Local Wildlife Sightings, August 2024

Summer proper finally arrived in late July and persisted throughout the first half of August, with dry, warm and sometimes hot weather, which reached 33C (hottest day of the year) on the 12th. Just back from holiday on the 4th, I stepped into the back garden to look at the tomato plants and found a Jersey Tiger Moth resting on one of the leaves - another garden 'first'.

Jersey Tiger Moth, Royston, 4 August

Local bird records included a Cattle Egret, which I saw at Amwell on the 6th, and a Quail, which I heard from the track leading from the Baldock-Wallington road towards Clothall Common and the model aircraft field on the 7th. Apparently three 'singing' birds were in the same area at the time in this, the 'Quail centre of Britain'. A Tawny Owl, probably a different one to the individual that was heard from the house and garden throughout most of 2023, was heard twice from the house early in the month. Phillup's Lake was pretty quiet, although two adult Little Grebes were seen there on the 12th (no sign of juveniles this year). The Swifts had departed by the time I got back from Scotland. Juvenile warblers (Chiffchaffs and Whitethroats) were seen in local hedgerows as their main food source changed from invertebrates to ripe or ripening berries. On the 22nd I visited RSPB Rye Meads, looking for Garganey and Great White Egret, which had been reported there earlier in the day and on the days before. Sadly, I missed out on both my targets - lots of 'eclipse' Teal were seen from the Draper Hide (where the two Garganey had been seen), but despite my best efforts I couldn't turn any of them into the very similar Garganey.

'Record Shot' of Cattle Egret (left) with Little Egret, Amwell NR, 6 August

Insect numbers were well down on where they usually are at this time of the year, with only grasshoppers increasing in numbers and size. Chalkhill Blues were still emerging early in the month and I found an 'aberrant' female (quite a rare event) on The Heath on the 6th (image below). By the end of the week to the 9th I had seen very small numbers of second generation Common Blues and Brown Argus at all the sites I regularly visit. Numbers rose somewhat in the following week, but it was clear that this was going to be a very poor year for both species. Likewise, I failed to see any Silver-washed Fritillaries on The Heath this year. Numbers had never been high and the woodland areas are not extensive, so conditions for this species are far from ideal. Hopefully, they will return in due course, weather conditions permitting. However, I did see at least three Silver-washed Fritillaries at Scales Park, near Meesden, on the 9th, so I know where to go to see them next year. I also visited Clothall Common (Baldock) on the 7th, where around 15 Chalkhill Blues were seen in far from ideal conditions (image below).

Black-and-Yellow Longhorn Beetle, Scales Park, 9 August

Aberrant Female Chalkhill Blue (some Spots Missing), Therfield Heath, 6 August

Two Male Chalkhill Blues Extracting Salts from 'You-know-what', Clothall Common, 7 August

On the 12th (a very hot day) I visited Hertford Heath Nature Reserve, looking for dragonflies. I was rewarded with the sight of two Southern Migrant Hawkers (a rare but increasing in numbers immigrant from The Continent) flying backwards and forwards across the Brick Pits (they wouldn't settle, so I have no photographic evidence), Willow Emeralds and lots of Ruddy Darters, singly, laying eggs in tandem and mating. At one point a female Southern Hawker made a beeline for my trainer and landed by the side of it, adopting a position as if she was laying eggs (she may have been, but I couldn't find any after she eventually left). I also recorded an Emerald Damselfly, presumably recently hatched (image below) which I couldn't initially identify. However, somebody sent a photo of what looked like the same individual to the Hertfordshire Dragonfly Society Facebook page (an excellent read!), identifying it as a Scarce Emerald Damselfly, so I'll stick with that!

Immature Scarce Emerald Damselfly (?), Brick Pits, Hertford Heath, 12 August

Male Ruddy Darter, Hertford Heath NR, 12 August

Female Southern Hawker interacting with my Trainer, Hertford Heath, 12 August

Locally, Common Darter, Migrant and Southern Hawker dragonflies were on the wing. A few Common Blue Damselflies and Emperor Dragonflies were still active at Phillup's Lake (Reed End). Several members of the wasp mimic hoverfly Volucella inanis were seen, with one found in the garden. Numbers of Common Blue butterflies continued to increase slowly, with around ten males seen on my local wild flower meadow on the 19th. However, Brown Argus butterflies remained scarce.

Female Common Darter, Royston, 20 August

Hoverfly Volucella Inanis (a Wasp mimic), Royston, 19 August

Reports of Adonis Blue butterflies in the Old Rifle Range area later in the week encouraged me to visit The Heath on the afternoon of the 23rd, following a morning rain shower and three days of strong winds. I found several other butterfly photographers there and lots of male Adonis Blues! I counted around 15, most in pristine condition, and there must have been more. Most were on Lankester Hill, at the far eastern end of The Heath. Significant numbers of Common Blues and Brown Argus were also seen and quite a few Chalkhills, mostly females, were still active. I saw a smart Holly Blue on my way up to The Heath, making five species of 'blue' in total. Maybe all is not lost for the blues after all - if only we could now have a colder, drier winter and a drier, sunnier spring in 2025! Most of the female Common Blues seen were suffused with lots of blue (example below). A new generation of Speckled Woods was on the wing. Later, I visited Church Hill. No blues at all were seen on the south side of Church Hill, but around the bottom of the hill I counted nine Chalkhill Blues, including a female, so there is hope that the colony here will revive one day, assuming that the right ants are present. Small Heath butterflies have been here from late April, throughout the spring and summer, and a new generation was on the wing (pristine example below). Some tiny voles were scampering about in the bottom field, where at least five Common Blues were roosting dangerously close to the web of a Wasp Spider.....

Male Adonis Blue, Therfield Heath (East Side), 23 August

'Blue' Female Common Blue, Therfield Heath, 23 August

Small Heath, Therfield Heath (Church Hill), 23 August

Two Roosting Male Common Blues, Therfield Heath (Church Hill), 23 August

Twelve hours of rain on the following day put a dampener on things, and on each of two further visits to this area I was only able to find two male Adonis Blues. No females at all were seen, assuming that the few very tatty females that I did see were all Chalkhill Blues. This is not too surprising, since females are far less active than the males and not at all showy. I presume that some were there - if not, we won't be seeing any Adonis Blues on The Heath next year.

Male Adonis Blue, Therfield Heath, 30 08 24

On the 29th I made a return visit to Wilstone, hoping to see birds at the reservoir and photograph dragonflies along the Grand Union Canal. Two distant Hobbies, two Greenshanks and a Green Sandpiper were seen from the hide at the reservoir. Dragonflies were few here, with most being Black-tailed Skimmers. Migrant Hawker dragonflies were abundant along the canal. No White-legged Damselflies were seen, but I did find a mating pair of Blue-tailed Damselflies. Other insects photographed included some interesting flies, such as a fly with an orange abdomen, possibly Musca domestica (image), and a distinctive fly with a long snout, Rhingia campestris.

Fly (Musca domestica??), Wilstone, 29 August

Migrant Hawker, Wilstone, 29 August

On the 30th a 'there and back' walk from the large layby off the A505 just outside Royston to Heydon Pig Farm failed to produce any surprises. The farm is noted for the large numbers of wintering gulls, occasionally including rarities, that can be seen there. I didn't expect to see many at this time of year, but in fact there were hundreds there, the vast majority Lesser Black-backed. However, farming operations had pushed them further away from my viewpoint, so I wasn't able to check through them for rarities. A Raven was heard, but there was no sign of Lapwings (a familiar sight in the winter) here or elsewhere on the walk.

UK Wildlife Sightings August 2024

 Having got back from Scotland on the 3rd, my first trip of any distance was to Snettisham on the 8th. A reasonably high tide was forecast, although only a few hundred Black-tailed Godwits were pushed back on to the lagoons. As the tide started to recede there were some spectacular murmurations of gulls, terns and (predominantly) waders, with several species involved. On the newly exposed mud, hundreds or possibly thousands of small waders flew and ran about, feeding. I spent a lot of time looking for White-rumped Sandpipers (four had been reported earlier). Eventually one was found and a kind bird watcher put me on to it. It revealed its white rump as it briefly flew. I also saw a Little Stint (see if you can find it in the image below), in amongst the Dunlin, Sanderlings and Ringed Plovers. Walking back to the car park, a bonus came in the form of a Wall butterfly, the first that I have seen this year.

Waders at RSPB Snettisham, 8 August

Waders, Terns etc. taking off, spooked by a Peregrine, RSPB Snettisham

Record Shot of a Wall Butterfly, Snettisham, 8 August

On the way home I stopped off at Dersingham Bog to look for invertebrates in this distinctive sandy, marshy nature reserve. Sand wasps were seen along with a multitude of dragonflies. Black Darter dragonflies breed here, or so I had been led to believe, but on several previous late summer visits I had yet to see one. Imagine my surprise when I saw not one, but several Black Darters, along with a single Keeled Skimmer. They do exist here, after all! Unfortunately, I could find no sign of Grayling butterflies, which I have seen here in the past but not in the last 3-4 years. Perhaps they no longer occur on this site.

Male Black Darter, Dersingham Bog, 8 August

In recent years I have been looking to go on pelagic boat trips off the UK coast, in order to try to connect with some of the rarer seabirds (Cory's and Great Shearwaters, for example), which I would have very little chance of seeing onshore. The boats go out a few miles from land and drop horrible smelling fishy mixtures ('chum'), which attracts the seabirds. A 'Naturetrek' trip, leaving from Falmouth harbour in Cornwall last September, was cancelled due to inclement weather conditions. Foolishly, I put my name down for another 'Naturetrek' trip, this time departing from Weymouth, on the 15th of August and booked a B&B in Weymouth for the night of the 14/15th. Again the trip was cancelled the day before, this time because the wind was in the wrong direction (!). I was committed to travelling to Weymouth, so made the best of a bad job by spending four hours (mainly) sea watching at Portland Bill on the morning of the 15th, followed by a visit to Arne RSPB on the way home. Sea watching provided sightings of both Manx and Balearic Shearwaters, alongside many Fulmars, Kittiwakes and Gannets as well as a few auks and an Arctic Skua. It was difficult at distance to separate the two shearwater species, which are similar in size and rarely revealed their underparts (Balearics are significantly darker below) and even more difficult to photograph them! Their behaviour was somewhat different - the Manx Shearwaters did more 'shearing' in flight and moved through quickly, whilst the Balearics tended to fly on flatter wings, hung around for longer and sometimes landed on the sea, diving to feed. The composite image below shows 'record shots' of both species, although you will have to take my word for it!

Composite image of Manx (left hand and right hand birds) and Balearic (central birds) Shearwaters in Flight, Portland Bill, 15 August. The Manx Shearwaters are darker above and paler below and have sharper wings than the Balearic Shearwaters. Sorry about the poor quality of the individual images!

Land birds seen at Portland Bill included Ravens, one of which landed close by to inspect the contents of a plastic bag, many migratory Wheatears and several Rock Pipits. One consolation from this brief visit was that I was able to enjoy an excellent breakfast at my B&B, which I wouldn't have had time for if I had been on the boat trip. This was something to digest on the five hour, stop start journey home from Arne. I think that I'll avoid booking Naturetrek pelagics in future!

Raven, Portland Bill, 15 August

Wheatear, Portland Bill, 15 August

On the 16th I spent an afternoon at Paxton Pits (near St Neots), photographing darter dragonflies. One particular group of bushes close to a path usualy holds many (usually) Common Darters and I wasn't disappointed on this occasion. However, getting an uncluttered background for my shots (I always aim to produce images suitable for competitions and exhibitions, however unlikely it is that I'll achieve my target) wasn't easy. One example is shown below.

Common Darter, Paxton Pits, 16 August

My only other trip of any note was to RSPB Frampton Marsh on the 27th. A Baird's Sandpiper (an American wader, which occasionally finds its way to the UK) had been seen the day before but was absent on the day of my visit. However, many other wader species were showing there, including Curlew Sandpipers. Yellow Wagtails were abundant here, with around 20 seen in one small area where cattle were feeding (image).

Three Curlew Sandpipers, RSPB Frampton Marsh, 27 August

Two (of many) Yellow Wagtails hanging around cattle, waiting for flies to eat, RSPB Frampton Marsh, 27 August

Holiday: Scotland and Northumberland, Late July and early August 2024

 I  was on holiday for the last few days of July and the first few days of August, driving up to Nethybridge in The Highlands, for a week with the holiday company Heatherlea which included two nights and a full day on North and South Uist and Benbecula - my first visit to the Outer Hebrides. On the way up I stopped off for a night in Northumberland (Warkworth) which, apart from breaking the 500 mile journey, was intended to allow me to connect with Arctic Terns and Common Eider ducks for my year list, in this beautiful part of the world. As it happens, I got really lucky because a very rare wader, Greater Sand Plover, was found a few miles down the coast at Newbiggin shortly before my visit and, on a glorious evening, I was able to connect with this bird (a 'lifer') and also add Roseate Tern, as well as Arctic Tern and Eider Duck, to my year list. The terns were amongst four species sharing a rocky outcrop on the coast with several species of wader as the tide came in. The combination of beautiful light and birds and an attractive four mile 'there and back' walk along the coast made this one of my bird watching highlights of the year.

Record Shot of Greater Sand Plover with Ringed Plovers (below), Newbiggin, 26 July

In Scotland, the plan was to spend the first day looking for local specialities and the last two days wildlife watching on the Black Isle, Moray Firth and Findhorn Valley. In between we would take the ferry from Mallaig to South Uist and spend two nights on Benbecula, exploring the Uists, before returning by Ferry from North Uist to Skye and driving back to Nethybridge. Crested Tits and Crossbills were duly seen locally on the first day. The ferry crossing turned out to be a bit of an ordeal: whilst the south of England basked in a heatwave, we had to endure strong winds, temperatures in the low teens and, later, driving rain as a weather front passed by. I had been looking forward to seeing lots of different seabirds, but in fact the crossing was dominated by Manx Shearwaters from the huge colony on Rhum, as well as smaller numbers of auks (including Puffins), Gannets and Kittiwakes. A couple of distant Great Skuas were seen and at least three Storm Petrels were found by our leaders, Holly and Dave, but frustratingly I wasn't able to pick any of them out. A handful of Common Dolphins were also seen.

Skye, seen on the Ferry Crossing from Mallaig, 29 July

One of Hundreds of Manx Shearwaters seen on the Ferry Crossing, 29 July

We had time to explore South Uist before booking into our hotel, but the wind and rain made things uncomfortable. However, we did have one piece of luck: a young White-tailed Eagle gave reasonably close views as it sat on a mound in the 'machair'.

White-tailed Eagle in the Rain, South Uist, 29 July

The weather for the rest of the week was fine, although the temperature on the Uists never went above 15C. The machair scenery and beaches were very pleasant, but not spectacular, with a multitude of lochans and estuaries being passed. Apart from the main north-south road, all the roads we used were single track with passing places. Gaelic is still spoken here, and all the road signs placed Gaelic as the first language, but we didn't hear any Gaelic spoken at the hotel, which was our only contact with the 'locals'. We enjoyed numerous views of Hen Harriers, Merlin and (eventually) Short-eared Owls. Arctic Skuas were seen on the final morning and a Black Guillemot, seen as we departed on the ferry from Lochmaddy (North Uist) for Skye, was my first and only sighting, although others in our party (two leaders and twelve clients) saw other Black Guillemots. Porpoises were seen off the coast and there was a moment of drama when Andrew, one of my fellow clients, spotted a young Stonechat trapped in a lobster pot. This was safely extricated and released by Dave (image).

Young Stonechat before Release (see above), Uists, 30 July

Short-eared Owl in Flight, Benbecula, 30 July

Back on the mainland, the trips to the Moray coast and Black Isle provided lots of interest, whilst a distant Golden Eagle (my 14th and last year 'tick' for the holiday) was a highlight of our trip up the Findhorn Valley. With temperatures reaching 20C, invertebrates became more of a part of the wildlife seen. For me the very tatty Large Heath, seen at Lochindorb on the 28th, was the butterfly highlight, but dragonflies and ichneumon wasps were also seen. A moth trap run by Holly produced some particularly attractive species, with no fewer than 71 'July High Flyer' individuals being counted. Some late-flowering Autumn Lady's Tresses (an orchid) and the beautiful Mountain Pansy were floral highlights.

Turnstones and Redshanks, Moray Coast, 2 August

Ichneumon Wasp, Findhorn Bay, 2 August

Light Emerald Moth from the Trap, Nethybridge, 1 August

Mountain Pansy, Upper Findhorn Valley, 1 August

This was quite a sedentary holiday and most of my exercise involved pre-breakfast or evening walks. One bird that was missing from our combined list of 124 species (I saw 118) at the end of the week was Dipper, but on my final walk of the holiday I caught up with one, feeding on the River Nethy - too late to go on the list! After that, it was time to drive the 505 miles back home in a single day, a mind numbing exercise that I am determined not to repeat if I ever go to Scotland again!

Local Wildlife Sightings July 2024

 Despite a cold first half of June, we did see a brief sign of summer in the second half of the month. Sadly, it wasn't to last. July started cool and unsettled, and things got steadily worse during the first week, culminating in around 15 hours of more or less continuous rain from the 5th into the 6th, which added 30mm (1.2 inches) to the garden rain gauge. In what should be my busiest period for wildlife photography I was only able to get out for an afternoon and evening on the 2nd and likewise on the 4th, when windy weather made insect photography very challenging indeed. Rainfall amounts continued to mount during the rest of the month, but there were also spells of drier, warmer weather and a second mini heatwave between the 17th and the 19th, with the temperature reaching 31C on the 19th.

Despite the poor weather, the early part of July did provide some wildlife highlights and, surprisingly, these came in the form of birds. I visited Scales Park woodland (between Nuthampstead and Meesden) on the 2nd, looking mainly for insects and perhaps a better view of the Marsh Tit family that was seen here in June. As part of my walk I do a 'there and back' from one end of the main ride to the other. On the outward leg the woodland was very quiet, with a Southern Hawker dragonfly (which caught and ate a Meadow Brown butterfly, tearing off the wings as it munched) the only sighting of note. However, on the way back I paused to see and hear a large, loose flock of birds (including several tits, Nuthatch, Treecreeper and Goldcrest) on both sides of the ride. Whilst looking at some birds moving through the tree canopy I noticed the back of a small bird that was resting lengthways on a small, high branch. I couldn't see its head at first, but the markings on the back were consistent with my first Hertfordshire Lesser Spotted Woodpecker! Eventually I managed to move round to a point where I could see the bird's head and was pleased to confirm my sighting. I couldn't see any red on the crown, so I assume that this was a female, which had been probing the bark for invertebrates. Great Spotted Woodpeckers are common in the mixed woodland - indeed, I heard some on this visit. I wonder whether Lesser Spotted Woodpeckers breed here (much of Scales Park is 'off-limits'), or perhaps this bird was just passing through (*see comments). No photos, I'm afraid - the bird flew away whilst the camera was still in the bag.

Southern Hawker Dragonfly, Scales Park, 2 July

I have been monitoring the activity of the Spotted Flycatchers on The Heath since late May. Activity had been becoming quite frenetic, and I was confident that the adults were feeding young. I was delighted to record at least two fledged juveniles, being fed by their parents, in Fox Covert on the 4th. I'll leave them in peace now! On the 6th I made probably a final dusk visit to the Tawny Owl and Little Owl territories close to my house. There was no sign of the Tawny juveniles, but I did catch a glimpse of a Little Owl flying away near its nest site (on private land). I wonder whether this is the only remaining bird in the area: there has been no sign of breeding activity this year. Little Owls are declining fast in the UK, for reasons that are not fully understood, but I expect that our activities are the main cause. I had a better sighting of a Little Owl in the same place on the 16th, this time in the late afternoon. I'll continue to monitor the site (from the public right of way!) in case they are/were still nesting. A visit to Phillup's Lake (Reed End) on the 2nd produced large numbers of moulting Mallards, 12 Coot (eight young), a pair of Canada Geese, three Tufted Ducks and at least one Little Grebe although the last was, as usual, only heard. Two new species of Odonata for the site, Broad-bodied Chaser and Azure Damselfly (a female) were seen here, but there was little dragonfly activity on a cool day.

Juvenile Coot, Reed End, 2 July

I added two new butterfly species (Essex Skipper and Gatekeeper) to my year list on the 1st, both on Therfield Heath. Decent numbers of species whose caterpillars feed on grasses were seen when the sun occasionally came out, with Ringlets actually being more common than usual, but numbers of many species were low and there was no sign of Chalkhill Blues, which normally appear in the first week of July. I had to concentrate my photography on Marbled White butterflies, which were plentiful and are, thankfully, very photogenic. I did manage to photograph a few other insects, mainly on Therfield Heath. A couple of my images are below.

Ichneumon Wasp (Species n/k), Therfield Heath, 4 July

Marbled White Butterfly on Ox-eye Daisy, Therfield Heath, 2 July

Chalkhill Blues (seven) were finally seen on The Heath (Old Rifle Range) on the morning of the 8th and numbers steadily increased during the rest of the month across The Heath to the east of the Therfield Road. Given the poor showings of the other blues, it was no surprise to find numbers further down on last year's somewhat below average numbers. Very worryingly, however, I could find none at all on Church Hill in July. This follows on from very low numbers found here in 2023. What has happened here? I speculated about this last year. Have the ant colonies upon which the caterpillars rely been wiped out? Were the record temperatures seen in July 2022 in some way to blame, since the south side of Church Hill is more exposed to the sun than anywhere else on The Heath? Has this slightly isolated colony been affected by some kind of disease? Is there not enough of their food plant, Horseshoe Vetch? Is the grass here too high? It will be interesting to see whether second generations of Common and Adonis Blues, both present here in very small numbers in the spring, emerge here in August. It may be necessary to monitor and compare the remaining population of Chalkhill Blues on Therfield Heath to those on other sites in the South East, to see whether similar events are happening elsewhere.

Male Chalkhill Blue, Therfield Heath (Old Rifle Range), 8 July

A single male Chalkhill Blue was seen at Clothall Common, near Baldock, on the 19th, where a small colony occurs. Several six-spot Burnet Moths, including mating pairs, were seen here but for me the most surprising sighting was of a very tatty, presumably first generation, Common Blue butterfly at a time when the second generation should have been (but aren't) starting to emerge. A few Dark Green Fritillaries were still around on The Heath in the second half of the month, but this has been a poor year for fritillaries locally, with no Silver-washed Fritillaries being seen by me either on The Heath (Fox Covert and Jubilee Wood) or at Scales Park. Having only recently established themselves in small numbers on The Heath, the loss of Silver-washed Fritillaries would be no great surprise and, given a few decent springs and summers (a big ask, it seems!), they will hopefully return.

Mating Dark Green Fritillaries, Therfield Heath, 8 July

However, this extremely dull, wet year has not been doom and gloom for all butterfly species. Those whose food plants are grasses have all had average to good years, with Ringlets, Gatekeepers and all three skipper species doing well. Indeed, at the time of writing this update (23 July), Essex Skippers seem to be everywhere and in big numbers. By late July new generations of Peacock, Red Admiral, Brimstone, Comma and the three common species of whites were all on the wing and I saw at least five pristine Painted Lady butterflies on my visit to Clothall Common on the 19th. Missing from this list, however, is Small Tortoiseshell, which is having another very bad year.

Mating Six-spot Burnet Moths, Clothall Common, 19 July

Essex Skipper, Royston, 18 July

Ruddy Darter, Banded Demoiselle and Broad-bodied Chaser Dragonflies were seen on or near The Heath during the month, and Southern Hawker dragonflies became more common and widespread towards the end of the month. Small Red-eyed Damselflies were seen on the lake during a visit with my partner to the Henry Moore Foundation at Perry Green, near Bishops Stortford, on the 21st. I also found (or, more likely, re-identified) another species of Shieldbug (Red-legged Shieldbug) near my house on the 19th. This individual took a bit of identifying, because it didn't have red legs and didn't look like the specimen illustrated in my go-to insects book ('Brock')! However, Brock does say that this widespread and common species does have variable markings......

Broad-bodied Chaser Dragonfly, Therfield Heath (Church Hill), 10 July

Red-legged Shieldbug, Royston, 19 July

Summer finally arrived in earnest towards the end of the month, with a heatwave extending into August. However, I was away in Scotland enjoying similar weather (cool, wet and windy) to what we had here in June (see the separate blog post).

UK Wildlife Sightings July 2024

 Some time ago I booked with the Great Bustard Group (GBG) to see Great Bustards on Salisbury Plain on the 3rd. This was my second visit. A member of the GBG picked us up in one of their Land Rovers and drove us along rough tracks to a hide, from which we were able to observe the bustards, at distance, out on the plain. Male and female bustards were seen, both on the ground and in flight, as well as Stone Curlews, Lapwings, Kestrels and a variety of small birds including Corn Bunting. The history of the Great Bustards on Salisbury Plain (this is a re-introduction scheme, which has been going on for many years - however, the birds that we saw were completely wild) and much information about this species (which is the heaviest flying bird in the UK and, arguably, the world) was freely imparted. In the UK Great Bustards can only be found on Salisbury Plain. We finished at the visitor centre where, surprise surprise, lots of Great Bustard souvenirs could be purchased. I can recommend this as a very worthwhile visit, with online booking on the GBG web site (£25 for a two hour visit). Some 'record shots' of the bustards are shown below.

Female Great Bustard, Salisbury Plain, 3 July

Male Great Bustard, Salisbury Plain, 3 July

I made an afternoon visit to Santon Downham near Thetford on the 10th, with a view to getting (a) decent photograph(s) of the hundreds of Banded Demoiselle damselflies that flutter about along the banks of the River Little Ouse. With so many to choose from, you would imagine that they would be easy to photograph but, in common with other odonata, they have great eyesight and tended to move away into patches of dense vegetation as I approached. Eventually I got a few ok images. Whilst I was walking along the river bank I noticed what appeared to be mating robber flies perched on a fallen leaf. When I see robber flies they are usually mating! However, when I got home and looked at my images I realised that a robber fly was actually holding a smaller fly as prey and actually eating it! This is normal behaviour for robber flies - I've seen gruesome photos that fellow photographers have taken. Warning: I've attached one of my own images below.

Female Banded Demoiselle, Santon Downham, 10 July

Male Banded Demoiselle, Santon Downham, 10 July

Kite-tailed Robber Fly with Prey, Santon Downham, 10 July

My partner and I made a return visit to the Knepp Estate in West Sussex on the 14th, to go on the guided 'Purple Emperor' walk. Last year it rained all afternoon and we didn't see any 'emperors', but this year the sun shone and several males were seen, in flight above the trees and/or perched in the trees. We also saw some of the many White Storks that nest on the estate (53 young fledged this year!), including a 'kettle' of 16. A White Admiral butterfly was apparently quite a rare sighting for the estate and we also saw several Purple Hairstreaks, including one that opened its wings at ground level (unusual) to show us how it got its name. The rarest sighting was of a small colony of flies called the Downland Villa Bee-fly, a species that was only first reported in the UK around 20 years ago and which can still only be found at a very few sites in southern and western England. An image is included below.

Downland Villa Bee-fly, Knepp Estate, 14 July

Purple Emperor perched near the top of a Tree, Knepp Estate, 14 July

Purple Hairstreak Butterfly, Knepp Estate, 14 July

White Stork in flight, Knepp Estate, 14 July

On the 17th I made a return visit to Thursley Common in Surrey. My first visit, in May, had been mainly to look for rare breeding birds, but this time dragonflies were my target. I saw around 14 species, including Small Red Damselfly, Black Darter and Keeled Skimmer. I had hoped to see Brilliant Emerald dragonflies on the Moat Pond (near the car park), but couldn't identify any amongst the few remaining Downy Emeralds, which I had seen in May. I spent a lot of time watching female Emperor Dragonflies laying eggs in some of the smaller ponds around the site, being pursued by still amorous males. At one point I managed to photograph two females together. Also seen were lots of Common Lizards along the boardwalks and a few of the rare and localised Heath Tiger Beetles - Thursley is one of the few sites that supports this species. A few of my images are below.

Male Black Darter, Thursley Common, 17 July

Common Lizard, Thursley Common, 17 July

Female Emperor Dragonflies Laying Eggs, Thursley Common, 17 July

Heath Tiger Beetle, Thursley Common, 17 July

Keeled Skimmers Mating, Thursley Common, 17 July