July 2019

Please email me your sightings or write them in the log-book at the Visitor Centre.

July marks the end of the breeding season for birds but that doesn't mean there is nothing to see. Insect life is abuzz over the lakes and in the meadows and some of our most colourful flowers do not appear until late summer.

Comma butterfly.

If it's birds you are after, then be on the look out for migrants that do not breed here but are already heading south, think of ospreys, waders and warblers.

Watch out for horse-flies this month as they can give you a pretty nasty bite.

A white pyramidal orchid at the Sailing Lake.

July 3rd: Brown hawker dragonfly on the garden pond and emperors on the wing with common darters. Meadow brown, common blue, large and small skippers and ringlet butterflies in the long grass, speckled woods in the trees chasing off the red admirals and tattered and worn painted lady butterflies and the first gatekeepers of the year.

Grass snake in Rudd Pit. Many young birds including tits, blackcaps, garden warblers, lesser whitethroat and chiffchaff, all gleaning insects from the leaves.

Bee orchids

July 5th: White throat x 3, chiffchaff, willow warbler, garden warbler x 2, black-cap, stock dove, grey heron, b-h gull, herring gull, common tern x 30, mallard, tufted duck, wood pigeon, oyster catcher.


July 6th: Red-eyed, azure, common blue and blue tailed damsels, Norfolk hawker, 4 spotted chaser and broad bodied chaser.

Common tern, willow warbler (fam), grey squirrels and brown rats.

Re-eyed damselfly.

Pyramidal orchids.

July 7th: Grass snake in the Hayling lake. Whitethroat x 4, chiffchaff, willow warbler, garden warbler x 2, black cap, stock dove, heron, b-h gull, herring gull, common terns x 30+, mallard, tufted duck, wood pigeon, oyster catcher. Kingfisher at the Kingfisher Hide.

July 9th: Black cap, mistle thrush, song thrush, reed bunting, buzzard and red kite.

July 10th: Hay cut in the meadow and bailed. Common darter dragonfly, gatekeeper, small skipper and small white butterflies.

July 12th: On a guided tour in the evening we failed to find any wasp spiders but had good views of many insects and did a bit of botanising. The highlight for me was finding a willow emerald damselfly at the beach. (I tried again on the 13th but without luck)
The starlings are back! A walk on the meadow trail at dusk should provide decent views and the chance of a sparrow hawk or two.

July 13th: Another guided walk produced a good flower list and some obliging insects, including this giant belted hoverfly. It is a hornet mimic that preys on common wasps.

Belted hoverfly.

July 14th: Pyramidal orchid and blackcap on the River Trail.

July 15th: At the Hayden Hide, little egret, lapwing, kingfisher, tufted duck, heron. OTTERS x4!!

July 18th: Third Thursday Walk: 

Blackcap, b-h gull, blue tit, buzzard, crow, chaffinch, common tern, great spotted woodpecker, cormorant, dunnock, gadwall, goldcrest, g-c grebe, great tit, green woodpecker, greenfinch, gret heron, greylag goose, house martin, lapwing, little egret, l-t tit, magpie, mallard, moorhen, mute swan, robin, collared dove, tree creeper, sand martin, wood-pigeon, wren. (D Wilson)

July 20th: Baby blue-tit, Jay.

July 21st: Black squirrel, blue tits, brown rat.

July 23rd: Water Rail and barn owls . (Jacqueline Hill).

Barn owl at dusk.

Barn owl in the meadow.

July 24th: Willow emerald, brown hawker. migrant hawker, emperor etc. Gatekeeper and small white butterflies. A stoat cross the path between Kingfisher hide and River view. At least 7 common tern chicks on Diddington Pit. (Neal Parkin)

July 25th: Baby blue tits, great tit x 2, young blackbird, Vole at the Hayden Hide. Sparrow-hawk took a blue tit from the feeder.

July 27th: Little egret x 2 at the Hayden Hide.

July 28th; OTTER x 4 on Heronry South, two came out onto the island.
Green sandpipers. Sparrow hawk.