Wildlife sightings - June

I thought we better start a fresh sightings thread for the summer, now the original one has got rather long!

Please share your wildlife encounters at Fen Drayton Lakes, common or rare - not only is it nice to share, it helps fellow visitors know what to look out for and helps us keep a record of the wildlife here from month to month.

To start us off, here are some highlights from the weekend 1-2 June.

On the Moore Lake islands, which you can see from the hide, there are avocets, oystercatchers and redshanks with chicks. The avocets are up to at least 10 chicks - see the blog for a photo!

Other birds around the reserve: red kite, marsh harrier, hobby, buzzard, sparrowhawk, kestrel, kingfisher, swift, swallow, house martin, common tern, skylark, cuckoo, jay, lapwing, common sandpiper, blackcap, little egret, garden warbler, sedge warbler, reed warbler, willow warbler, Cetti's warbler, whitethroat...

Butterflies: orange tip, brimstone, small tortoiseshell, peacock, small white

Dragonflies and damselflies: common blue damselfly, variable damselfly, azure damselfly, hairy dragonfly, red-eyed damselfly, banded demoiselle

Mammals: hare, rabbit, grey squirrel and fox