Local Wildlife Sightings, June 2026

 For as long as I can remember, Britain has been known for its endlessly variable weather and the British people have been known for endlessly talking about it. However, the variability is becoming more and more extreme. Following the record-breaking heatwave in late May, we were plunged into a fortnight of 'unsettled' weather in June, with frequent showers (sometimes thundery) or periods of rain and daytime temperatures in the mid-teens. By the 4th, more rain had fallen in my garden than in April and May combined, and by the 10th more rain had fallen than in the whole of spring (March, April and May). This reflects how dry those months were, because the rainfall for June was only average at this point. Whilst the rain was welcome news for farmers (and my garden), it did restrict my activities and the activity of much of the wildlife that I watch, in the month that provides the most general wildlife interest of the year. At the time of writing (11th) it sounds as if the weather will improve over the next few days. I will split this month's effort into three sections: invertebrates, birds and mammals and flora.

Invertebrates

Butterflies can be on the wing for weeks or just a few days, depending on weather conditions. The vigorous activity prompted by the late May heatwave probably limited the lives on the wing of many butterflies to just a couple of days. By the 1st I was only able to find a single Adonis Blue on Church Hill. No other 'blues' were seen here, although I did encounter my first Marbled White butterfly, also on the 1st. A few Common Blues, including a 'blue' female, were seen on a local field early in the month. A Large Skipper, seen near the hospital on the 9th, was my first local sighting of this species. Otherwise, only a handful of Meadow Browns, Small Heaths and (rapidly declining now in numbers) Painted Ladies were seen up to the 11th.

Male Common Blue, Royston, 1 June

Azure and Large Red Damselflies, probably emergent from local garden ponds, were seen near the house, but in what has been a slow season for dragonflies, none were seen on my local patch in the first half of June.

Large Red Damselfly, Royston, 1 June

One puzzling sighting was of three apparent shield bugs, in different places, which I photographed but was unable to identify from 'Brock', or by looking online - one image is shown below. I checked back through my image archives from previous years and discovered that I had photographed an individual in 2024: again, I had been unable to identify it. Further investigation suggests that they may possibly be an invasive 'introduced' species, Brown Marmorated Stink Bug, which is a crop pest. However, this awaits further investigation.

Unidentified Shield Bug, possibly Brown Marmorated Stink Bug, Royston, 1 June

Birds and Mammals

The wet weather was welcome news for ground feeders, particularly Blackbirds and Song Thrushes, which had found food hard to come by in spring due to the rock hard ground. Their ecstatic songs were noticeably more enthusiastic as the rain fell! Blue Tits often fledge their young at the beginning of June and two families (around 16 birds) were noted as I walked back from Hatchpen Farm on the 4th. On the same day I was delighted to note a Little Grebe with three tiny little chicks swimming on Phillup's Lake. Indeed, it was a family day there because a female Mallard had five young in tow and two pairs of Coot had five young (3+2) between them. The Coot, which are notoriously territorial, appear to have nested at opposite ends of the lake - I haven't seen any aggression between them to date.

Little Grebe Family (one chick out of shot), Phillup's Lake, 4 June

 Bird migration is over by the beginning of June, so local bird watching involves finding species that have escaped me to date in my local area. Having established in late May that my local Tawny Owls had once again bred successfully I returned to the area where they nest on the late evening of the 8th, armed with a camera in the hope of getting some photographs. The two juveniles duly obliged, although even with an ISO of 5,000 I was only able to manage one or two slightly blurred record shots (one below). They were still being fed by at least one adult bird. A welcome bonus was to find a Little Owl nearby, having first seen it being pursued by an angry Song Thrush. This was my first local record of Little Owl for over a year. There has been no evidence of successful nesting in recent years, although it is possible that the nest site is well away from public areas. A very active Badger sett is nearby and a Muntjac Deer was also seen here - what an evening hive of activity!

Distant 'Record Shot' of Little Owl, near Royston, 8 June

'Record Shot' of juvenile Tawny Owl, near Royston, 8 June

The following day I ventured to Hertford, where a summering female Goosander was being regularly reported. I found it on a weir in the centre of town, sharing its space with Mallard Ducks and Moorhens. When somebody started feeding the ducks with bread, it flew over apparently to join in (Tufted Ducks sometimes do this, although they probably just enjoy being part of a tribe and don't necessarily eat the bread). The bird was quite tame, presumably having been habituated to people. I wonder whether it is partially blind (no evidence from my images) or has some underlying physical problem (none seen) that prohibits it from 'normal' behaviour. Anyway, I wish it well! Whilst I was there I visited King's Meads, where a very active male Cuckoo was present and Reed, Sedge and Cetti's Warblers were all singing occasionally.

Female Goosander, Hertford, 9 June

Female Goosander, Hertford, 9 June

 On The Heath (Lankester Hill), several Whitethroats and a single Lesser Whitethroat were singing when I walked across on the morning of the 11th and alarm calls from one particular group of bushes suggested that the young of one pair of Whitethroats may already have fledged

Flora

June is usually 'Orchid Month' on The Heath, but at the start of the month I could only see a handful of White Helleborines, which had 'gone over'. The rock hard ground did not give me hope for a good orchid season at the start of the month. However, after the heavy rain a single spike of Fragrant Orchid (image) had appeared on Church Hill on the 4th. Then on the 8th I saw a single spike of Lizard Orchid in the same area that had hosted two plants in 2025, which got me to wondering whether Lizard Orchids had always been present, but just missed by me.

Fragrant Orchid, Church Hill, 4 June

Other plants benefiting from the wet weather included Agrimony, Wild Candytuft, Wild Mignonette, Red Clover and Hogweed.

UK Wildlife Sightings June 2026

 Due to a combination of the wretched weather and other interests, I didn't make any long wildlife-watching trips in June until the 10th, when I decided to visit RSPB Strumpshaw Fen in the Norfolk Broads, despite a poor weather forecast. It was a risk that wasn't really worth taking: with regular showers, few sunny intervals and temperatures ranging from 12-15C, there was little chance of seeing Swallowtail butterflies, and the few dragonflies that were on the wing were not enough to tempt the resident Red-footed Falcon to put in an appearance during my visit (it had been seen earlier in the day), although I did have a couple of sightings of Hobby and saw my first Green-eyed ("Norfolk") Hawkers of the year. However, I did come across a Mole above ground, which I watched for ten minutes as it moved around, starting to dig holes and then leaving them - was it looking for food? I didn't see it eating anything. I can't remember the last time I saw a Mole and I haven't been able to photograph one before. Despite very low light, I managed to get one or two 'record shots' of this rarely seen mammal: one is below.

A Mole Digging a Hole! RSPB Strumpshaw Fen, 10 June

Male Reed Bunting, RSPB Strumpshaw Fen, 10 June

Female Scarce Chaser Dragonfly, RSPB Strumpshaw Fen, 10 June

Northumberland, May 2026

 Ever since I was a small child, visiting Northumberland in the 1960s, I have been drawn back to this lovely county, with its rolling hills, beautiful coastline and beaches. There are few better places in the UK for a bird watcher to be in in May and I have taken to spending a little time here every year. In 2026 I spent three nights in Warkworth, near Alnwick and situated on the River Coquet, half an hour's walk from the beach. This gave me the first evening, two full days and a final morning for an intensive session of bird watching. Although I passed through some torrential rain on the journey north and there was one wet early morning, the weather was generally very good, with plenty of sunshine.

Perhaps the main attractions for the bird watcher are the onshore and offshore seabird colonies. On the first full day I was on a boat trip to Coquet Island, home to England's only breeding colony of rare Roseate Terns as well as hundreds of Puffins and other tern species. The island is looked after by the RSPB and landing is not allowed, but we did get decent views of the terns. Photography in a moving boat is always challenging, but I managed a few ok photos of the terns.

Roseate Terns and Puffins, Coquet Island, 20 May

A visit to the Farne Islands, about 20 miles further up the coast, is of course essential. Landings are now just allowed on Inner Farne (owned by The National Trust) and I was there on the following full day. Last year I went in late April, before the breeding Arctic Terns had arrived. They had returned this year but had not really started nesting, so their attacks on peoples' heads had not started! Eider ducks had formed a little creche on one of the pools on the island. The males, which play no part in rearing the young, were ever-present along the coast and on estuaries.

Arctic Tern, Inner Farne, 21 May

Eider Ducks, Inner Farne, 21 May

Most people go to the Farne Islands to see the Puffins, and there were plenty to see although they were in the early stages of breeding and weren't flying in with beaks full of Sand Eels for their young. Huge numbers of Guillemots, including the 'bridled' variant, as well as Razorbills (my favourite), were on   

the cliffs, as were Kittiwakes and a few Fulmars. We only had an hour on the island, which isn't enough for photographers who, like me, can't make their minds up which birds to photograph! I had planned to spend time photographing Arctic Terns in flight, but struggled to get anything satisfactory - I should have concentrated on the seabirds that you can get almost within touching distance of at the top of the cliffs.

Razorbill, Inner Farne, 21 May

Back on dry land there was plenty to do. I paid a visit to the lovely Hauxley nature reserve, which is only a few miles from Warkworth. Whilst there is lots to see there, including at least nine species of warbler (Cetti's Warblers have arrived here and I also heard a Lesser Whitethroat, quite a rare species this far north), my target bird was a Hauxley speciality: Bullfinch! This species, which is in danger of becoming extinct in Hertfordshire, can be seen from a hide overlooking a bird feeding station and I had good views of both male and female birds feeding here. There is also a good colony of Tree Sparrows at Hauxley. Later in the season terns, including Roseate Tern, can be seen bathing and feeding here, but just a few Common Terns were seen on my visit.

Male Bullfinch, Hauxley NR, 20 May

I also made my first visit to the breeding tern colony at "Long Nanny", near Beadnell on the coast. Arctic and Little Terns breed here, and both were present in big numbers. Arctic Terns were starting to nest in front of the rangers' hut. Whilst I was there, I was lucky to see a very rare visitor, a returning American Black Tern (a sub-species of our Black Tern), which had previously nested here with an Arctic Tern. I managed to grab a flight photograph of this bird (below) - not great, but a record of the only American Black Tern in the UK! On the way back to Beadnell I watched the Little Terns feeding along the shore line. One individual was resting on the beach. Its partner approached, landed and offered it a couple of little fish. Most unusually, I managed to catch the 'decisive moment' when the fish were exchanged. Although far from perfect, this is still my favourite image from the holiday.

American Black Tern, Long Nanny, 21 May

Little Tern Fish Exchange, near Beadnell, 21 May

I did lots of walking near the hotel. Walking down the Coquet Estuary to the sea gave me the chance to see passage waders (Whimbrel, Bar-tailed Godwit, Dunlin, lots of Turnstones and Ringed Plovers), warblers (including Grasshopper Warbler) and terns (particularly Sandwich Terns). Not everything was successful: I made two visits to a lake where Garganey and Temminck's Stints had been reported, but saw neither. However, on those visits I saw Scaup and Mandarin Duck, my first Dingy Skipper butterflies of the year and some very co-operative Brown Hares. In all, I recorded 103 bird species (95 seen). Roll on next year, and a return visit!

Local Wildlife Sightings May 2026

 April's dry, warm and sunny weather continued until the night of the 3/4th, when the first significant rain since late March arrived. There followed a couple of cool days, then pleasant, warm weather from the 7th to the 9th. However, after this the weather turned much cooler and more changeable, with showery outbreaks of rain and temperatures that struggled to reach 10C on some days.

A trip to Amwell on the 3rd was rewarded with views of Reed, Sedge and Cetti's Warblers. A male Cuckoo gave me the run around as it moved round its territory, but I eventually got a distant view (image below). A couple of Swifts, seen over the house on the 5th, signalled their arrival back in Royston and a single House Martin was seen on the 12th over Hatchpen Farm, the only place on my local patch that I am aware of where this declining species still nests. Juvenile birds were represented by the local Rooks and families of Long-tailed Tits (both species nest early in the year).

Distant 'Record Shot' of a Cuckoo, Amwell NR, 3 May

The generally colder weather resulted in a decrease in insect sightings, although I did see my first Common Blue of the year near Phillup's Lake on the 10th. Small numbers of Brown Argus, Small Heath and Small Copper butterflies were seen in a variety of places on the warmer days. There was a modest influx of European Painted Lady butterflies into the country in late April, and one or two were seen on my local patch, alongside larger numbers of (the also migratory) Red Admiral. Orange Tips, Holly Blues and various 'Whites' were still on the wing in good numbers. Amongst the other insects seen during the first part of May were a couple of Wasp Beetles.

Wasp Beetle (a Longhorn Beetle), Therfield Heath, 9 May

Corn Buntings finally took the hint that it was time to start nesting, and three singing males were seen in fields within a mile of the house on the 12th. On another visit to Scales Park on the 13th I again failed to record any Crossbills (I only cover a relatively small section of the woodland on my visits, so I would not rule out the possibility of them breeding elsewhere in this area). Compensation came in the form of two newly fledged Ravens that were being fed by an adult. Ravens have nested here for years, but it was nice to confirm successful breeding. A few Speckled Wood and Small Heath butterflies were seen, despite the cold (12C), windy weather.

Corn Bunting, Royston, 12 May

Juvenile Raven, Scales Park, 13 May

On the evening of the 12th I helped my friend John check the owl boxes on his farm. Next to the first box we found a 'just about fledged' Tawny Owl (image). A parent was seen nearby. However, these were the last owls that I saw. Barn Owls are around on the farm: they nest much later than Tawnies, so there is a chance that they will still use one of John's boxes.

Baby Tawny Owl, Rushden, 12 May

The weather changed dramatically in the week from the 18th as, after a couple of unsettled days, high pressure and southerly winds saw temperatures rise from below normal to a record-breaking high of 35C (London) on the 26th. Back from three nights in Northumberland (separate blog post in due course) I visited Church Hill on the morning of the 23rd and was not surprised to see around ten male Adonis Blue butterflies (first generation) zooming around in the heat. Later in the day my partner and I walked across Lankester Hill, at the opposite end of The Heath, and I saw at least two male and two female Adonis Blue butterflies there, too. They had probably been on the wing for a couple of days. The Adonis Blues seemed to disperse over the next few days as temperatures rose still further - photographing them in the heat proved challenging! A visit to Hillbrow (Letchworth) on the 26th was rewarded with views of several Small Blues (image below).

Male Adonis Blue, Church Hill, 23 May

Small Blue, Hillbrow (Letchworth), 26 May

Both Small Blues and Adonis Blues had been reported at Clothall Common (off the A505 between Baldock and Royston) in previous years. Since both species were on the wing, I decided to visit on the 27th to see whether I could detect either. Male Common and Adonis Blues are hard to separate in flight, but all the butterflies that I was able to identify on the ground were Common Blues. However, after much searching I did manage to find a couple of Small Blues - the first that I have seen at this site. There is plenty of Kidney Vetch (their food plant) on Therfield Heath, but I have never detected Small Blues there. Maybe this year?

The extreme heat of late May, both here and in continental Europe, was the likely cause of a major influx of Painted Lady butterflies into the country towards the end of May. I counted around 30 at Clothall Common on the 27th and up to two were feeding in the garden over the last few days of May, with Valerian being the favoured source of nectar. I remember the Painted Lady 'invasion' of 2009: this was perhaps the biggest influx since that year.

Painted Lady on Oxeye Daisy, Clothall Common, 27 May

Two Tawny Owlets were calling from different parts of a local wood, indicating that they had fledged, when I did my first dusk 'owl walk' on the evening of the 28th. I still don't know where the nest site is, but they often appear in this woodland and I hope to be able to see and possibly photograph them in June. A very active Badger Sett was nearby - Badgers are common in the Royston area, but I rarely see them. Here, at least four were snuffling about in the vegetation and one came right up to me. My search for Spotted Flycatchers on The Heath had been less successful - visits to the woodland on either side of the Therfield Road, where they usually appear, drew a blank in the second half of May. However, I did find at least one bird in woodland not far from the golf driving range when I walked east to west across The Heath on the 29th. The thought that this scarce and declining species had abandoned The Heath would have been too much to bear! Also seen on the same walk were a couple of Meadow Brown butterflies (my first of the year), a female Large Red Damselfly not far from the house, an unusual green Beetle (Green Nettle Weevil?) and a few parasitic Broomrape plants. Painted Lady numbers continued to grow, and I had fun photographing them on the Oxeye Daisies in the garden, again on the 29th.

Green Nettle Weevil (I think!), Royston, 29 May

Broomrape Plant, Royston, 29 May

Painted Lady in my Garden, Royston, 29 May

 

UK Wildlife Sightings May 2026

 A round walk with my partner between Holkham and Wells (Norfolk) on the 2nd gave me the opportunity to see my first Little Terns of the year. Several Wall butterflies (which don't occur in Hertfordshire or the surrounding counties) were also seen.

Wall Butterfly at Holkham Gap, 2 May

Several days of unseasonably cool and changeable weather followed, interspersed with a few warmer days (7-9th) that encouraged me to travel. My annual trip to see the Ospreys at Lyndon reserve, Rutland Water, on the 7th netted me a bonus in the form of an admittedly distant White Stork. Several Garden Warblers and Willow Warblers were singing as I walked along the tracks leading to the viewing hides and an Orange Tip butterfly posed obligingly for me on my way back to the car.

Osprey, Rutland Water, 7 May

Distant 'Record Shot' of a White Stork, Rutland Water, 7 May

Male Orange Tip Butterfly, Rutland Water, 7 May

The following day I visited RSPB Frampton Marsh in Lincolnshire, one of my favourite reserves. Black-winged Stilt and Little Stint had been reported there in the morning and, although I only saw the former, this turned out to be an excellent trip for getting close views of waders, including another summer plumaged male Ruff as well as Wood Sandpiper and lots of Little Ringed Plovers, which must be nesting or attempting to nest here in big numbers. Some of my images of the waders are attached below.

Black-winged Stilt, RSPB Frampton Marsh, 8 May

Little Ringed Plover, RSPB Frampton Marsh, 8 May

Redshank, RSPB Frampton Marsh, 8 May

Male Ruff, RSPB Frampton Marsh, 8 May

My annual bird watching trip to the Peak District on the 14th benefitted from better weather than that I had left behind at home - cool, but with sunny intervals and hardly any rain. Starting at Cutthroat Bridge (off the A57) I did a 6+ mile walk, involving lots of climbing to reach Derwent Edge, overlooking Ladybower Reservoir. I used to do a longer walk, but nowadays age and health make it more prudent to do the shorter walk. In 2025 I missed out on some of my target birds, including rather surprisingly Red Grouse (this is a grouse moor!). This year I did rather better, although I only saw one Red Grouse - a female that was sitting in the middle of the path and clearly didn't want to move! A male called nearby, so maybe she was nesting there. A pair of Ring Ouzels were seen in the same area where I had seen them in 2025. Last year I failed to see Pied Flycatcher anywhere. This is usually my 'go to' spot to see this lovely species and thankfully I saw two males this year in the hanging Oak woodland above the A57. One male was sitting in a tree when a male Redstart flew in and landed on the same branch! Unfortunately, I couldn't grab a photo before it flew off again. The only bird that I missed out on was Tree Pipit. Wood Warblers used to nest here, but I haven't seen any for a few years now and assume that, as in so many places, they are now extinct here. Green Hairstreak butterflies were amongst the invertebrates recorded.

Female Red Grouse on the Path! Cutthroat Bridge, 14 May

Lapwing, doing its 'Broken Wing' Display to distract me from (presumably) a nearby Nest Site, Strines Moor, 14 May

Pied Flycatcher, Cutthroat Bridge, 14 May

Green Hairstreak Butterfly, Derwent Edge, 14 May

I went on a hugely enjoyable three night 'Bird Watching Blitz' to Northumberland from the 19th to the 22nd. There was lots to see and talk about, so I'll create a separate post for this. Our capricious weather turned from pretty cold for May to ridiculously hot from the 21st onwards, with record-breaking temperatures comfortably exceeding 30C on the 25th and 26th. I normally visit Whipsnade Downs to look for rare butterflies in the first half of May but, for various reasons, I had to leave the trip until the 25th this year. I was concerned that the flight periods of my target species (Duke of Burgundy and Grizzled Skipper) might have been over by the time of my visit, but I need not have worried as both where still on the wing. Also seen were Dingy Skipper, Green Hairstreak, my first Large Skipper of the year and scores of colourful Cinnabar Moths. A single White Helleborine orchid, the first that I have seen here, was also found. This rare orchid also grows, of course, on Therfield Heath. Some of my photos are shown below.

Duke of Burgundy, Whipsnade Downs ('Bison Hill'), 25 May

Grizzled Skipper, Whipsnade Downs, 25 May

Large Skipper, Whipsnade Downs, 25 May

White Helleborine Orchid, Whipsnade Downs, 25 May

Towards the end of the month I started to see dragonflies and damselflies. Normally these first emerge in late April and early May but, possibly because of the dull, cold weather in January and February, they were late to show this year. My first visit to Clophill Lakes, near Bedford, on the 27th started to alter things, with Azure, Common Blue and Red-eyed Damselflies as well as Banded Demoiselles and Four-spotted Chasers seen. An adult Great Crested Grebe was carrying a rather bulky looking youngster on its back - the adult looked to be sinking under the weight and could only swim very slowly. We were extremely unlucky to catch the only thunderstorm in the whole of England here, which cut the walk short after 75 minutes.

Red-eyed Damselflies, Clophill Lakes, 27 May

Great Crested Grebe Adult with Chick, Clophill Lakes, 27 May

The following afternoon I visited RSPB Lakenheath Fen. The main reason for going was to try to see Garganey, our only migratory duck (it over-winters in Africa), which had eluded me this spring. Unfortunately, it didn't show and neither did the hordes of Mayflies that I wanted to photograph (I saw just three and didn't get any images). However, I did see Hairy Dragonfly, Scarce Chaser, Black-tailed Skimmer and Four-spotted Chaser dragonflies here as well as Hobby, Cuckoo and Bittern in flight.

Four-spotted Chaser, RSPB Lakenheath Fen, 28 May

The following evening a visit to Breckland (for Stone Curlews) and Thetford Forest (Mayday Farm, for Nightjars) concluded a busy week of wildlife watching. The Nightjars were seen and heard in good numbers, but didn't hang around to be photographed, as they had done last year.

Record Shot of a Distant Stone Curlew, Cavenham Heath, 29 May