30th July - cloudy am, sunny spells later, light - fresh SW, 22C

Stanford Reservoir; this afternoon there was a Common Sandpiper near the dam, 2+ Yellow Wagtails too. 10. Common Terns, so some movement through the area, like the colour ringed one I had last week, southward movements are underway now.  Otherwise fairly quiet here at the moment.

29th July - showers, blusterly 20mph at times, southerly, 21C

Cotesback Landfill; a quick look in the sand pit area produced 2 Green and 3 Common Sandpipers.

Brandon Marsh; after lunch a walk here although breezy it brightened a little.  4 Little ringed Plover adults and the 2 chicks still.  A Common Tern pair have 2 half grown chicks too. Only a few Lapwing and a single Common Sandpiper.  Ducks included a brood of Tufted and Gadwall, about 25 Teal were present too.  A couple of Grey Heron were fishing, I noticed lots of Toadlets today on the path, many destined to be a meal for something.

A Juv Great spotted Woodpecker and Marsh Tit were of note on the feeders.  A few Sand Martin and Swallows were feeding in the area.

28th July - blusterly SW at times, 20C, occasional short shower

Heat wave taking a break this weekend as 2 lows move over from the Atlantic.

While visiting Whitacres and Shustoke show a Peregrine flew low over the car park with prey, I think a Swallow, several were around the area feeding.

Cotesbach Landfill; a check here mid-afternoon produced 4 Green and 5 Common Sandpipers.

Stanford Reservoir; not ideal conditions, 2 Common Sandpipers, several Yellow, Pied and Grey Wagtails on the dam.  Sand and House Martins overhead.

27 July - sunny spells, 30C, light southerly

Cotesbach landfill; only 1 Green Sandpiper on show this morning in the sand pit area.

Stanford Reservoir;  A Great-Crested Grebe pair had 2 youngster with them today, first this year. Also, at last a Tufted Duck brood of 6 ducklings.

On the dam were 6 Common Sandpiper and at least 4 Yellow Wagtails, plus Grey and Pied Wagtails.

Also there were 6 Common Terns, one was coloured ringed - lime U70 - which was ringed at Watermead CP (just north Leicester) on 1/7/2106.  Then seen at Cropston Reservoir during July and August that year. Next seen at Seaforth NR, Merseyside on 18/6/18 then seen today here.  Clearly travelling around the UK a bit.

26th July - HOTTEST day, 32C, broken cloud, southerly light, fresher pm

The hot dry summer continues, nothing like it since 1976.
Still 27C at 2100h this evening

Pitsford Reservoir; an evening walk at the reserve to Scaldwell Bay. About 50 Lapwing resting on the causeway side. A couple of Little Egret and the expected duck, including 9 Red-Crested Pochard.  A Red Kite flew over.  Otherwise the usual species were seen, unfortunately no shore available yet as the water level is still quite high, so migrating waders will not have any suitable habitat yet.

25th July - sunny periods, hot, 27C, light w/NW

Cotesbach Landfill; there was 4+ Purple Hairstreak butterflies along the spinney edge this morning.

Nothing unusual in the birds, Red Kites were just starting to build in numbers with 4 present when I left.  I also noticed several Sand Martins that appeared to be attending nests in a new area, this is good news given the down pour that washed many away at the end of May.

Willey; a juv  and adult Green Woodpecker were disturbed from the church path just after lunch.

Theddingworth; a look for Dragonflies at a lake here this afternoon produced a single Emperor, a Ruddy Darter, Common and Blue -tailed Damselflies.  Often there is more here, maybe just too hot.

24th July - sunny periods, 27C, light NW

Brandon Marsh; a look here in the evening as more pleasant temperature.  I spotted 2 Little-ringed Plover chicks with an adult nearby.  When the adults called alarm the chicks ran into cover, but soon returned to the shore. At least 4 other adult birds were around the east marsh area.

The only other waders were Lapwings and a single Oystercatcher over.  A brood of Tufted Duck and a Mallard brood too, only a couple of Teal were the duck species present.  A Little Egret and 2 Grey Herons we’re feeding, several Common Tern were still present.  A Kingfisher was watched for a while catching fish.

4 Swift flew over, several Swallows, but only 2 Sand Martins were seen.  Great spotted and Green Woodpeckers were around as was a Nuthatch. 3 Jays were noisy.  A female Sparrowhawk dashed low over the marsh.  11 Linnet, 4 Starling and 2 Goldfinch were in the ‘dead’ marsh tree tops.

With other usual species seen a pleasant evening.

23rd July - sunny and hot, 28C, light WNW

Another sweltering day - the countryside needs a good watering to bring it back to life!

Stanford Reservoir; the highlights here this evening were a Common Sandpiper and Hobby.

Cotesbach Landfill; late evening and a Black-tailed Godwit was still feeding in the sandpit area (seen this morning be Carl), also 2 Green Sandpiper.

22nd July - cloudy untill late afternoon, then sunny, hot 26C, light NW

Willey; this morning first thing there were 12 Mistle Thrushes feeding on the 'brown' pasture to the west and a further 3 feeding in a field to the east, a total of 15 is a good number,

Rutland water; a strange cloudy morning seemed to have resulted in not a lot happening locally so after lunch I decided to visit Rutland Water - Egleton reserve.  The hoped target bird of a Glossy Ibis was showing well on Lagoon III.  This seemed to be the area were most bird activity was occurring with Green (4) and 1 Common Sandpiper, 2 Ruff, several Snipe and Lapwing.  Many Gadwall were present, along with Tufted and Mallard a single Pochard, several Egyptian Geese and numerous Grey Lag and Canada Geese,  A couple of Red Kite were flying around and a single Osprey flew past.

While there news came of a juvenile Purple Heron near the Fish ponds in the north arm, just round the corner from me, so I went to see it.  It was catching small fish on the far side next to a Willow tree, also a Lamb was busy feeding on the Willow leaves whilst standing in the water.

21st July - sunny periods, 27C, hot, cloudier later, light NW

WWT Welney Washes;
Having attended a vintage sale in Cambridgeshire I had time to visit the WWT Welney washes reserve.  Well worth a visit any time of year, but the excessive heat made it pretty uncomfortable.

On the pools were Avocet with fledglings, Black-tailed Godwits, Ruff, Redshank, several Snipe around the edges, a Greenshank and Lapwings.  Several Whopper Swan were present, along with Teal, Shoveler, Pintail and a Gadwall.  At least 6 Little Egret and a Grey Heron too.  Marsh Harriers were showing well, often chasing a Buzzard off.

A good number of Swallows and House Martins were feeding in the area, the Martins have nests.  Whitethroat, Blackcap Reed and Sedge Warblers were singing still.  Many Black-headed Gull young and juveniles were on the pools near the centre.

Butterflies, including quite a few Red Admirals were on the wing, as were Dragonflies.  All very active and difficult to see for long.

20th July - 25C, hot, light NW, becoming cloudy, very light short rain in evening

The little evening rain did nothing and was soon gone -  with the forecast indicating it is becoming hotter in the next few days.

Misterton; a look around the church and lake area produced the usual woodland birds, Nuthatch, Great-spotted Woodpecker, a range of Tits and Treecreeper.

19th July - high cloud, suny spells, hot, 26C, humid, very light breeze

Willey; about 1600h 2 Raven flew towards the Sheep fields, calling a lot.

Cotesbach landfill; in the quarry area early afternoon a Common and Green Sandpiper, 6 Red Kite.  In the evening a juvenile Little-ringed Plover.

Stanford reservoir; early evening a single juvenile Little-ringed Plover again on the dam, at least 12 Grey Wagtails and a few Pied Wagtails on the grassy side - probably 2-3 families of the former species.  Generally otherwise quite, a Hare was cleaning itself on the track. A Buzzard was on the shore line, walking after food, probably insects.

18th July- sunny intervals, very warm, 24C, light SW

Cotesbach landfill;  this evening there was a Common and Green Sandpiper present and 4 Lapwings in the quarried area pools. A good number of Gulls were still present so Carl was able to read more colour rings and counted at least 20 Yellow-legged Gulls.

17th July - sunny spells, very warm at times, 24C, light SW

Stanford Reservoir; this evening it was fairly quite. A Common Sandpiper was on the dam, A’s was an adult Green Woodpecker Keri feeding a juvenile, a Great spotted Woodpecker was nearby.  The 2 Tern chicks seem to be growing well, 4 Common Tern were present.
A Lesser Whitethroat, Chiffchaff and Black cap were associating with a mixed Tit flock.
A Common Blue butterfly, plus other usual species were seen.

16th July - sunny spells, hot, 28C, light SW

Brandon marsh; news came at lunch time that a Pectorial Sandpiper was present, so I decided to go and look.  It was showing well, an adult, well marked.  I had seen one here before a couple of years ago.
Also present were 6 Little -ringed Plovers, 3 were juveniles, probably passing through.  2 Green Sandpipers, and Lapwings.

16th July - sunny, hot, 28C, light SW

A scorcher again, no rain for at least 6 weeks now.

Stanford reservoir; a walk here late afternoon in the shade.  highlight was a juv Little ringed Plover on the dam. 2 Common Sandpiper were on the outflow wall, with 6+ Grey Wagtails and several Pied feeding in the spillway.  4 Common Tern present, still on the raft.  2+ Treecreepers, 8+ Long-tailed Tits, mostly juveniles, with the usual Warblers still.
Common butterflies including several Peacock, Small Tortoiseshell and Comma.

14th July - mostly sunny, hot, 27C, light SW

Cotesbach;  I popped to see the Small Red-eyed Damelsfly that Carl had found at a pool.  There were 20+ plus of these scarce but spreading Damelsfly.  Other Damselfly and Dragonfly were present too.

13th July - sunny spell, hot, 25C, light SE

Willey;  this morning 2 Mistle Thrushes and c20 Starlings were feeding on the Sheep pasture, to the west and a Green Woodpecker was vocal.
Three Grey Heron were over the village, 2 chasing one of them and vocal.

Cotesbach Landfill; a quick look here about 1000h, 15 Red Kite were counted.

12th July - more cloud, early shower Llangollen

Llangollen; up very early to check River Dee, fortunately a single Dipper was feeding.

South Stack RSPB; next stop was here to see the sea birds, stopping at Holyhead harbour to see Black Guillemot -  it was cloudy and with some sea mist blowing in, clearing as the morning progressed.
Only a single Black Guillemot was seen, it appeared to be sitting on a nest in the harbour wall.

At South Stack the sea birds were busy with their young, Guillemots, Razorbills and a few Kittiwake  and Puffin.  Fascinating to watch them, not very elegant when landing on the sea.

Off shore a few Gannet and Manx Shearwater passed by, sometimes quite close.

It was good to see a pair of Chough with a 'begging' juvenile, often feeding it.

Other birds seen included a Wheatear, Meadow and Rock Pipits, at least 3 families of Stonechat and several Linnet families.

11th July - sunny, 24C, light NE

After lunch I headed of to Llangollen in Wales, en route I dropped in at Chelmarsh reservoir (Shrops) where a Little Bittern has been showing well for a few days, and was reported this morning.  Well, after a considerable while there it had not showed, in fact no-one had seen it again, so a miss here today.  A Kingfisher provided a splash of colour.

Llangollen; mid-evening I checked the river for Dipper, none seen.  However, there was 12 Mandarin Duck, including a female with 3 well grown duckling.

10th July - sunny, fresher am, 23C, light NE

Willey;  a Male Kestrel flew over the village early pm.

Last night a large moth flew in to the house and promptly disappeared.  Today I found it, I think a Lesser Elephant Hawk moth, I released it, hoping it survives.

Shearsby; went to look at a wild flower Meadow this evening, unfortunately the hot weather meant it was past it’s best.  Still nice to see one.  A Magpie moth was in the wood pile making its way through the heap.  Also, the Spotted Flycatchers were still in territory, which I reported a few weeks ago here.

9th July - sunny, not, 26C, cloudier pm, light NE

Willey; a busy day so few obs.  However, a Red-legged Partridge strutted up the drive and passed me, as if I was nor there!

8th July - sunny, hot, 28C, light northerly

Cotesbach Landfill; this morning 2 Oystercatchers and a Redshank were feeding at the pools. A Common Darter posed nicely and a (Black-tailed?) Dragonfly.  3 Red Kites too.

Shawell Lagoons; a quick look here produced a Green Woodpecker feeding on the banks and at last a Tufted Duck brood of 6 ducklings.

Stanford reservoir;  a steady stroll here after lunch hoping for butterflies.  Good number of the common ones, the Gatekeeper is now becoming numerous, also Comma, Small Tortoiseshell and Red Admiral.

The main news is that the single Common Tern pair that nested on the new raft (see earlier posts about installing them) now have two chicks.  There are hiding under one of the pipes but their for their use and are being fed small fry.
A Red Kite and Kestrel were about, then an Osprey flew in for a short while.

All the usual Warblers were seen/heard, Great-spotted Woodpecker, Goldfinch, Linnet, Bullfinch and Chaffinch.  On the dam/outflow a good number of Grey and Pied Wagtails were present.
Mute Swans numbered 49, c40 Tufted Duck, 3 Teal and a single female Shoveler.  Still young ducklings enjoying themselves.

7th July - sunny, hot, 28C, verry light NW

Phew, another scorcher - more to come!

Cotesbach landfill; this morning a quick look here while passing, Carl had already checked for waders and Gulls and nothing unusual was about, so I got on with my tasks.  A little later Carl text to say he had seen a Purple Hairstreak Butterfly along the wood-side, so I went back as soon as I could.  After a while we spotted them, 2, and managed to get some photos. Unfortunately never with their wings fully open to show off the magnificent purple colours.

Two Spotted Flycatchers were also present and a colourful Cinnabar moth.  At least 13 Red Kites were present.

6th July - sunny, hot , 29C, light NW

Willey; heard a Raven calling mid-day towards the Moors lane.

Misterton; a check here produced 2 Spotted Flycatchers, the usual mix of Tits, Goldcrest and Blackcap.

5th July- sunny and hot, 32C, light NE

Cotesbach landfill - a look this morning was worthwhile as a Grey Plover (moulting adult) and Redshank was present in the quarry area.  A couple of Red Kites only.  Grey Plover this time of the year here are exceptional.

Re-visited in the evening, Grey Plover and Redshank still present.  Good to see the Lapwing chick still surviving and now approaching juvenile stage.  At 2020h 2 Black-tailed Godwits flew over, picked up by Carl, heading about eastward.


Managed some record shots of the Grey Plover.

Orton on the Hill; looked at an area here after lunch, there were at least 3 pairs of Yellow Wagtails in a large wheat field.

4th July - sunny, hot, 26C, light ENE

No obs today

3rd July - sunny and hot, 25C, steady ENE breeze

The countryside is now bringing to show signs of drought with the grass fading quickly to a brown, some trees shedding leaves, with practically no rain in June and the hot dry weather forecast for a while yet we may see a significant effect on wildlife.

Willey; the Red-legged Partridge pair were walking up the driveway mis- morning.

Stanford Reservoir; my first Painted Lady for the site this year.  Plenty of other common hedge/grassland butterflies.

2 Garden Warblers, Blackcap and Whitethroat were singing still.  A Common Sandpiper was on the dam, along with a number of Pied and Grey Wagtails. A couple of Swift flew over and a Red Kite was Cirling over high. A Kingfisher zipped past me as I stood watching a female Gadwall with 10 ducklings.

2nd July - sunny hot, 28C, freshening NE breeze/windf

Cotesbach Landfill; 7 Red Kite seen, probably others resting on the ground this pm.

Shawell lagoons; this evening, 3 Green Sandpipers, 6 Lapwing, a Grey Heron, a single Teal, Mallards and young, 22 Tufted Duck (still no broods), Lesser black-backed and Black-headed Gulls.

1st July 2018 - sunny and hot, 29C, light NE

Stsnford Reservoir; here in the afternoon hoping for Dragonflies and Butterflies.  In fact Dragonflies seems practically absent - odd!  There were good numbers of Large, Small and Green-veined Whites, Ringlets and Meadow Brown. A few Speckled Wood and Large Skipper, a single Essex Skipper and Small Tortoiseshell.
Birds included 5 Common Tern, including the one incubating, 2 Little Grebe and the usual Great-Crested Grebes. 6 Gadwall were nice - moulting now, as are the Tufted and Mallard.  There was one new brood of 7 Mallard ducklings and a Mute Swan pair have 4 cynetes on the water now.
Warblers included Reed, Sedge, Garden, Blackcap, Whitethroat and Chiffchaff. Reed Buntings are still singing, Goldfinch, Linnet and Chaffinch were around too.
A Muntjac almost walked strait into me as I stood on the path listening, it soon disappeared in to cover.

 Essex Skipper - note black tips to antennae

Small Tortoiseshell

30th June - sunny and hot, 28C, light easterly

Badby Woods; I was planning a visit to a woodland for butterflies, then earlier this week a Firecrest was reported here,. I’ve never been here so I thought it was a good idea.  On arrival within 10 minutes of entering the wood I could here the Firecrest and soon had views, there was another crest nearby too, but I could not see it well to confirm its identity, probably a Goldcrest though.  The usual woodland species were soon found, including families each of of Marsh and Coal Tits.
There were a good mumber of butterflies active, n fact too active making it difficult to see them well. At least 1 silver-winged Fritilliary though, and these - I think Beautiful Demoiselle - female and male, although usually near waterways they do occur in woodland too.

Brandon Marsh; I visited here in the evening, plenty of Black-tailed Skimmers about.  Birds included 5 Little-ringed Plover, Redshank, Lapwing and Oystercatchers. 3broods of Tufted Duck, 1, 5 and 7 ducklings respectively.  A selection of other residents/summer migrants, but I think most were still sheltering from the heat.