May Wildlife Update 2025
May was an exciting month with butterflies (not just giant festival ones!), birds, wild flowers, and an array of young life appearing.
Avian highlights:
- Common Tern – approximately 9 nests on the rafts in Overton Lake. Watch this space!
- Cuckoo – heard frequently around Ham Mere, also around near Short Meadow.
- Kingfisher – 4 individuals ringed during the latest ringing session (carried out by licenced volunteer ringer), plus 4 fledglings spotted near the suspension bridge.
- Lesser Whitethroat
- Common Sandpiper
- Oystercatcher
- Mute Swans – multiple nests and multiple pairs with cygnets.
- Egyptian Goose
Other stuff:
- Dragonflies, Damselflies & Demoiselles are coming out – Hairy Dragonfly, Scarce Chaser, Large Red-Eyed Damselfly & Banded Demoiselle spotted so far.
- Grasses are coming in to flower – volunteer Neil found 14 species in flower in one meadow!
- Meadows will be starting to look their best in the next month with most species coming in to flower.
- Brimstone moth – spotted in late April by the rangers, warming on the workshop door.
- Speckled Wood butterflies have been around in fair numbers – a more woodland species that prefers areas of dappled shade, hence the name.
- Quiet on our latest bat survey, but some Common Pipistrelle social calls were recorded.
Tune in next month to read what wildlife visits in June. Happy wildlife spotting!
