Mostly about insects

It is now seriously hot, so my first visit to the patch for a fortnight found a different place waiting for me. Suddenly the field borders are covered in waist-high grasses and wild flowers, much of the water has evaporated from the flashes, and there are insects everywhere.

As far as the bird life is concerned, there were still a few surprises in store. A male Yellow Wagtail flew over calling. This was only my second this year. I also flushed a pair of Grey Partridges, and found that the returning Green Sandpiper count now stands at seven. A Little Owl was showing, and I eventually determined that a highly mimetic warbler singing from the streamline was a Blackcap.

My first good butterfly of the year was a Marbled White.

Other butterflies seen included numerous Meadow Browns and Ringlet, and a good number of skippers, the only ones I identified when I looked properly being Large Skippers. I also came across a pair of Six-spot Burnet moths mating on a grass stem.

Not all insects are good. I don't know what they were, but I kept getting bitten by sinister looking black flies. However, I reached the dragonfly pools which contained a pair of Mute Swans, a Coot on a nest, and stacks of dragonflies.

The dragonflies on view included Four-spotted Chasers, Black-tailed Skimmers, newly emerged Common Darters, Common Blue Damselflies, and several Emperors like this one.