Sunday July 17

A very warm, humid morning.

I have recently rejoined Butterfly Conservation and decided to take part in the Big Butterfly Count having read that it has been a very bad season nationally. My 15 minutes produced the following:

Marbled White          -      9
Meadow Brown        -     31
Small/Essex Skipper -    13
Large White              -      3
Ringlet                      -      3
Large Skipper           -      2
Gatekeeper               -      1

The reason I was cautious regarding the Skippers was that most were seen in flight, and later examination showed that both species are now present.

A female Essex Skipper

Outside the allotted period we saw many more butterflies including a couple of Common Blues, three Small Tortoiseshells, and several Small Whites.

Gatekeeper

As it got hotter, it became increasingly difficult to photograph insects as they became extremely unwilling to settle. Dragonflies were especially difficult, and although we saw at least four Brown Hawkers, new for the year, there was no chance of a photograph.

You may have noticed that I haven't mentioned birds yet. In fact it wasn't terrible for them, but it was frustrating. A Reed Warbler was singing, but remained hidden, and I got the impression that there were additional birds calling, so perhaps they have bred.

An unusual feature was the presence of a flock of House Martins perching on a hawthorn hedge.

House Martins

They may have had a good breeding season. I also noticed a single Sand Martin flying with them at one stage.

A single female Tufted Duck at the pool may have been the bird I saw with two ducklings at the Dragonfly Pools on Friday. It would seem that the ducklings haven't lasted too long. The Flashes were a bit disappointing, just six Green Sandpipers and 23 Lapwings.

The bird of the day was an escape (but a pretty good one). Dave spotted a yellow and black bird perched with Goldfinches in the hedge by Kingfisher Pool. With brief thoughts of Golden Oriole floating through my mind I got the scope up and shifted to a position where I could see what the bird was. Right colours, wrong size, it was in fact an adult male Yellow-crowned Weaver (aka Yellow-crowned Bishop). It was a stunningly attractive bird, but as my camera came out the bird decided it was time to fly off. It actually circled the entire field before disappearing into the distance.

This may be the bird which we saw in 2014, when it was a more dowdy immature, but I suppose it could be a completely new one. Continuing the theme of missed opportunities, Dave rounded the
corner of the hedge at Kingfisher Pool before I did and walked straight into a perched Kingfisher. I saw only the perch!

Back to insects, the first Grasshoppers are now showing, but not stridulating yet, and we noticed a small moth which I reckon is a Yellow Shell.

Yellow Shell

The Swifts are down to single figures. Autumn beckons.