Regular viewers of our blog will be aware of the Ringed Plover we have nesting near the lifeboat house underneath the information sign. Only a few days away from hatching, tragedy has struck in the form of a hungry Common Gull. By far the biggest egg thieves we have on the Point, this year the ranger team has witnessed them taking a wide range of eggs from the larger eggs of Mallard and Oystercatcher to the much smaller ones of Meadow Pipit and Skylark. Video footage of the theft taking place can be seen below.
In happier news the colour-ringed Ringed Plover seen near the Cley end of the reserve has been incubating a recently found clutch of 4 eggs. The hot weather has seen an increase of butterfly sightings with the year's first Graylings being sighted along with Ringlets, Meadow Browns, Gatekeepers, second generation Small Coppers, Small Whites and Small Tortoiseshells all being seen in good numbers.
- Paul
Its such a shame to hear about the loss of the ringed plover eggs! My partner and I were dropped off at Blakeney point for 40 minutes as part of a seal viewing boat trip a week ago, and found what at first glance appears to be a slightly bleak landscape to be pretty interesting. After reading in the centre that there was a ringed plover nest we had a little look, and found Ajay just outside of the cordoned off area. He was really friendly and showed us the nest through the scope he had set up. I managed to get a photo (with my camera zoomed as far as it would go!), and we also have some photos of flowers, the landscape and an oystercatcher (and of course loads of seals from the boat trip).
ReplyDeleteWe were hoping to see some shelducks as we're on a mission to see as many kinds of ducks as possible, and Ajay told us a little about them but said he'd not seen any for a couple of days. It was really lovely to speak with someone friendly and knowledgeable, and we've since joined the National Trust - thank you, we'll be back!