15th & 16th May 2026 at DMNR

It was great to see that the Canada Geese that nested on the pond at Denso Marston Nature Reserve had their brood. Seven Goslings. They had nested at the pond but once the chicks were mobile they moved onto the river away from passing dogs. I didn’t see them on 16th but I did have reports of six Goslings being spotted near the Buck Lane footbridge.

A Moorhen is building yet another nest at the pond, unfortunately they have little protection from dogs, mink, Heron etc.

One that is a little more protected is the nest hole of a Great Spotted Woodpecker. It was a quiet Chip, chip, chip of the chicks that drew me to the tree. I expect that they will get a lot noisier. In the past I have watched and listened to chicks making quite a racket – in Shipley Glen, and in Ferniehurst Dell.

I thought it had been quite a while since I heard Goldcrest, I have seen them several times, but heard nothing. Then on Baildon Moor I saw Grasshopper Warbler and struggled to hear it. I thought my hearing was going. It probably is but on Friday I actually heard Goldcrest (Merlin had already let me know that they may be around.) And managed to get my camera on one.

I spotted a female Goosander with a couple of chicks following behind. While I watched, one of the chicks sped up and walked up the back of the adult to hitch a ride. Cute. A normal brood size if between 8 and 12 eggs and often the survival rate is reasonable. I wonder why she only has 2 in tow?

Friday, as shown by the photos above tended to be birds. Saturday was an organised walk around the reserve with the aim of spotting Butterflies and Damselflies. These walks have to be planned, and given a title, weeks in advance so the weather on the day is not going to be known. And 10:00am on Saturday was not the weather for butterflies or damselflies.

I did have the option of joining a Bradford Urban Wildlife Group Otter walk but when I checked it said I should have emailed to let them know I wanted to attend, so I joined Steve on his walk.

During the walk we did manage to see a Red Admiral. We also spotted the Dock Beetle laying eggs. Also Ladybirds and Shield Bugs, but not great numbers of butterflies or damselflies. Sunshine is needed for those. After the walk the timer was kept running while we chatted and a Large Red Damselfly and a Green Veined White (no photo) were added to the list.

The other photos were taken as I wandered round again, taking time to look at leaves and under leaves.

I was pleased to spot the Brimstone butterfly. It was quite small compared to other Brimstone butterflies I have seen. It also stayed on the leaves, not moving other than to stretch its fore legs. Normally when watching Brimstone they seldom stay still for more than a second, but then the sun was keeping them warm.

I was lucky to spot the Azure Damselfly. It was the only one I saw.

All the other photos are of little beasties so open the gallery to view them and read their titles – click on the i.