I was out and about early on the reserve on Saturday morning getting a walk in before the rain came down. There might have been no exciting, rare birds but there was still plenty to see.
There were baby birds all over the place: great tits, long tailed tits, coot, moorhen, black headed gulls and Canada geese, to name but a few.
There were also lots of the blue damselflies and banded demoiselles along with lots of chimney sweeper moths and I saw this small magpie moth enjoying a brief respite from the rain.
Small magpie moth by Pam Dalley
Chimney sweeper moth by Kate Thorpe
The wildflowers are looking good albeit some of them getting well and truly battered by some of the torrential downpours; the cow parsley has been particularly battered.
Viper’s-bugloss by Pam Dall
The bee orchids in Villa Wood haven’t fared as well as we’d hoped; the slugs and snails have been happily feeding on the lovely tender shoots. They have left one to flower right in front of the gate by the entrance into the wood.
Bee orchid by Pam Dalley
It might be wet but it's still enjoyable.