Local Wildlife Sightings July 2023

 The weather turned changeable from the beginning of July, with a few very warm or hot days, but also some rain and an annoying westerly wind which, whilst just a gentle breeze at times, was still enough to make insect photography very difficult in all but the most sheltered places. July is also 'butterfly month', when as many as 28 species (all bar Orange-tip) can be seen on Therfield Heath. Following a week away, I soon added Ringlet and Essex Skipper (1st), Gatekeeper (3rd), Painted Lady (7th) and Silver-washed Fritillary (12th) to my year list. After the cold and wet start to spring, it was no surprise to find that Chalkhill Blues were a little late to emerge, but I found four on or near the Old Rifle Range when I visited on the 6th. On my next visit (10th), numbers had increased considerably with perhaps 40-50 males on the wing here. Amazingly, a very tatty male Adonis Blue was still flying - what an exciting life it must have led!

Male Chalkhill Blue, Therfield Heath, 10 July

Still Flying! First Generation Male Adonis Blue, Therfield Heath, 10 July

I was surprised and disappointed to find only a single male Chalkhill Blue west of the Therfield Road when I visited the Church Hill area on the 12th. Adonis Blues were scarce here as well this year - where have all the butterflies gone? There are several reasons why butterflies can fare badly in any given year, but what I fail to understand is why Adonis and Chalkhill Blues are faring much better a mile or so away on the Old Rifle Range area. There was some compensation in seeing three Silver-washed Fritillaries (two males and a female) here. There was quite a bit of (Ash?) tree felling in Jubilee Wood in the late winter and early spring: I had been a little worried that this might have affected this Fritillary species, which has been present in low density at the western end of the Heath for a few years now. However, the opening up of the woodland should, in the next few years, be of benefit to quite a few species including the Silver-washed Fritillary. My first 'fresh' Peacock butterfly of the year was also seen here on the 12th, and it was good to see three or four Small Tortoiseshells on the wing, too. White-letter Hairstreaks were flying around the tops of Elm trees, both along the Icknield Way and at the bottom of my road, on the 10th.

Female Silver-washed Fritillary, Therfield Heath, 12 July

Some of the other insects that I photographed in the first half of July are shown below. The Brassy Longhorn Moths are always found on or near Field Scabious plants, which they are completely reliant on. The Sicus Ferrugineus fly is possibly the first that I have encountered locally, whilst I am still trying to work out the identity of the (mason?) bee.

Brassy Longhorn Moth (1), Royston, 1 July

Brassy Longhorn Moth (2), Royston, 10 July

Fly, Sicus Ferrugineus, Therfield Heath, 3 July

(Mason?) Bee, Royston, 10 July

On a walk up to Hatchpen Farm on the 7th I decided to sneak a look at the farm pond, which is set off about 200 yards away from the public bridleway. As I approached, I thought that I saw a Mallard Duck with three ducklings swimming away from me. However, one of the 'ducklings' suddenly dived under the water and did not reappear - a Little Grebe! This is the first time that I have knowingly seen Little Grebe here, although I do wonder whether I have missed them in the past. I was really looking for dragonflies, and saw at least two Black-tailed Skimmers, a male Banded Demoiselle and mating pairs of Blue-tailed and Common Blue Damselflies: quite a haul for a small pond.

Common Blue Damselflies Mating, Hatchpen Pond (Reed), 7 July

The weather deteriorated further throughout the month, with periods of rain (usually at weekends), showers and cool, gusty winds that continued to make insect photography difficult to impossible. Few dragonflies were seen locally and, with all the expected butterflies on the wing by the middle of the month, I focussed mainly on flies (particularly hoverflies), solitary bees, moths and Ichneumon wasps, of which there are over 2000 species in the UK, so identification down to a single species is impossible! A couple of Canops flies were photographed - these species, with narrow 'waists' between thorax and abdomen, are apparently quite rare, although this could simply be because they are easily overlooked? A few images of this miscellany of insects are shown below.

Small Hoverfly, Sphaerophoria Scripta, Royston, 21 July

Ichneumon Wasp, Royston, 21 July

Fly, possibly Canops Vesicularis, Royston, 18 July

White-letter Hairstreak butterflies were on the wing, when conditions allowed, for most of the month and were seen in several locations around Royston. One was found nectaring close to the ground in a field close to the town centre. I managed to grab a few images (one shown below) before it flew back up to the nearest Wych Elm tree. Second generation Brown Argus and Common Blue butterflies were on the wing by late July. One Brown Argus (photographed on Therfield Heath) although no doubt genetically pure, showed mainly white underwing spots, more typical of the English Northern Brown Argus - a feature that I've seen locally before in this species (image below). No sooner had the first generation of Holly Blues finished than the second generation was on the wing, again in big numbers. On the 21st I was surprised to see a male Silver-washed Fritillary flying close to Royston Hospital and only a few hundred yards from my house: hopefully a sign that this species will colonise (or has already colonised) woodland near my home.

White-letter Hairstreak, Royston, 19 July

Male Silver-washed Fritillary, Royston, 21 July

Brown Argus (Variant), Therfield Heath, 26 July

Visiting my local wild flower meadow on the 26th I was amazed by how many Six-spot Burnet Moths were on the wing, with some mating whilst most were nectaring, particularly on Field Scabious plants. In contrast, very few were seen on The Heath. Dusky Sallow, another day flying moth, was present as well. Both moth species were also seen on a walk that I did in Litlington, just over the border in Cambridgeshire, also on the 26th. Whilst my eyes were focussed mainly on the ground during July, I did note a few interesting birds. Perhaps the best record was of a family of Spotted Flycatchers near the 'Fox and Duck' pub in Therfield on the 24th. Raven sightings, both on The Heath and near Royston Hospital, became frequent towards the end of the month, with a pair seen on more than one occasion. Juvenile Robins, Blue Tits, Great Tits and Wrens were commonplace, with all but the last visiting the garden and its feeders.

Dusky Sallow Moth, Litlington, 26 July

UK Wildlife Sightings July 2023

 Smithy Fen, near Cottenham (Cambs.) is a 40 minute drive from Royston. I've seen some good birds there, including a White Stork that was seen last summer. When (presumably) the same bird returned to the site this July, I popped up on the 4th to see it, perched on a lamppost. Adult and juvenile Little Ringed Plovers were also seen - this species seems to have had an excellent breeding season in 2023.

White Stork, Smithy Fen, 4 July

July is the month when wader species start to migrate through the UK as they return from their breeding grounds. One of the rarer species to pass through is Red-necked Phalarope, so when one turned up at RSPB Frampton Marsh I decided to return there on the 5th, just a fortnight after my visit to see the nesting Black-winged Stilts. The bird (the first that I've seen in the UK for five years) performed well in front of the East Hide although, it being rather tiny, my images didn't do it justice. I saw several adult Black-winged Stilts, in what has become a little haven for this species. Other waders seen included Ruff, Common and Green Sandpipers and a Greenshank, whilst hundreds of summer-plumaged Black-tailed Godwits were also present. At least six unusually active Spoonbills were also seen, making my visit well worthwhile! 

Black-tailed Godwit, RSPB Frampton Marsh, 5 July

Black-winged Stilt, RSPB Frampton Marsh, 5 July

Red-necked Phalarope, RSPB Frampton Marsh, 5 July

Spoonbill, RSPB Frampton Marsh, 5 July

On the 12th I visited RSPB Strumpshaw Fen, hoping to see the juvenile Long-eared Owl that had been reported there earlier in the day. I assumed that it would stay at its roost site through the day, but when I arrived I discovered that it had been discovered by an RSPB volunteer sitting on a post with a rat in its talons, close to the Visitor Centre, but had subsequently disappeared. Seeing the amazing photos captured by RSPB staff was no consolation for missing the bird. At least I saw a White Admiral butterfly (my first and only 2023 sighting of this species) whilst I was there, before being caught in a thunderstorm that forced me to stay in the Tower Hide for 45 minutes.

On the way back from a rather wet weekend away in Lincolnshire, we stopped off on the 16th for a short time at Gibraltar Point NNR. Whilst my partner read the paper I had a quick look at the scrapes, which held a good variety of waders as well as Spoonbills, which are becoming more and more common along the East Coast.

 

Spoonbills (at the Back), Avocets and other birds at Gibraltar Point NNR on 16 July

On the 20th I returned to Thursley Common, looking on this occasion for dragonflies. I found five new species for 2023: Black Darter, Common Darter, Keeled Skimmer and Small Red and Emerald Damselflies. There was a lot of disturbance on the Moat Pond, which hindered and eventually thwarted my search for Brilliant Emerald dragonflies.

Mating Black-tailed Skimmers, Thursley Common, 20 July - how many Faces can you see?

Male Small Red Damselfly, Thursley Common, 20 July

My partner treated me to a special birthday present, in the form of an organised 'butterfly walk' at the Knepp 'Rewilding' Estate in West Sussex on the 22nd. The main target was Purple Emperor (this is the best place in the country to see these impressive butterflies) but, true to form, there was heavy rain throughout the walk, reducing our chances of seeing an 'emperor' to near zero. Despite the rain, this was a fascinating experience and one that will definitely be repeated in the future, although with bookings having to be made weeks in advance, we will again be entirely at the mercy of the elements. Whilst butterflies were in short supply, White Storks certainly were not - I was amazed to see six nests on the walk (there are eleven in total in 2023) and Knepp hopes to reach as many as 50 nests in the future! We were also able to visit the Beaver Dam: two Beavers are present in a large enclosure, but were not seen (they are nocturnal). However, there was plenty of evidence for their presence (see image, below). Turtle Doves nest here, but were no doubt sheltering from the rain on our visit.

Tree cut down by Beavers in their Enclosure, Knepp Estate, 22 July

I drove to Abberton Reservoir on the 25th, to see the moulting Slavonian Grebe that had taken up residence off the Layer Breton causeway. I had hoped to see the Wood Sandpiper and Ruddy Shelduck that had been reported at Hanningfield Reservoir on the way back, but didn't give myself enough time (the nature reserve is closed and locked at 5.00pm). With dire weather (yet again) forecast for the following few days, I also visited RSPB Minsmere in the same week (on the 27th), where I had distant views of a Little Stint and, after waiting patiently for around 90 minutes in the Bittern and Island Mere hides, I had my first, very brief view of the year of a Bittern (in flight).

Moulting Slavonian Grebe, Abberton Reservoir, 25 July