on this mornings task. Also of note whilst pulling and burning the arisings we had our first Great-spotted Woodpecker of the year drumming as well as a few nice fungi. Although it felt warm enough we weren't lucky enough to see an early Red Admiral but our fingers are firmly crossed!

Common Summer Migrant Arrivals at Warnham LNR

Swallow - 1st of the year (1/4/15)

As the warmer (in theory!) weather starts to roll into Britain so do migrant birds of all shapes and sizes. So far at Warnham we have already had a steady trickle of Chiffchaffs as well as a couple of days of Meadow Pipit passage of which the best day was 23rd March. In just 20 mins from the Tern Hide I counted 109 Meadow Pipits all heading NW following a similar route from start to finish.

This year I have decided to use the records that we collect each year to produce a summary of the last five years arrival dates for some of the common species we see at Warnham LNR to give a comparison for whether species are turning up on time, early or even late. I aim to fill each of these in as we go along but I will start with Chiffchaff and Swallow as we have seen both of them already in 2015.

As you can see from the above stats both of the species which have arrived first at Warnham LNR are about in the middle of the range of the last five years respectively. The current weather systems we have at the moment is a large high pressure system which is causing the unusual strong gusty winds which is ultimately holding many of the migrating birds on the north French coast. They are simply waiting for a more conducive wind to make their final hope to Britain and to their breeding grounds further north.

As new migrants birds start to appear at the Reserve I will post the updated lists for species such as Swift, House and Sand Martins, Common Tern, Blackcap etc so keep your eyes peeled on this page to see the overall picture in terms of our summer visitors arrival times at Warnham.

Red Kite - Distant record shot (25/3/15)

Also of note over the past 10-days or so we have started to notice an ever increasing number of raptors on the move in particular Common Buzzards and Red Kites. On the 25th March we had a total of 17 Common Buzzard, 1 Red Kite and 3 Sparrowhawk all move in a roughly SW direction over the Reserve (Well done Wes for picking up the Red Kite). We have also seen other signs of spring movement with a Jack Snipe seen briefly on the 28th March on the muddy edge of the Swan Island.

Tufted x Pochard Hybrid - Warnham LNR

Lastly we have seen good numbers of Tufted Duck still present on the Reserve which I am hopeful may mean that we have a few breeding pairs like in 2013. The Tufted Ducks however are continually coming and going and on the morning of the 25th of March Jo and Sam noticed an odd looking Scaup-like bird in amongst the 25+ Tufted Ducks. I eventually got to see the bird late morning after finishing meetings and deduced that it was in fact a hybrid Tufted Duck x Pochard. It gave off the impression of looking similar to that of a Lesser Scaup in fact but several features didn't sit well with me. Firstly the nail (black tip to bill) was extensive and covered the whole end of the beak. In Scaup or Lesser Scaup the nail is very small and only covers the very centre of the beak.

Tufted Duck x Pochard (Note bill tip pattern)

The second feature was that the 'grey' back to the bird was not vermiculated at all but a smooth pale grey colour which contrasted well with the cleaner white sides and jet black tail and breast. Again on Scaup and Lesser Scaup the scapulars (back) of the bird would be a very smart pale grey with black vermiculation across the whole pale area.

Tufted Duck x Pochard (Note extensive peak at back of head)

Finally the head of the bird was most akin to that of Lesser Scaup however when view the very maroon/rust tones were evident and the shape was more peaked at the read of the head that one would expect with Lesser Scaup. It was indeed an eye-catching bird and it certainly has never been at the Reserve before so I wonder where it has been hiding!

Chesworth Farm Bird Log

Both Mike and Eddie were around the Farm today and counted the following (combined totals):

Robin - 8

Blue Tit - 7

Blackbird - 5

Woodpigeon - 14

Wren - 2

Greater-spotted Woodpecker - 1

Jackdaw - 5

Pheasant - 1

Linnet - 6

Chiffchaff - 3

Moorhen - 2

Green Woodpecker - 1

Willow Warbler - 1

Blackcap - 2

Great Tit - 2

Dunnock - 1

Grey Wagtail - 1

Magpie - 4

Kestrel - 1

Jay - 3

Bullfinch - 1

Herring Gull - 5 (over)

Carrion Crow - 2

House Sparrow - 3

Latest News from Southwater & Warnham LNR

Slow-worm - S. Cocker

Slow-worm - S. Cocker

Slow-worm - S. Cocker

Now the kids have gone back to school the weather starts to play its nasty trick and come out sunny again. It seems to happy every September that as soon as the autumn term start the Indian summer arrives and baths us and the wildlife in warm sunshine. Sue Cocker made the most of the last of the summer weather when she came across this lovely Slow-worm at Southwater Quarry.

Wasp Spider - Warnham LNR

Exciting news came through at the weekend when a single female Wasp Spider was found on Mill Meadow at Warnham. This is brilliant news for us as there has not been a sighting since the 1st August 2006. We have no idea where she has come from but fingers crossed it might be the start of another colony, especially as the colony at Southwater now seems to have all but died out.



Staying at Warnham it is nearly time that the five British White Cattle are to move to pasture new at Chesworth Farm where they will play a vital role there in aftermath grazing the hay cut. As you might have guessed from the dumper trucks in the background we have been busy once again at the Sandpiper Scrape and have carried out some more of the wetland restoration scrapes in front of the Sandpiper Hide. Once this has been completed I will do another post to bring everyone up to date.

Chesworth Farm - Bird Log

Mike carried out his usual bird count which produced the following:

Blue Tit - 3
Woodpigeon - 7
Robin - 2
Blackbird - 5
Carrion Crow - 1
House Sparrow - 5
Wren - 1
Goldfinch - 6
Whitethroat - 1
Great-spotted Woodpecker - 1
Willow Warbler - 1
Magpie - 3

Roe Deer - 1

Warnham LNR

Tench - S. Card

Whilst strimming the small amount of vegetation in front of the Tern Hide Stu managed to catch a small Tench! They are stunning looking fish.

Also of note once the strimming was finished we went back into the Tern Hide to check we had cut everything back we needed too and a Common Sandpiper was already sitting in the island!

Chesworth Farm - Bird Log

Mike Ayling carried out his usual bird count at the Farm today and produced the following:

Song Thrush - 4
Wren - 4 (3ad/1juv)
House Sparrow - 3
Whitethroat - 3
Robin - 4 (3ad/1juv)
Blackbird - 4
Woodpigeon - 9
Chiffchaff - 5
Goldfinch - 2
Blackcap - 1
Jackdaw - 3
Carrion Crow - 3
Skylark - 1
Great-spotted Woodpecker - 1
Herring Gull 3 over
Greenfinch - 1
Chaffinch - 1
Magpie - 1
Green Woodpecker - 1

Warnham LNR - Latest Sightings

Depressaria daucella - Warnham LNR

Depressaria daucella - Warnham LNR

Walking around the Reserve at the moment you may well notice that some of the flowers of Hemlock Water Dropwort appear to be stunted and closed up. This is actually caused by a micro moth called Depressaria daucella. If you look closely you can see that the caterpillar has made a small tunnel to hide in when predators are around.

Horsham Green Gym - D. Jessop

 This week has also seen Horsham Green Gym return to the Reserve to carry on the development of the scrapes viewable from the Sandpiper Hide. The above image is how the new section started, with the area marked out and the diggers all looking eager!

Scrape Digging - D. Jessop

 Soon enough the group had started to make headway and before long the scrape was starting to take shape. There are several of these to dig out this summer so hopefully each of them will hold water later in the year to attract wading birds. When digging out a scrape it is essential that the edges are not to steep to allow the water to gradually recede during dry weather.

Finished Scrape - D. Jessop

And after a hard mornings work and plenty of biscuits the first scrape is done. Well done to everyone who came along it looks brilliant. Hopefully the rain forecast this weekend will fill up the first pool nicely. If you would like to come along for the next Horsham Green Gym session at the scrape they are next here on Thursday 3rd July.

Friends of Warnham LNR - Creepy Crawly Day

Warnham LNR - Weekly roundup

Fungus Weevil - Platystomos albinus

This week on the Reserve has been pretty busy with the new cafe opening which is now called The Harvest Mouse Cafe as well as lots of wildlife to see. The best find of the week was a first for any of our reserves and was found by complete chance. Whilst surveying the nest boxes with two of the volunteers I closed the gate only to see a small beetle on the back of the gate. I knew it was a good find but couldn't put my finger on the name of the little chap. It is in fact the Fungus Weevil Platystomos albinus and is classed as Nationally Scarce B meaning it is found in between 16 and 100 10km squares in Britain.

Fungus Weevil - Platystomos albinus

There was also another beetle which managed to attract my attention this week as it flew around the courtyard outside my office. It eventually landed right outside the cafe door and allowed a few photos to be taken and it turned out to be another Longhorn Beetle this time Rhagium mordax.

Longhorn Beetle - Rhagium mordax

Many of the usual breeding birds have finally turned up at Warnham LNR now and we have daily visits from the town centres Swift population as well as many fledgling Grey Heron's now busily learning to fish. The nest of Great-spotted Woodpeckers are getting louder by the day and can't be far off leaving the nest hole now.

It looks like the Mute Swan's have failed this year for some unknown reason as both the parents have been 'swanning' around the lake over the past few days. The two pairs Great Crested Grebes are still incubating and the Common Tern's finally seem to be getting down to business. The surprise of the week on the bird front came in the form of a pair of rather unseasonal Pochard which spent the day feeding in front of the Tern Hide.

Pochard - Warnham LNR