Quantity over quality

I used to hate July. At reservoirs or on the coast it was all about waiting impatiently for migration to start hotting up, usually in August.

But increasingly I'm starting to love it, even for birds. The key for me is the quantity of young birds which have now fledged and fill the hedgerows with lively excitement. True, you just end up with good totals of Chiffchaffs, Whitethroats, Sedge Warblers, and Tits. Nothing new, or even unusual, but they keep you on your toes.

The flash pools still contain some water, and also 10 Green Sandpipers. I am posting a superb photograph of one seen by Mike Lane on the water-filled tyre tracks which, earlier this week, still contained enough water to attract this opportunist wader.

Adult Green Sandpiper by Mike Lane

Today, the flashes also contained four Teal, and I got a shot of the Little Owl.

A Peregrine was sitting on the masts, but that was about it for the birds. Stacks of butterflies though, mostly Meadow Browns and Large Skippers, plus Ringlets, Large Whites, Small Tortoiseshell, Speckled Wood, and a large orange one seen only in flight, presumably a Comma. New dragonflies included Emerald Damselflies, and Brown Hawkers.

Oh, and England scraped home in a very exciting final day of the 1st Test. A perfect summer's day.