Unseasonably warm day at Maple Lodge NR

I've had a very tough few weeks and not really felt like going out with my camera, but today I woke up and knew I couldn't waste the day by staying indoors. As I stayed at my Mums last night it made sense to go to the nearest nature reserve to hers, which is the wonderfully private Maple Lodge NR. 

The weather was fine and dry, with barely a cloud in the sky and I found plenty to observe and photograph. Even though it is mid September there was no need for a jacket. 

The old Oak by the Barn Owl meadow was full of acorns. Some have succumbed to the Knopper Gall wasp, a tiny parasite that lays its eggs inside the developing acorn. The grub will feed inside and eventually the adult wasp will burrow out of the deformed acorn, leaving just a tiny hole to show that it has left. These parasites don't really hurt the Oak, after all there are plenty of acorns to go round. 

Knopper Gall 

 There was also a very attractive bee by the meadow. It's a Common Carder aka bombus pascuorum.

Common Carder

Common Carder

 From the Long Hegde Hide there were a few Blackcaps feeding up before they start their migration back to north Europe, although these stern looking small birds are often now spending the winter in Britain. 

On the grassy path a tiny movement caught my eye and I managed to grab one photo of this Field Grasshopper before it hopped off...

Field Grasshopper

 It has definitely been a good year for Darters. They were all over the reserve. 

There was only one low point during my visit...…………. The water levels at the reserve are the lowest that I have ever seen them. The view from the Long Hedge Hide is just a huge expanse of mud. There was something on the far right hand side that caught my eye. It was a Jay, and it looked to be literally stuck in the mud. The more it struggled, the more mud it got on its feathers. I didn't want to see it suffer, but it was impossible to rescue, despite Jack and I discussing what we could do in detail. After conferring with Keith and Martin, it was decided to let nature take it's course. Although the lake bed looked like it was safe to walk on, it was very deceptive and soft, as the poor Jay found out for itself...….

I couldn't save the Jay but I did save a Dock Bug from a spiders web...…... I've never seen the underside of a Dock Bug before, and after I rescued it with a twig it played dead (on its back) for a few more seconds before righting itself and flying off....

Dock Bug - underside and caught in web

Dock Bug underside

The photo below is how I normally see Dock Bugs, but I must admit I don't normally see them feeding on bird poop.....

There was a nice Green Sandpiper viewable from the Clubhouse Hide for a while, not quite near enough for a detailed photo but certainly close enough to watch without binoculars. 

The muddy lake bed at the Long Hedge Hide also attracted a pair of Grey Wagtails. Luckily for me one of them ventured quite near, but the other one stayed on an exposed shingle island....

Despite the season, there were a couple of singing Robins around and this one posed for me nicely.

At the Barn Owl meadow there were a few white butterflies, one Comma, one Red Admiral and one Small Copper but they were all a bit far away for a decent photo. However there was another solo Small Copper at Comma Corner that posed for me beautifully.....

Despite the poor mud stricken Jay, it was a very enjoyable visit and I'm glad I made the effort to go out today.