Mid summer can be a quiet time at Beckingham Marshes and certainly is from a bird point of view. However, looking and listening a little bit harder can still prove fruitful.
I was very pleased to see two little egrets on the second pool along the visitor trail yesterday morning and heard peregrine falcons calling from the pylons, whilst hay-raking by the trail entrance with our volunteers. The ever-present tree sparrows are having a very productive year and their chirps can be heard all along the hedgerow that runs along the trail.
Despite the heavy showers we've recently experienced, the ditches and scrapes are naturally drying out, as is to be expected at this time of year (not counting last year, of course!). Despite this, damselflies and dragonflies can be numerous on a sunny day. Look out for emperor dragonfly, black-tailed skimmer and common and ruddy darters.
Butterflies have also been quite abundant after the dearth during the cold, damp spring. They can be seen 'nectaring' on thistle and other flowers and species seen this year so far have included gatekeeper, ringlet, meadow brown, green-veined white, red admiral, peacock, small tortoiseshell and small and large skippers.
Happy hunting!
A gatekeeper butterfly