....it doesn't seem like a month since I was out on site conducting June's WeBS (Wetland Bird Survey), but today was time for July's count. July is always one of the quieter months for WeBS, but at this time of year there is always the chance of someting good dropping in. Here are the results of this morning's count....
13 mute swan
25 canada goose
88 tufted duck
42 mallard
3 gadwall
1 pochard
15 great crested grebe (a large count for Langford)
1 little grebe
93 coot
2 moorhen
6 grey heron
2 little egret
2 cormorant
1 kingfisher
5 lapwing (a low count considering we have been counting up to 200 in the past week or so)
2 common tern
2 black-headed gull
1 common gull
1 lesser black-backed gull
and the bird of the day - a yellow-legged gull
Also on site this morning was a stunning hobby hunting over Phase 2, my first purple hairstreak and essex skipper butterflies of the year and the first six-spot burnet moth of 2012, nectaring on creeping thistle on grassland by silt lagoon 6.