This week I visited North Warren for the first time since the winter. It’s incredible how different one place can be at two different seasons. Gone are the vast flocks of ducks, geese and wading birds on the winter floods. In their place, long swards of grass grazed by a few cattle. Soon the wardens’ tractors will be out on the marshes topping the grass ready for the geese to return.
In summer, the star attractions at North Warren are insects and flowers, though there are still a few birds around. On Thursday we saw little egrets on the pools, marsh harriers and hobbies over the reedbed, three migrant green sandpipers flushed from one pool, and a yellowhammer on the heath. Good numbers of whitethroats remained, and both reed and garden warblers were in song.
As the weather was dull and dreary, insects were less obvious that usual, but we were rewarded with excellent views of newly emerged graylings, a few small and large skippers and excellent numbers of gatekeepers and red admirals. On a small pool close to the railway line we watched emerald, blue-tailed and common blue damselflies and ruddy darters, while the grassy areas were alive with grasshoppers and crickets.
Large skipper (top) and grayling butterflies by Ian Barthorpe
The best of the flowers are along the coastal strip. The sea pea and sea kale have finished flowering, but yellow horned-poppy, sea campion, sea bindweed and restharrow were all still in flower. Carpets of yellow revealed how common lady’s bedstraw is. Taller flowers on the richer soils included viper’s bugloss, dittander, shrubby cinquefoil and fennel, all attracting butterflies, hoverflies and beetles.
So, if you enjoy a relaxing walk full of a wide variety of nature, especially some of it smaller beauties, then North Warren is just the place for you.