Shepreth L-moor and Fowlmere

A late afternoon walk around Shepreth L-moor and Fowlmere, specifically to see what butterflies and dragonflies were about...

Shepreth L-moor:
Meadow Brown
Small Tortoiseshell
Comma
Small White
Large White
Painted Lady
Green-veined White
Small Skipper

Fowlmere:
Small White
Banded Demoiselle
Hairy Dragonfly
Large White
Emperor
Meadow Brown
Black-tailed Skimmer
Small Skipper

Also at Fowlmere, at least four Turtle Doves (one seen.)

The bedroom Swifts were behaving oddly at dusk. They continually kept entering and leaving between 9:30 and 10pm, before finally settling down for the evening. I suppose they may have been having a last minute insect foray, but they were returning to the nest very quickly.

Scorcher!

A very hot day (around 28° C) day with no breeze. I spent it at home and managed to get a Small Skipper and Banded Demoiselle, both new for the garden.

Bird's-nest Orchid

Went to Hayley Wood, near Wimpole for a late morning stroll with the family in the sun, somewhere we’d never been. Plenty of Marsh Tits calling and a few Nuthatches. Found three orchid species: Common Twayblade, Common Spotted, but best of all, three spikes of Birds’ Nest.

Garden Butterflies

In the hot sun between the heavy showers: Red Admiral, Meadow Brown, Large White, and Speckled Wood.

Banded Demoiselles

Two flying low along Station Road and the High Street in Foxton was an unusual sighting on a glorious afternoon.

Swifts

Watched around thirty Swifts at dusk as they flew around the garden and church. Two eventually came in to the thatch just before 10pm.

Marsh Warbler and Peregrine

After an early evening return from a non-birding weekend away in Suffolk (only bird noted was a Marsh Harrier on Aldborough Marshes), I immediately went to Amwell with Tom to see the Marsh Warbler found yesterday. Although people had waited for a long time without seeing the bird, it showed to us almost immediately. We continued to watch it on and off for the next hour or so, along with a pair of nearby Sedge Warblers.

On the return journey from Ware, another Peregrine was seen, my second in Hertfordshire within four days! Amazing records for June.

Blue Tit

Snapped this young Blue Tit feeding in the garden whilst testing some settings on my camera.

Quail and Peregrine

Went with Tom early evening for another attempt at the Quail as I’d heard that it occasionally showed amazingly well (for a Quail.) We waited for the best part of an hour, during which time a Peregrine drifted west, then very quickly east, before drifting east again towards Baldock.

Then, just as we had given up and decided to look elsewhere, the Quail stepped out on to the path (we’d actually started to walk away but luckily I decided to look behind before leaving!) We walked back and had excellent ‘scope views for at least five minutes before it wandered back into the wheat field to continue singing from there. By far the best and most prolonged views of a Quail that I’ve ever had, and a new bird for Tom.

Local dips!

Started off near Baldock with Tom early evening looking for Quail and the reported Montagu’s harrier. Three Quails were heard, but with too many people around, a serious effort to see them could not be made.

After dinner the whole family went to Fowlmere to try for the Otters that are being seen regularly at the moment. They weren’t tonight, and apart from a good number of Swifts, little was. Several Southern Marsh Orchids were in flowerer by the reserve entrance.

Myself and Tom then went back to Baldock at dusk, but again with no views of any Quails.

Local Orchids

After the morning’s torrential downpour, I spent a short while attempting to see what Orchids I could find around Foxton. I first tried Thriplow Meadow and found over a hundred spikes of Southern Marsh Orchid and a single Common Spotted Orchid.

I then tried Shepreth L-moor and was amazed to find well over a thousand spikes of Common Twayblade as well as three Common Spotted Orchids.

Polecats

Several good sightings this afternoon, without doing any birding:
A Weasel ran across the road just west of Foxton on my way to collect Tom to take him to College Lake, just outside Tring. On the drive to Tring we saw at least one Red Kite (just north of Stevenage over the A1), and another was probably seen earlier over Therfield Heath, as well as the usual Buzzards.

At College Lake, we eventually (after a couple of brief glimpses in two hours) saw three of the Polecats there, shortly before the hide was due to shut. On our return, we did a quick check for Quail around the Kelshall area, but the wind was quite strong and so soon gave up, hearing a Grey Partridge and seeing two of the Black Rabbits there.

Garden

Family parties of both Blue Tits and Long-tailed Tits were very active in the garden tonight. The Long-tailed Tits are being fed by the parents, the Blue Tits a bit more independent. A House Sparrow was picking straw from the thatch.

Cambridge Botanic Gardens

Much the same as yesterday but with the addition of a Hairy Dragonfly. Only one Painted Lady today.

Cambridge Botanic Gardens

During a half hour walk around the Cambridge Botanic Gardens on another very hot day:
Common Damselfly (presumed) x c.40
Large Red Damselfly x c.20
Broad-bodied Chaser
Red-eyed Damselfly
Large White – several.
Small / Green-veined White – several.
Painted Lady x 3
At home, a Common Toad was found in the garden.