I visited the site this morning with a friend on a hot sunny day. Walking along the eastern public footpath there were several common toad toadlets crossing the path so great care had to be taken. There was an impressive display of flowering bird's-foot-trefoil and ox-eye daisy next to the footpath, which had attracted many meadow brown and ringlet butterflies. Birds still singing from the hedges, scrub and reeds were lesser whitethroat, yellowhammer, willow, sedge and reed warblers, and reed bunting. Two family parties of shelduck were on the largest silt lagoon - one pair with three large young and another pair with just a single duckling. Throughout the morning the marsh harriers were seen flying over the reedbed. A barn owl was out hunting in the daytime, a hobby flew over and a kingfisher dashed over the reedbed. Waders seen were many lapwings, a ringed plover, three little ringed plovers, a redshank, two oystercatchers and three green sandpipers. The highlight for me was seeing a female gadwall with nine ducklings - good to confirm the species breeding on site. Dragonflies were enjoying the sunshine and species seen were black-tailed skimmer, emperor, brown hawker and common darter. Other butterflies seen were common blue, large skipper and brimstone.
We walked back the long way, seeing some southern marsh orchids, to get back in time for the England match - the less said about that the better.