Local Wildlife Sightings, August 2022

 Drought conditions continued well into August, after a July that brought a measly six millimetres of rain to my Royston garden. Grasses turned pale brown as temperatures soared to 34C by the middle of the month. Both birds and insects were hard to find, the latter having to search hard for nectar in the few remaining flowers and the former keeping in deep cover and (possibly) moulting. Some places in the south east and in Lincolnshire had terrific thunderstorms in the third week, but Royston missed them all and stayed dry until (at last!) we had 21mm (0.8 inches) of rain on the morning of the 25th, allowing me to catch up on a few of many indoor jobs - including updating this blog. My search for 200 invertebrate species on my 'local patch' became progressively harder in the drought, although I was able to add common darter, migrant hawker, brown hawker and (male and female) banded demoiselle dragonflies to the list. Common darters were also seen and photographed when I visited RSPB Sandy on the 3rd. As usual, small red-eyed damselflies were seen in the large, old pond in the gardens at Sandy.

Female Common Darter, RSPB Sandy, 3 August

Female Common Darter, Royston, 8 August

Small Red-eyed Damselflies, RSPB Sandy, 3 August

I saw the first of the second generation Adonis blues (a male) on Church Hill on the 5th. At least two males were also on the wing when I visited the Old Rifle Range on the 8th. Common blue and brown argus butterflies were seen in decent numbers, both on The Heath and at known sites to the south of Royston, understandably preferring to stay in the few remaining greener, shadier areas. Leaving the bathroom light on after dark served as a decent 'moth trap', attracting a variety of species (of course the moths were free to leave once the light was turned off), with common wainscot (Mythimna pallens) being the most frequently seen. Common footman and brimstone moths also made an appearance, but there were more than a few species that I was unable to identify. At the beginning of the month there was a surge in numbers of a rather attractive fly (if flies can ever be considered attractive), ereothrix rufomaculata, which could often be seen crawling around on top of ragwort flowers (image below).

Male Adonis Blue, Church Hill, 5 August

Ereothrix Rufomaculata on Ragwort, Therfield Heath, 1 August

Bird migration was in full swing by the middle of the month. Pied flycatchers were reported from a number of sites in Hertfordshire, but none were found locally. However, several wheatears and at least four whinchats did spend a few days at what seems to have become a regular 'stopping off' place for them, along the road between Wallington and Baldock, where I was able to get some 'record shots' of the latter species.

Whinchat, seen near Wallington, 12 August

I saw another Jersey tiger moth close to the house on the 18th. On the last of this summer's Herts. and Middlesex Butterfly Conservation walks, held on the 22nd, I was able to show people the Adonis blues on Church Hill and one of the participants found a mating pair of this beautiful butterfly. Also seen on the walk were a mating pair of robber flies (I never see them doing anything other than mating - what a life they must lead!) and a red-legged shield bug. This shield bug was a 'first' for me, although it is apparently quite common. Strangely, I found one in the garden on the same day and later one in the house - could it have been the same one that had hitched a lift on/in my rucksack or even my (currently rather unruly) hair?

Jersey Tiger Moth, Royston, 18 August

Adonis Blues Mating, Church Hill, 22 August

Having not seen them at all in June and July, I found single spotted flycatchers in two separate locations not far from the house in late August. Whether these were 'summer residents' or just passing through on migration is unclear.

Spotted Flycatcher, Therfield, 23 August

A visit to Amwell pits, in order to photograph dragonflies in flight, on the 24th was less than successful, but I saw and photographed several of the increasingly common willow emerald damselflies whilst I was there.

Willow Emerald Damselfly, Amwell, 24 August

On the following day, rain (21mm of it) finally arrived in Royston! We had missed the heavy showers and thunderstorms that had hit other parts of the country in the previous few days, but this was more widespread rain and desperately needed. It seemed strange not to have to water the garden every day. With cooler (but still very warm) weather I was able to go on my first 8-9 mile 'local patch' walk for over three months on the 30th, again seeing spotted flycatchers (two this time, including a juvenile) along the Icknield Way. A grey wagtail and a tufted duck were seen at Phillup's Lake, but the families of coot and Canada geese had gone.

Red Kite in Flight, Phillup's Lake, 30 August

Another Spotted Flycatcher, Icknield Way, Therfield, 30 August

Ivy bees were on the wing by the end of the month, and I spent some time trying to photograph them on ivy plants (very tricky!). Whilst I was doing this on the 31st a large flock of swallows and house martins was feeding over the fields at Greys Farm, and I managed to spot a single sand martin in amongst them. I also took some decent photos of Adonis blue butterflies on Church Hill during the last week of August.

Adonis Blue Butterfly on Devil's Bit Scabious Bud, Church Hill, 29 August

Robber Fly, Therfield, 30 August

UK Wildlife Sightings August 2022

 I paid a second visit of the summer to the Grand Union Canal at Wilstone and Wilstone Reservoir on the 2nd. An unidentified emerald damselfly, caught in a spider's web and close to death, was the only notable sighting along the canal but the reservoir, with plenty of mud around the fringes as water levels continued to fall, provided a bonanza of wader species (greenshank, redshank, dunlin and common sandpiper along with the ever-present lapwings). A water rail emerged on more than one occasion to feed on the mud and I was able to pick out and photograph the garganeys (a female and a juvenile) that had been present for a few days beforehand. As I was leaving a bird watcher pointed out to me a juvenile black-necked grebe that had flown in after I had arrived. I was lucky to catch this bird, because it had gone the following day. The only disappointment was that I couldn't pick out any Mediterranean gulls (seen on the previous and following days) from amongst the hundreds of black-headed gulls that were loafing around.

Female (right) and Juvenile Garganey, Wilstone, 2 August

Female Emerald or Scarce Emerald Damselfly caught in Web, Wilstone, 2 July

The lure of adding another bird species to my UK list saw me driving down to Romsey in Hampshire on the 4th. My target bird was a whiskered tern, the only one of the three 'marsh terns' (the others being black tern and white-winged tern) that I had yet to see here. The bird spent most of its time perching on various branches of dead trees, at one point coming close enough for me to get a few 'record shots' With a bit of imagination the dark belly, dark red bill and legs of the tern can be seen in the image below! An osprey was also present and I noticed that an artificial nest had been erected, presumably with the plan of attracting ospreys to breed here. On the way home I stopped off to look for silver-spotted skipper butterflies at Aston Rowant nature reserve on the Oxfordshire - Buckinghamshire border. I arrived in the early evening and the site was very quiet (except for the noise of the drone being flown by an annoying individual) - I did eventually manage to see a couple of the skippers, but they proved to be too fast for me to photograph.

Record Shot of a Whiskered Tern, Romney, 4 August

Spotted flycatchers are becoming quite rare in Hertfordshire, but on a family visit to Althorp (the Spencer family seat and last resting place of Princess Diana) on the 6th I was amazed to see these flycatchers in three separate areas. A recently-fledged juvenile was sitting on a seat in a shelter, with its parents calling to it outside. I managed to get a photo of it before quickly moving on.

Recently Fledged Spotted Flycatcher Chick, Althorp, 6 August

It isn't every day that a mega, 'UK first' bird species is discovered less than an hour's drive away from home, but this happened on the 7th when a 'Cape gull' (African sub-species of kelp gull) was found at Grafham Water (Cambs.). I let 'the great and the good' share the bird on this Sunday, before visiting on the following day, when only 30-40 bird watchers were present. The bird didn't exactly play 'hard to get', spending most of its time perched on the railings leading from the dam to the water tower, but my first view of it was on the side of the dam, maybe 40 feet away! When the bird was perched on railings it was accompanied by at least four other species of gull (yellow-legged, herring, lesser and great black-backed) and at one point (image) one of each species was photographed side by side! A possible first summer Caspian gull was also present on the railings for a short time. What an afternoon for gull watchers!

Cape Gull, Grafham Water, 8 August

Five Different Gull Species (Cape Gull in the Middle), Grafham Water, 8 August

In another hot week I visited Eyebrook Reservoir (Rutland) on the 10th to (successfully) see a white-rumped sandpiper. I think that the heat really got to my head on the 12th because, having heard that hundreds of Balearic shearwaters had been seen in 'wrecks' or passing by Portland Bill, I decided to go there to look for them for myself - a 188 mile, four hour journey each way. The last time I had visited, in July 2020, I had wonderful views of Balearic and Manx shearwaters close in to 'The Bill'. I also saw a very localised species of butterfly, the Lulworth skipper. I had visions (Dreams?) of something similar happening again, but instead when I arrived at 10.30 I was confronted with hundreds of holiday makers and nothing other than a few hundred gulls out at sea! Was this to be my biggest ever bird watching trip disaster? Well, possibly not because after about 40 minutes of sea watching a single Balearic shearwater flew east past the bill, giving good views (it's a pity that my camera was still in my rucksack). Another hour of sea watching produced nothing, so I wandered east along the coastal path, past numerous disused quarries, counting at least 16 wheatears in the fields, but nothing much else. I was too late to see Lulworth skippers. My misery was compounded by a return journey that took 51/2 hours, thanks to roadworks and an accident on the M25. 'Serves him right', I hear you say.

Wheatear, Isle of Portland, 12 August

I spent a few hours at RSPB Titchwell Marsh on a photographic trip on the 16th. I was able to photograph black-tailed godwits as they took off from in front of the Island hide in the early morning and there were lots of spoonbills around. On the way home I called in at Dersingham Bog, near Sandringham. The bog is supposed to support black darter dragonflies, but I've never seen them there. Grayling butterflies were also absent (was I too late to see them?), but I did manage to catch up with a single sand wasp (species unknown) as I was leaving.

Black-tailed Godwit in Flight, RSPB Titchwell Marsh, 16 August

Sand Wasp at Dersingham Bog, 16 August

On a visit to The Chilterns on the 26th I looked in at Weston Turville reservoir, hoping to see the purple heron that had been present there for a few days - a bird that I have never seen in the UK. However, apart from a possibly erroneous early morning report, it appeared that the bird 'had flown' and it was not seen again. However, a visit to Wilstone Reservoir, nearby, provided me with sightings of black-tailed godwit, greenshank and hobby, all 2022 'firsts' for me. The trip also included a visit to College Lake, and I was back there on the 28th, leading an RSPB Local Group walk on which 53 bird species were seen.