The orchids are at last beginning to come out. On the Causeway there is a Pyramidal Orchid and there are lots of Bee Orchids out now. The Spotted Orchids are still taking their time and the Marsh Orchids are near to finishing. PS.
This afternoon at about 13.30 an Osprey circled as it investigated the Slurry Lagoon. It then thought better of it and flew off to the north. RW.
On the Orchid Walk today the Common Spotted Orchids were still not in flower. Several Southern Marsh Orchids were found however, and lots of hybrid Spotted/Marsh. On the Deep Pit bank opposite the Junction Box there were several Bee Orchids and plenty of Common Blue butterflies. A Large Skipper was seen and a Painted Lady dashed through. PS.
Today a Grasshopper Warbler was reeling near the Small Gravel Pit. A Hobby and Cuckoo were also seen. Near the Small Gravel Pit were also seen two Broad-bodied Chasers and two Large Red Damselflies. RW.
This morning a freshly emerged male Hairy Dragonfly was found on the sunny side of the Boundary Hedge, still holding its wings along its back. PS.
Today was Patchwatch Day and so, of course, it rained all morning. In the late morning a Tawny Owl was seen in the Deep Pit and a Hobby flew along the railway lines. A final total of sixty-three species was seen. PS.
Late this morning a Red Kite flew over the Slurry Lagoon. There was a Cuckoo on the posts around the Deep Pit and two or three Swifts were seen in the afternoon and a Little Ringed Plover was on the Wader Scrape. PS.
A Drake Garganey was found on the Deep Pit in the early afternoon and has since relocated to the Slurry Lagoon. RW.
This afternoon a Peregrine flew over the Slurry Lagoon and later a Little Gull flew through. The Little Gull was an immature and had lost most of its left wing-tip but, never the less, seemed well able to catch a thermal and rise high above the site before heading off east. PS.
This morning a superb adult male Marsh Harrier flew through, over the Slurry Lagoon, towards the NE. Lots more warblers were in, including two Garden Warblers, and a male Wheatear was on the Wader Scrape. PS.