GUEST BLOGGER: Aggie Rothon, RSPB Communications Officer
Phew, it’s hot today! So hot that at eight o’ clock this morning my little dog Lily had already decided she wasn’t going to move an inch. She plonked herself under the garden table, tongue lolling and stayed there until I waved her goodbye half an hour later. But unlike Lily I haven’t been in the mood for staying still today because I’ve been working at Strumpshaw. Not getting the chance to enjoy our reserves all that often, I definitely didn’t want to miss this infrequent opportunity to see the sights of the reserve, heat or no heat. Even though lunchtime fell at the hottest part of the day and the leaves outside the window looked like hot green wax melting from the ends of the branches, I donned my shorts and took a stroll around the reserve.
I’m so glad that I did! The wildflower meadows are being mown at the moment to make way for a new crop of plants next year, but I was blown away by the abundance of colour blooming in the reedbeds. The sweet peas in my garden didn’t survive the cold start to spring we had this year but the reserve’s marsh peas were in full bloom, their pastel curls of flower peering prettily from amongst the green reeds. Purple tufted vetch shone luminous, its fine green leaves curling delicately beneath its flowers whilst the frothy heads of hemp agrimony showed the first hints of a pink blush.
The sun had brought the butterflies out to play as well and the footpaths were ablaze with the reds, umbers and oranges of tortoiseshell, peacocks and gatekeepers. Fluorescent streaks of common blue damselflies flitted up and down the dykes and the amber bodies of dragonflies hummed past. Then – hooray! – a swallowtail butterfly winged it’s way past, high over the thistles lining the riverbank. I ran clumsily after it, the uneven bank and my unsuitable flip-flops rendering me rather inelegant, and found it settled on a wilting nettle. The butterfly's primrose back looked like it had been inked with the black flourishes of a calligraphy pen and the orange-red spots on the outermost tips of its quivering wings blazed.
I was pretty flushed by the time I returned to the reserve office and could feel the afterglow of the sun on my skin but the wildlife I saw was more than worth a bit of perspiration. I wonder what the weather will be like on my next visit to the reserve and what wildlife will be out enjoying it?