July Sightings

July 1st and 4th Grass snakes at garden pond and near Peter's Field. (GJH)

Clouded yellow.

3rd  GS Woodpecker at the Hayden Hide. Vole on the Meadow Trail. (HRA)

13th Yellowhammer + brimstone, comma, gatekeeper, peacock (ADB and CFB)
         Purple hairstreak reported.

15th Common Tern x 15, treecreeper, little egret x 3, blackcap x4, stockdove x4,
        chiffchaff x 2, kingfisher x 2, swallow x 4, willow warbler, reed warbler x 5,
        bullfinch x 2, Cetti's warbler, yellowhammer and whitethroat (Terry Brown)
      
        Turtle Dove singing near Sailing Lake on Haul Road. (David Bale)
        Also a sighting by Ian Dawson around the same date, near the quarry.

       2  Mute swans 'doing a circular dance for 10 mins before flying off.' (B Ormstan)
       Terns feeding young and mute swan with six cygnets (Heronry Lakes)

19th Great Spotted Woodpecker at Hayden Hide.

Wasp spider.

27th This week has been tremendous for dragonflies and a few interesting butterfly
         sightings.  A brown argus was at the Environmental Education Centre on lavender
         and other butterflies seen there have included small white, peacock and clouded yellow.

        A wall butterfly was reported from the Environmental Education Centre but this
        sighting needs confirmation, please keep your eyes open and get a photo if you can.
     
        Wall butterflies are very unusual around here and clouded yellows are long
        distance migrants.

        I took a walk to check on our cows and found a big, fat female wasp spider in the Lafarge                    Meadow.
      

Brown argus.