Weather: Changeable. Mainly wet and windy, with one hot and
humid spell mid-month.
Places Visited:
Amwell; Balls Wood/Hertford Heath/Waterford Heath; Cheshunt; Cornmill Meadow;
Paxton Pits; Rye Meads & Sawbridgeworth Marsh.
'Darest thou now, O soul, walk out with me toward the unknown region.'
Walt Whitman
July’s poor-ish weather spilled over into June. There were wet, windy days early on, with one very hot and humid spell in
the middle of the month. Thereafter, the weather cooled, with more showery
systems coming in from the West. It hasn’t been much of a summer, so far. I blame Brexit and/or Jeremy Corbyn.
My first visit of the month was
another trip to Balls Wood and Hertford Heath, this time with a
quick, additional visit to Waterford Heath, my first, to see Marbled
Whites. I was hoping to see the Balls Wood butterfly specialities, but unfortunately, they remained frustratingly
elusive.
However, there were plenty of
other invertebrates to see. The swarm
of Emeralds and Scarce Emeralds, together with plenty of Ruddy Darters, were again on show. Hertford Heath has really impressed me, with its’ variety
of Odonata. We just need a sustained
period of warm sunshine for other Reserves to prosper, as well!
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Emerald |
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Scarce Emerald |
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Ruddy Darter |
Balls Wood continues to impress,
too. There may not have been any specialities
on show, but there were plenty of other butterflies,
with 14 species seen, including loads of Skippers
and Ringlets. Indeed, there were
plenty of insects to see, including Longhorn Beetles, Soldier Beetles and Speckled
Bush Crickets. However, the stars of the day were a gorgeous Roesel's Bush Cricket, only the second one I've ever seen and a Tortoise Bug, a form of Shield Bug, my first ever.
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Roesel's Bush Cricket |
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Black and Yellow Longhorn Beetle |
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Tortoise Bug |
The day was finished off with a lovely visit to Waterford
Heath. The Heath is famous for its’ Marbled White butterflies and they
didn’t disappoint, with several seen.
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Marbled White |
I was so impressed with HH & BW that I paid a further visit, later in
the month, again seeing much of the same. However, this time I added Migrant and Southern Hawkers to the year-list. I also managed to see my first-ever Slow Worms plus another first, a Large Black Longhorn Beetle. Although it was again disappointing not to see any Silver-washed Fritillary, Purple Emperor or White Admiral butterflies. Just unlucky, I guess.
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Migrant Hawker |
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Slow Worm |
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Large Black Longhorn Beetle |
Next up was a visit to Amwell,
an unusually long-overdue visit. It was now beginning to get warm and humid,
albeit with a cool breeze. July has always been notable for the lack of birds. However, today was all about Odonata. There were quite a lot on
offer, with the first Brown Hawkers
and Common Darters of the year
appearing. These were complimented by Emperors,
Black-tailed Skimmers and Four-spotted Chasers. Several Banded Demoiselles and Red-eyed damselflies completed the tally.
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Common Darter |
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Four-spotted Chaser |
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Red-eyed damselfly |
The bird species count may have been lower than average, but there were
Oystercatchers, Little Ringed Plovers, Kingfishers
and a close encounter with a lovely Reed
Warbler on show.
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Reed Warbler |
A Fishers Green visit was also long-overdue, almost two months
since my last trip. I was hoping to see if the three Great Crested Grebe nests I had found on my last visit had produced
any humbugs. Alas, they were all
empty and devoid of any birds. I wasn’t too surprised.
It was another quiet day birdy-wise and so I again concentrated
on inverts. There were plenty of dragons and damsels to see, including Brown
Hawker, Emperor and Ruddy Darter. There were also plenty of
Banded Demoiselle and Red-eyed damsels about. Butterflies were starting to take
advantage of the improving weather, with almost a dozen species seen, including
Comma and Gatekeeper.
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Ruddy Darter |
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Comma |
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Gatekeeper |
A Red-eared Terrapin, possibly the same one in the same
place as before, was a slight distraction. However, a family of Great Crested Grebes, by the bridge, as
I headed for home, caught my eye. It was the first time I had seen one of the juveniles, slightly bigger and obviously
from the first batch, feed one of its’ younger siblings.
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Great Crested Grebe family |
The next day I decided to pay a
visit to Sawbridgeworth Marsh, my local patch. The flora here, like everywhere else, had grown enormously. Fed on a
diet of hot sun and constant rains, day after day, it had thrived.
Although the bird drought continued, I did manage to spot Green Sandpiper, Common Tern,
Kingfisher and plenty of Warblers. There were only 7 species of butterfly, including Small Tortoiseshell, with not too many insects about, despite putting on my
best sleuth suit.
There weren’t too many dragons or damsels either, possibly due to the vegetation encroaching on the ponds and lagoons. However, I was
lucky enough to stumble upon a newly-emerged Common Darter, whose wings
were still developing. That and a Banded
Demoiselle, snacking on an unfortunate Mayfly,
were the highlights of the day.
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Common Darter |
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Banded Demoiselles |
Although it was still humid,
especially at night, the Weather Gods were still
being unkind, continuing to keep a stubborn cloud
cover over the area, day after day.
Then it was time for my annual
pilgrimage to Cornmill Meadow. This is an outstanding place for Odonata and today didn’t disappoint.
Although the flora here was also
quite overgrown, it wasn’t as bad as at other Reserves.
The birds first. The species count remained low again, but included
some quality stuff. Three Green
Sandpipers were in front of the only Hide on the Reserve, the Wake Hide. In
addition, there were several Lapwings
and a Grey Heron. There were quite a
few Swallows and House Martins flying over the lagoon,
constantly dipping down for a drink. A female dark-morph Pheasant looked odd, marching across the near-empty lagoon. A Kingfisher
flashed past me a few times. There was even a noisy Ring-necked Parakeet flyover, towards the end of the day.
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Pheasant |
However, I was here for the dragons & damsels. I didn’t see anything for the first 30 minutes, but then
they started to appear. Banded Demoiselles, Broad-bodied Chasers, Ruddy Darters, Brown Hawkers and Emperors all showed well.
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Banded Demoiselle |
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Broad-bodied Chaser |
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Ruddy Darter 'obelisk' |
And then the British summer arrived. Finally, although it felt like an Italian job. It seemed to bypass the usual slow build-up and went straight from cold
and wet to hot and humid. Scorchio,
even. I wasn't expecting or wanting
the summer to arrive all at once.
Still, one mustn't complain, although it was
a shock to the system.
It was a very satisfying visit,
with plenty of dragons & damsels on show, 10 species in all. I
discovered several little areas where Odonata
was plentiful and spent a happy hour or so, snapping away.
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Summer arrives! |
The British summer continued the next day, as I decided to visit Amwell
again. I had intended to visit Rye Meads,
to see if the Kingfishers would
fledge, but a Lesser Emperor dragon
had been spotted recently and I was lured down.
I didn’t see it, unfortunately,
but I did get a distant view of a Norfolk Hawker, which was a surprise.
However, it was the hottest day of
the year, so far, which made it tough going. I was definitely treading on
deadly ground, in this weather.
An above average bird total, for this time of year,
included Little Egret, Red Kite, Kingfisher and Great Spotted
Woodpecker. Eleven species of Odonata,
including Red-eyed damsel, Black-tailed Skimmer and plenty of Darters, both Common and Ruddy, were a
delight to see, as always. One of them even performed the ‘obelisk’ for me.
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Black-tailed Skimmer |
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Ruddy Darter - another 'obelisk' |
A similar amount of butterflies were seen, but not too many invertebrates, again. Maybe it was a tad
too hot for them, too. By the end of
the day, I was hot, bothered and knackered and had to give in to the elements.
It was like a deathtrap, out there.
Later, in the evening, I read
that the Rye Meads Kingfishers had
fledged. To cap it all, thirteen Black-tailed
Godwits and a pair of Garganey
had appeared as well. The dirty rotten scoundrels! C'est la vie!
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Emerald |
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Scarce Emerald |
After my second visit to Hertford Heath and Balls Wood, I paid my third visit of the month to Amwell.
I had arranged this with a friend, some months before. It was a quiet day, with
the weather still hot and humid, but
thankfully, this time accompanied by a few clouds and a welcoming cool breeze.
I had started to dress down by now, that or dressed to kill!
It was a Saturday. I don’t usually ‘do’
weekends, because Reserves are usually full of families, all usually without a clue. However, my friend couldn’t do weekdays and so we
arranged a Saturday visit. In the event, it wasn’t too busy, despite the schools
also breaking for the summer.
There were impressive totals of Odonata, Lepidoptera and bird
species today. However, nothing too exciting. The birdy highlights included an Egyptian
Goose family, Oystercatcher, Common Sandpiper, Common Tern and plenty of Reed
Warbler action, plus a very pretty Stock Dove.
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Stock Dove |
Of the 14 species of butterfly we spotted, Brimstone and Holly Blue were the picks of the day. Mint Leaf Beetle and Soldier
Beetle stood out from the rest, on the insect
front.
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Brimstone |
All the usual dragons and damsels were about. We were given good, close-up views of Red-eyed damsel, Black-tailed Skimmer, Brown Hawker, Common Darter and Emperor.
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Blue-tailed damselflies |
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Common Darter |
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Brown Hawker ovipositing |
A few days later and I paid my
first visit to Paxton Pits. I had heard great things about this Reserve.
It covered quite a large area but I wasn’t quite able to see all of it. Although it
looked like an excellent place to visit, I came away slightly disappointed. I’m
not quite sure why. They do serve a nice cup
of tea, though.
It was quite an open place, with
plenty of lagoons and ponds, but they weren’t very accessible.
There were good views of a pair of Kingfishers,
as well as Red Kite and Common Tern.
Another early Migrant Hawker was a delight to see, at
the start. Followed by more Odonata
on the trails. Although there were plenty of dragons and damsels to be
seen, they were difficult to approach without disturbing them. ‘Frustration’
was the word of the day.
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Migrant Hawker |
There was a glimpse of Grass Snake and a couple of firsts. I
spotted my first Bird-cherry Ermine moth
and Twin-lobed Deerfly.
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Bird-cherry Ermine moth |
Unsurprisingly, there were quite
a few noisy families, as to be
expected at this time of year. However, irritatingly, there were also
dog-walkers and cyclists around the
place. One or two joggers also proved to be a distraction. In a Nature Reserve! Joggers running in this
heat and humidity! Homo Sapiens: a
special kind of stupid.
However, it was good to be able
to visit a new Reserve. Further visits are needed here, especially in the
winter, to get a more rounded impression. A little voice told me that we were
just unlucky today.
The end of the month saw my
quarterly visit to Rye Meads. It was a surprisingly good visit, for birds anyway. Dunlin, Garganey, Green Sandpiper and Kingfisher all put on great shows.
There were more noisy families
present here, but they were what I would term as ‘clinically enthusiastic’!
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Dunlin |
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Garganey |
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Green Sandpiper |
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Kingfisher |
However, it was very
disappointing for invertebrates, with
nothing much about. The only bit of excitement, odonata-wise, was when a Coot tried to sneak up on an ovipositing Brown Hawker. The Hawker escaped. The main reason was probably the end of the British summer. It was very overcast,
with a hint of rain. The humidity had given way to a chill north-westerly wind.
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A lucky escape! |
Then there were the resident family of Little Grebes, just in front of the Draper Hide, who were really good entertainment.
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Little Grebe family |
Before I had set out that day, I
had discovered a Jersey Tiger and a Large Yellow Underwing right outside my
door!
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Jersey Tiger |
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Large Yellow Underwing |
So, ten visits in total,
another high one for July. All in all, a very enjoyable and satisfying month.
It wasn’t much of a summer, though!
As ever, my thanks go to my good
friend, Ron, without whom I wouldn’t be
able to visit half as many Reserves. His bucket of patience with me is
bottomless. Together, we are like a couple of second-hand lions.
'Let it not be said, and said unto
your shame,
That there was beauty here,
before you came.'