Royston Wildlife Blog: Local Wildlife Sightings June 2021

As the warm, sunny weather continued into June I spent lots of time 'in the field', looking for plants, butterflies and other wildlife in my local area. Numbers of Adonis blues continued to grow on Church Hill, reaching an estimated 70-80 (mainly males) by the 3rd. Much mating was observed. I also saw my first small copper of the year there on the 3rd. Brown argus butterflies were also plentiful and I managed to see a couple of common blues here, but the Adonis blues had essentially 'taken over' the south side of the hill - an amazing sight! Throughout May I regularly saw common lizards in the small, un-grazed field at the bottom of the south side of Church Hill and several were noted there on the 3rd. I also saw my first bee orchid on the hill, whilst white helleborines were (finally) in flower in Fox Covert, where two pairs of spotted flycatchers were calling on the 3rd (I had previously only seen one pair here, so there may be as many as three pairs across The Heath).

Brown Argus, Church Hill, 3 June

Small Copper, Church Hill, 3 June

Elsewhere, at least four common blue and two brown argus butterflies were on the wing on the small wild flower meadow on the south side of the large agricultural field that backs on to my estate (and which is threatened by a housing development) on the 1st. I also saw a common toad here, my third local sighting of the year. Several quail have been heard singing in the area between Sandon (Deadman's Hill) and Baldock. Following an evening RSPB walk on the 3rd at RSPB Fowlmere (two cuckoos seen) I visited Deadman's Hill and heard one fairly distant bird. Evening walks at the end of May failed to detect any quail closer to home.

Common Toad, Royston, 1 June

Following a few days away I visited both ends of The Heath (and a bit in the middle) on the 8th and noted that, whilst the Adonis blues on Church Hill were past their peak, others had emerged right across The Heath. I estimate that 100 males were on the wing and, since the late summer generation is usually bigger than the spring emergence, there might be some spectacular numbers in flight in August. More common blues were seen. The willow warbler at the bottom of Church Hill had finally stopped singing, but this or another bird was singing at the other end of The Heath on the 14th. I had a couple of raven sightings from Church Hill, but there was no evidence of breeding. However, spotted flycatchers were definitely nesting in the woodland, with birds flying around with lots of flies stuffed in their bills. However, in general the breeding season seems to have generally been poor, with tits in particular suffering. My local pair of blue tits did manage to raise a single bird to fledging, but I think that many nests must have failed completely. A dusk walk along the Greenwich Meridian trail on the 9th was rewarded with a sighting of a little owl near a known Newsells Stud Farm nest site (whilst a second bird was heard calling nearby), but a tawny owl territory in the same area seems to have been abandoned in the last couple of years and there was no sign of barn owls anywhere.

Blackcap (Juvenile?), Royston, 8 June

Dragonflies

It is surprising how many species of dragonfly appear on my Local Patch, despite the shortage of water in the form of lakes, canals and streams. Many dragonflies are migratory, but these tend to appear here later in the summer. The dreadful spring weather has meant a late emergence of dragonflies this year, but despite this I had seen local broad-bodied chaser and emperor dragonflies, as well as a male banded demoiselle, by the middle of June. Common blue damselflies, as well as broad-bodied chaser and black-tailed skimmer dragonflies, were seen in early June near my nearest large patch of water, Mardleybury Lake (about 3.5 miles from my house).

Female Common Blue Damselfly, Mardleybury Lake, 10 June

Orchids

The very dry weather in May 2020 resulted in a poor showing of orchids nationwide. This year, there was abundant growth of vegetation through the cool, wet May and a far better showing of orchids in the 'orchid month' of June. White helleborines, always the first to show, put on a decent display in Fox Covert, peaking at the beginning of June and then quickly fading in the very warm, dry weather to mid-June. Bee orchids had a terrific year. I found plants in places where I had never previously seen them and there was an excellent showing on the south side of Church Hill, with an estimated 30-40 plants in early June. Bee orchids (13 plants) were also seen at Hatchpen Farm on the 22nd. A single large spike of common fragrant orchid was seen in the usual area and a single pyramidal orchid (always a rare plant on The Heath) was present on the Old Rifle Range on the 14th. No common spotted orchids were seen until the 21st, when three had appeared in their usual place on the Old Rifle Range.

Common Fragrant Orchid, Therfield Heath, 14 June

There is always a gap of a couple of weeks between the appearance of the 'blue' butterflies and the appearance of what I call the 'summer butterflies' (skippers, meadow browns, fritillaries etc.). However, the very warm (some would say hot) weather of the second week of June must have speeded things up a little because I saw my first meadow browns on the wing on the 14th and, a day later, at least five marbled whites (the first to be reported in the region) were patrolling the south side of Church Hill. On the same day there were two reports of dark green fritillaries on or near The Heath. Lots of day-flying moths were on the wing too: things were set fair. And then the weather deteriorated dramatically again, overnight on the 16/17th, with thunder and heavy rain. Not a single shaft of sunlight was seen on the following five mid-summer days, daytime temperatures dropped from 28C on the 16th to 12C on the 18th and an inch of rain fell on the 18th. I managed to find a single roosting marbled white butterfly to photograph on the evening of the 17th, but otherwise wildlife went into hibernation.

Burnet Companion Moth, Royston, 14 June

Mother Shipton Moth, Therfield Heath, 8 June

Marbled White Butterfly, Church Hill, 17 June

Sunshine finally re-appeared on the 22nd and on the following morning I spent three hours visiting The Heath and surrounding areas. I was surprised to find at least one white-letter hairstreak flitting around the tops of elm trees along the Icknield Way. There had been a large emergence of dark green fritillaries on The Heath - I reckon that I saw at least 20 males rushing around and fighting each other. I found three more fragrant orchid 'spikes' on Church Hill, although none were as impressive as the first one. The weather deteriorated again towards the end of the month, although I was able to make a few photographic visits to The Heath, where roosting marbled white butterflies provided a few photo-opportunities.