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| July meadow flowers |
My morning visit on Wednesday began under cloudy skies with a few spots of rain but ended in sunshine. As I walked along the path parallel to the road I almost immediately saw two Chiffchaffs together and then heard a series of one note clicks coming from the reed bed. I waited patiently on the path and was eventually rewarded by the appearance of a Sedge Warbler. A good start to my morning! Here is my report:
Birds:
SC209693 Wren heard not seen; 2 x Chiffchaff; Sedge Warbler; Woodpigeon.
SC209694 ( hide) Reed Warbler x 2. Blackbird heard not seen.
SC209694 (elsewhere) Buzzard hovering over reserve then plummeted down towards direction of church boundary; Blue Tit; Sedge Warbler heard not seen near dragonfly pond; Swallow flying over.
SC208694 Sedge Warbler; Woodpigeon; Chaffinch heard not seen; Wren heard not seen; Magpie heard not seen; Willow Warbler heard not seen; Pheasant heard not seen.
SC208695 Blackbird alarm call.
Butterflies and Moths:
SC208695 Meadow Brown.
SC209695 Meadow Brown.
SC208694 Unidentified White flying 2 different locations; Meadow Brown x 2.
SC208694 Silver Y moth; unidentified White flying; Meadow Brown.
Other:
SC208694 Tortoise Beetle larva on thistle.
SC208694 unidentified Hoverflies and 6 x very small flies on Hogweed flowers.
SC208694 Wolf Spiders x 3 on boardwalk ( one carrying egg sack).
SC208694 unidentified Glass Snail on Boardwalk.
SC208694 Rhingia species Hoverfly on Purple Loosestrife.
SC208694 2 x Common Darter on Boardwalk.
SC209694 ( Dragonfly pond) 1 Blue Tailed Damselfly, male; 1 unidentified teneral damselfly; 1 unidentified damselfly laying eggs in water; 1 male Common Darter.
SC209694 Common Carder Bee on Marsh Woundwort; 1 unidentified Bumble Bee species on Marsh Woundwort.
SC209694 Rhingia species Hoverfly on Marsh Woundwort.
SC209694 3 x Nursery Web Spider tents, 1 with spider visible.
SC208694 Nursery Web Spider tent.
SC209695 Helophilus species Hoverfly ( "footballer")
SC209695 Capsid Bug ( Grypocoris stysi) on Cushag/Ragwort
SC209695 Common Spangle Galls on Oak sapling leaves ( caused by Neuroterus numismalis gall wasp).
SC208694 and SC209694 Sneezewort in flower.
SC208694 Hemp Agrimony in flower.
SC209694 7-spot Ladybird on grass seed head
SC208695 Common Flathorn Plant Bug (Heterotoma planicornis) NEW RECORD
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| Sedge Warbler |
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| Sedge Warbler |
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| Sedge Warbler |
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| one of two Reed Warblers |
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| Chiffchaff |
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| Blue Tit |
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| Probably a Heterotoma planicornis bug ( Common Flathorn Plant Bug) |
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| Thistle Tortoise Beetle Larva |
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| Grass Moth |
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| Meadow Brown |
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| Dragonfly pond |
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| and from the opposite end |
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| Common Darter |
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| another view |
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| teneral Blue-Tailed Damselfly |
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| female Blue-tailed Damselfly |
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| she was was egg laying in a variety of locations |
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| but snacking on aphids at the same time! |
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| a brief pause |
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| before laying more eggs |
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| close-up of the aphids |
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| there were also Common Darters on the board walk |
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| two of them |
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| also on the boardwalk - a tiny snail |
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| Grypocoris stysi Capsid Bug |
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| one of the Helophilus "Footballer " Hoverflies |
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| and another elsewhere |
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| another species of Hoverfly |
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| a Marmalade Hoverfly, I think |
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| and another on a Hogweed leaf |
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| a very small fly with red-reflecting wings |
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| yet another species of fly |
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| A Rhingia species on loosestrife |
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| they look orange when they fly |
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| Spangle Galls on Oak leaf |
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| Close-up of Pisaura Mirablis spider |
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| here she is (on the left) guarding her nursery web |
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| A wolf Spider on the boardwalk |
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| hard to spot the Sneezewort in the meadow |
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| but the flowers will soon be attracting insects |
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| the fine stand of Woundwort |
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| a hint of autumn to come? |
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| bracken turning colour too |
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| ripening docks |
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| Alder cones forming |
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| and ripening Hazel nuts ( winter food for Wood Mice) |
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| Hemp Agrimony now in flower |
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| plenty of bramble flowers providing nectar |
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| the usual view of the boardwalk |
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| it has just passed its first birthday |
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| but looks well established now |
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| Hemlock Water Dropwort along the stream |
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| usual view from the boardwalk |
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| looking back to the hide from the boardwalk |
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| little water in the pond but looking lush nevertheless |
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| I love the Purple Loosestrife |
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| usual view from the hide ramp |
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| path round the reeds to the hide |
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| usual view of the hide |
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| fledglings have a lot to contend with |
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| meadow from near the hide |
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| Meadowsweet in full flower |
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| smells of marzipan? |
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| an inviting bench but time to go home for lunch |
With thanks to Neil Morris for confirming the Reed Warbler identification and Pete Hadfield for Damselfly identification. Much appreciated.
Please click on photos to enlarge them
