1st July.
Hot weather, although thundery, made a good start for the month in that it brought out the butterflies in the sunshine: Red Admirals, Large Whites, Small Tortoiseshells, Large Skippers and Peacocks could all be seen.
LOGBOOK SIGHTINGS.
S.P x 2 - Pair of Sedge Warblers, Stonechat, Buzzard, Blackbird, Great Tit and Blue Tit.
2nd July
Overcast but still warm rained on and off during the day which cooled things off a bit. A Grey Squirrel was spotted taking nuts from a feeder in the hamlet. 2 young Bullfinches also put in an appearance chasing after the male. Mike Porter recorded seeing a Speckled Wood on Bowness Common.
LOGBOOK SIGHTINGS
HKM - survey results: Butterflies - Small Heath, Small Tortoiseshell, Meadow Browns, Ringlet, Large Skipper, Green-veined White, Red Admiral.
Damselflies - , Blue-Tailed, Large Red, Azure,Emerald, Blue and Common Blue.
Dragonflies - Four Spotted Chaser.
Moth - Silver Y.
Grey Squirrel in the hamlet.
Young Great Spotted Woodpecker waiting in anticipation. This is the practice trunk where the adult mashes up peanuts and then hides them in holes for the youngster to find.
Young Bullfinch - nervously peering out at the world.
3rd July.
A hot humid day. On a trip to Kirkbride we noted dozens of Gulls spiralling upwards on a thermal and then being joined by a Buzzard.
On our return we went for a walk down the Lonning. The Ox-eye Daisies and Meadow Crane's-bill along the bank of the car park were looking particularly splendid - the latter proving to be attractive to a number of butterflies. Over the bank we could see Stephen working away with his tractor in the Discovery field.
Generally, a good range of butterflies were flying both here and on the Lonning: Red Admirals, Large Skippers, Green-veined Whites, a Small Copper, Meadow Browns, Small Tortoiseshells.
We bumped into Norman on our travels. As he was coming back along the marsh road, he said that a weasel had run across from the hamlet to the marsh, in front of him.
LOGBOOK SIGHTINGS:
DH - Male Bullfinch on the bird feeders and a Juvenile Great Spotted Woodpecker on the dead Willow.
Ox-eye Daisies and Meadow Crane's-bill on car park bank.
Male Bullfinch in trees next to the car park.
Stephen keeping the Discovery field up to scratch.
Large Skippers on Lonning vegetation.
Small Tortoiseshell butterfly there also.
Flowering Sea Pinks still carpeting the saltmarsh.
Foxgloves and wild roses along the marsh edge.
A wonderful array of flowers and grasses that have regenerated on the top of the marsh, after gorse coppicing last year.
Small Tortoiseshell Butterfly in this area.
Red Admiral, too.
Look alike juveniles (at a glance): Bullfinch and Chaffinch.
4th July
A cooler day after thunderstorms and heavy rain overnight. A 9.3m high tide was running at 2.30pm - about 40 Black-headed Gulls collected on the tide edge at Scargavel Point with a small flock of geese(no ID) flying west behind them. Intermittently small parties of Oystercatchers would fly by also. Large Skippers and Meadow Browns could be seen on the grassy edge of the marsh amongst the vegetation there.
At 7.30pm two Tawny Owls were seen in the hamlet orchard.
Peter and Brian (Volunteers on duty): From Hide - Buzzard, Swallow, Swifts, Meadow Pipit, Skylark.
On Feeders - Bullfinch, Greenfinch, Tree Sparrows, House Sparrow, Goldfinch, Chaffinch, Collared Dove, Jackdaws.
On Lonning - Whitethroat, Willow Warbler, Robin, Wren.
Black-headed Gulls at high tide.
Oystercatchers flying by.
Male Large Skipper on Marsh Thistle.
Tawny Owl - no. 1
Tawny Owl - No. 2
5th July.
Light cloud but warm. At 9.30 am saw Tawny Owl perched in a damson tree on the orchard edge. Was watching for any movement from the field drain below. It was back on its usual perch after gap of a few days.
At 11.30 am we went for a walk down the Lonning. As we were nearing the Wetlands Centre a Grey Squirrel ran across the track in front of us and disappeared into the mature trees round the car park. By the time we reached the Centre the volunteers on duty had already had a good sighting of it. Bullfinches were in evidence on the feeders there too.
A trip down the Lonning revealed, Red Admirals, Green-veined Whites, large Whites, a Willow Warbler near the first screen, Azure and Emerald damselflies; Ringlet, Small Tortoiseshell, Red Admiral and Meadow Brown butterflies and a Banded Demoiselle Damselfly, which flew quickly along in front of the hide. A good number of Swallows were hawking low over the pool in front and Meadow Pipits were flying high.
John spotted a large flock of Lapwings flying on the Marsh edge as the tide came in a 3.10pm
A male Roe Deer on the Lonning - a recent encounter . Photo kindly sent by John Howard.