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.