I had a walk around Langford Lowfields in the glorious sunshine this morning, Saturday 22nd May. Lots of birds in song, including 10 species of warblers - Cetti's warbler, grasshopper warbler, reed warbler and sedge warbler in the reedbed and wetland areas, and blackcap, garden warbler, whitethroat, lesser whitethroat, chiffchaff and willow warbler in the woodland, hedgerows and scrub. Over the reedbed there was a soaring male marsh harrier, a hunting hobby and two male kestrels; two male cuckoos were calling and one flew over the reedbed. A family party of long-tailed tits were noisy as they moved through the thick hedgerow beside the eastern public footpath, the youngsters with their attractive chocolate brown heads.
The sunshine brought out the butterflies and several male orange tips werew flying beside the eastern public footpath. Elsewhere on site there were a few male common blues around patches of bird's-foot-trefoil in flower, a smart small copper, two early meadow browns and a wall brown, which was good to see as this species has become scarcer in recent years. Large, small and green-veinbed whites were over grassland areas and speckled wood, holly blue and brimstone were flying along the hedgerows with a single peacock.
I saw my first four-spotted chaser dragonflies of the year and several common blue damselflies. Three brown hares were out on the reserve.
Plants in flower by the eastern public footpath included patches of meadow buttercup with creeping buttercup in damp areas. Common vetch and hairy tare, both members of the pea family can be found in the hedge base. Ox-eye daisies are just coming into flower.
Carl