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. After a week of gradually improving weather, the gods decided that we should then have another heatwave, with temperatures rising into the mid-30s and the UK June highest recorded temperature being exceeded on three successive dates (the 24th, 25th and 26th). Just as it is not pleasant to watch wildlife on cool, wet, overcast days it is not much fun to try to watch it in the baking sun, particularly when elderly souls such as myself are being encouraged to stay indoors! Still, I did get out and about, as you will see here.

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

As June progressed, Marbled White numbers grew, until hundreds were flying, at both ends of The Heath. I love photographing these butterflies, with their distinctive black and white markings, and went out on three evenings in mid June to try to get some decent images that could be used in competition. Although many individuals roost in the grass, some end up on grass stems, sitting on top of Ox-eye Daisies etc. Here is one resting on a flower.

Male Marbled White Butterfly, Royston, 14 June

After a short break in Dorset, I returned at the start of the late June heatwave and spent over three hours on the 21st walking around my local area, including the eastern end of The Heath, finding four new species for the Royston area in 2026, including White-letter Hairstreak along the Icknield Way (several individuals) and the first Essex Skippers to be reported in Hertfordshire for 2026. Indeed, all three species of skipper were seen in big numbers. Also seen were some attractive (to my eyes, at least!) Ichneumon Wasps - all fodder for my macro lens.

Essex Skipper ('Dipped in Ink' Antennae), Royston, 23 June

Large Skipper, Royston, 21 June

Small Skipper, Royston, 21 June

Ichneumon Wasp, Royston, 21 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.

A report of a Ruddy Shelduck at Amwell on the 23rd encouraged me to visit. Ruddy Shelducks have something in common with Black Swans in that they originate from escapes from wildfowl collections and, despite having been 'at large' for several years, their numbers don't seem to be increasing. Despite this I count them on my year lists and, furthermore, had never seen a Ruddy Shelduck in Hertfordshire before. I was pleased to correct this and had decent views of the bird. It wasn't reported after the 22nd.

Ruddy Shelduck, Amwell NR, 23 June

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 either (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

An RSPB Local Group trip to Carlton Marshes (Suffolk Wildlife Trust) on the 14th was a rare visit to an East Anglian reserve that I hadn't been to before. The reserve held all the reed bed 'specialists', and I had decent views of Marsh Harriers, Hobbies and Bitterns in flight. All three egrets were seen. I spent quite a bit of time photographing insects, which included an impressive number of Small Tortoiseshell butterflies - the highest concentration that I've seen for years.

Cattle Egret 'doing what Cattle Egrets do', Carlton Marshes, 14 June

Green-eyed (Norfolk) Hawker, Carlton Marshes SWT, 14 June

Drinker Moth Caterpillar (a big one!), Carlton Marshes, 14 June

Small Tortoiseshell, Carlton Marshes, 14 June

A family meet up in Dorset the following week gave me the opportunity to spend a couple of hours at RSPB Arne, a splendid heathland reserve on the Studland peninsula. I was lucky to see a male Tree Pipit, singing at the top of a small conifer tree (my first of the year) and some emergent Silver Studded Blue butterflies. A Keeled Skimmer dragonfly (a rare species in the east of England) was also seen. I was told that, earlier in the day, somebody had seen a White-tailed Eagle being mobbed by an Osprey! This unlikely event is now perfectly possible as both species have started to nest in the area.

Record Shot of a Distant Tree Pipit, RSPB Arne, 18 June

Male Silver Studded Blue Butterfly, RSPB Arne, 18 June

Male Silver Studded Blue Butterfly, RSPB Arne, 18 June

On the following day, on a visit to Lyme Regis, I came across a Rock Pipit that clearly had a problem with its left leg, which was kept constantly retracted. Despite this, it appeared to be successfully hunting for insects (image).

Rock Pipit, Lyme Regis, 19 June

With the arrival of another heatwave, more extreme than the one in May (see my 'Local Sightings' post) I stayed pretty close to home during the following week, but I did make one excursion (on the 23rd), travelling to Sea Palling, from near where the (apparently) resident Black-winged Kite was being reported every day. I first saw Black-winged Kite, probably this bird, at Hickling Broad NWT last year. It is the only one of its species in the country, and definitely a 'mega'. I had no difficulty seeing the kite, but it was quite distant and enveloped in a heat haze (at 9.30am!), so my photos were of little grey, white and black blobs - definitely not worth incorporating here. The bird was observed flying, hovering and sitting in trees and on telegraph poles, so was far more active than when I saw it at Hickling, where it just sat.

Hickling is only about six miles away, as the Kite flies, so I decided to visit in the hope of catching up with the Swallowtail butterflies that I had missed at Strumpshaw Fen. This time I was lucky, seeing at least three on the wing despite it being quite late in the season. One butterfly kept coming back to rest on the same tree, giving me ample time to take its photograph. Nearby, a few sections of the pathways were closed in order to safeguard breeding Fen Mason Wasps (which actually seemed to be widespread on the reserve). Of course, I had to take a photograph (below) of this endangered species, which can only be found on the Norfolk (and Suffolk?) Broads. Breeding Lapwings were present with their chicks on Brendan's Marsh. There had been reports on previous days of a variety of uncommon waders here. On my first visit to the viewpoint I only saw Lapwings. However, just before I left I had another look (Brendan's Marsh is close to the Visitor Centre)and photographed a distant wader. Close examination of the images confirmed that this was a moulting (?) Spotted Redshank, key features being the longish bill with a slight 'droop' at the end and the strong white supercilium. The bird was a welcome bonus, being my first sighting of this species in 2026 and 204th overall.

Swallowtail Butterfly, Hickling Broad NWT, 23 June

Fen Mason Wasp, Hickling Broad NWT, 23 June

'Record Shot' of Spotted Redshank, Hickling Broad NWT, 23 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!