Tice's Meadow Nature Reserve: Friday July 12th to Monday July 22nd

Site Sale

As revealed in the local press, Tice's Meadow is for sale. We've been advised to not say anything beyond this statement for now.

The Estate Agent's details can be read here.

Friday July 12th

Leonard Winchcombe: Common Scoter.

John Hunt: 2 Green Sandpiper, Great White Egret, 2 Little Egret, Redshank & 3 Stonechat (adult female & 2 juveniles).

Mark Elsoffer: 2 Common Sandpiper, Black-tailed Godwit, & Hobby.

Murray Nurse: 15 Common Tern.

Mark Elsoffer: First Clouded Yellow butterfly of the year.

Mark Elsoffer: The large brood of new Tufted ducklings in the Workings numbers at least 15.

Murray Nurse: Small Heath.

Saturday July 13th

A momentous day today saw us breaking ground for the new hide. Once again, we are indebted to P.C. Landscapes for lending us Anthony George and their digger and laser level. Great support from a great local company, who in the past fortnight have won a gold medal at Hampton Court Flower Show, and had a garden in the New Forest opened by Prince Charles. We only employ the best!

We also held a scheduled public work party today - 6 volunteers completed a litter pick of the site, including the three young lads who are doing their Duke of Edinburgh Award.

Mark Elsoffer: Small Red-eyed Damselfly.

Sunday July 14th

Phil Hughes: Great White Egret.

All round naturalists Sean Foote and Abi Jacobs found 17 new species for the site today, taking our Pan Species List to 1,331 species - great work guys!

A Tumbling Flower Beetle (Variimorda villosa)
Yellow-legged Beegrabber (Conops flavipes)
Noon Fly (Mesembrina meridiana)
Two-banded Wasp Hoverfly (Chrysotoxum bicinctum)
Furry Drone-Fly (Eristalis intricaria)
Batman Hoverfly (Myathropa florea)
A Hoverfly (Parhelophilus versicolor)
Short-fringed Mining Bee (Andrena dorsata)
Black-thighed Epeolus Bee (Epeolus variegatus)
Chalk Yellow-face Bee (Hylaeus dilatatus)
Beewolf (Philanthus triangulum)
Clover Blunthorn Bee (Melitta leporina)
Small Velvet Ant (Smicromyrme rufipes)
European Potter Wasp (Ancistrocerus gazella)
Six-belted Clearwing (Bembecia ichneumoniformis)
Golden-tabbed Robberfly (Eutolmus rufibarbis)
Bull Thistle Gall Fly (Urophora stylata)

Monday July 15th

John Hunt: Common Sandpiper, Black-tailed Godwit, Great White Egret & Little Egret.

D Colledge: 2 Green Sandpiper.

Tuesday July 16th

Leonard Winchcombe: 2 Common Sandpiper, 6 Green Sandpiper, Black-tailed Godwit, Oystercatcher & Great White Egret.

The first Wasp Spider of 2019 was found today by Richard Horton.

First Wasp Spider Dates
2019 - July 16th.
2018 - June 21st.
2017 - June 30th.
2016 - July 22nd.
2015 - August 1st.

Murray Nurse: Small Red-eyed Damselfly.

Wednesday July 17th

Richard Seargent: Ruff & Great White Egret.

This is only the 12th recorded sighting of Ruff on site, the second this year.

Roger Dickey was ringing on site today, with nets in the Woods and Reedbeds. Roger was ably helped by Richard Seargent & Leonard Winchcombe.

Richard Seargent found a new species for site today:
- Red-belted Clearwing (Synanthedon myopaeformis).

Dina Burford found a new species for site today:
- Four-banded Longhorn Beetle (Leptura quadrifasciata).

Thursday July 18th

Richard Seargent: Great White Egret.

Leonard Winchcombe: Common Sandpiper, 3 Green Sandpiper, Oystercatcher & Ruff.

Murray Nurse: 22 Tufted Duck (broods of 14 & 6), 6 Sand Martin & 40 Swift.

Roger Dickey was again ringing on site today, with nets in the Woods and Reedbeds. Roger was ably helped by Leonard Winchcombe.

Over the two day session, the following birds were processed:

	Full grown	Pulli	Retraps / recoveries	Total
Wren	2	0	0	2
Dunnock	1	0	0	1
Song Thrush	3	0	1	4
Sedge Warbler	6	0	0	6
Reed Warbler	11	0	2	13
Whitethroat	1	0	0	1
Blackcap	1	0	0	1
Chiffchaff	1	0	0	1
Magpie	1	0	0	1
Bullfinch	1	0	0	1
Reed Bunting	6	0	0	6
Total	34	0	3	37

The count of 13 Reed Warbler is a new site record count.

Friday July 19th

Mark Elsoffer: Great White Egret & 500+ Swift.

Year R from Badshot Lea Infants School enjoyed mini-beast hunt on site this morning.

We took delivery of the materials for the foundations for our new hide this morning. Our friends from the Blackwater Valley Countryside Partnership then moved them to the work site using their tractor and trailer - thanks Steve, Stuart & Jenny.

Saturday July 20th

Leonard Winchcombe: Great White Egret.

The work party scheduled for today was postponed to July 27th due to the forecast extreme weather.

Sunday July 21st

John Hunt: 3 Green Sandpiper & Oystercatcher.

Mark Elsoffer: 2 Common Sandpiper, Ringed Plover, Great White Egret & Hobby.

Leonard Winchcombe: juvenile Nuthatch in the feeding station.

David Smith reported a minimum of 8 odonata species: Emperor, Brown Hawker, Black-tailed Skimmer, Banded Demoiselle, Common Blue Damselfly, Azure Damselfly, Blue-tailed Damselfly and either Small Red-eyed Damselfly / Red-eyed Damselfly. Latter to far away to id. Several species egg laying.