Elegant Tern twitch: 14 June

I'm not one for twitching in general, but today I decided to twitch the Elegant Tern that has taken up residence in the tern colony in Pagham Harhour. I arrived at Church Norton to learn that the bird had flown out to sea, but after what seemed like an age scanning the terns on Tern Island I caught a glimpse of it dropping down into the colony. About an hour later it eventually showed very well, though distantly, on and off throughout the afternoon in flight over Tern Island as well as resting on the mudflats and bathing late afternoon.

A large tern, larger than Sandwich Tern and about twice the size of Common Tern, with a long pale orange decurved bill merging into yellowish at the tip, black cap and shaggy crest, black legs with 1 white or pale ring on lower right leg and a pale (but slightly darker) ring on the left leg (the rings were clearly visible even when the bird was in flight). In flight, the blackish wedge on the primaries, medium length forked tail and white rump were noted and at one point the bird seemed to be displaying in flight - holding its wings in a shallow 'V'. The bird was also seen on a few occasions on Tern Island (though very obscured) and seemed to be calling.

Also seen in Pagham Harbour: many Little Tern, Sandwich Tern and Common Tern around Tern Island, 20+ (17+ ad., 2 1st-S, 1+ 2nd-S) Mediterranean Gull on Tern Island (though many more were probably present), 4 Red Knot (including 1 in full red summer plumage), 1 Grey Plover (ad. summer), 1 Ruddy Turnstone, 1 prob Bar-tailed Godwit (distant in heat haze), 2 Peregrine (on island NW of Tern Island), 1 Great Crested Grebe, 3+ Little Egret, 1 Barn Swallow, 2 Grey Heron, 3 Shelduck, 1 ad Great Black-backed Gull, lots of Black-headed Gulls (many with chicks on Tern Island), and 1 ad. Herring Gull.

Checked out the shingle at Church Norton that seemed much more vegetated than it did when I first came here as a kid, and was covered with flowering Yellow Horned-poppy Glaucium flavum, Sea kale Crambe maritima, Wood Sage Teucrium scorodonia and Bittersweet (Woody Nightshade) Solanum dulcamara.

Last but not least, a Spitfire flying high overhead helped break the monotony of scanning through terns for hours on end.

Thursley Common NNR: 30 May

Met up with friends and fellow ecologists Jess Smith and Nick Archibald for a late afternoon wander around Thursley Common. A couple of hours walking around the boardwalk and Shrike Hill in heavily overcast and cool conditions produced 1 Eurasian Curlew in flight over the mire (plus others heard), a flock of 5 Woodlark (Shrike Hill), 1 Common Cuckoo, 1H Tree Pipit, 4 (2m, 2f) Common Stonechat, 1 Linnet, 1m Reed Bunting, and 3 (2m, 1f) Tufted Duck (mire).

Found some Round-leaved Sundew Drosera rotundifolia and lots of Bogbean Menyanthes trifoliata in flower at the mire, along with a superb fresh Four-spotted Chaser Libellula quadrimaculata. Jess had her trusty bat detector with her (Jess doesn't leave home without it nowadays!) and managed to find us 4-5 Soprano Pipistrelles Pipistrellus pygmaeus and a couple of Common Pipistrelles Pipistrellus pipistrellus around the Moat Pond and the west end of the boardwalk. A juvenile Common Starling seen by torch light roosting beside the boardwalk was also noted. A really pleasant few hours in great company.

Four-spotted Chaser Libellula quadrimaculata, Thursley Common NNR, 30 May 2016 (taken with Samsung Note 4, uncropped)

Round-leaved Sundew Drosera rotundifolia, mire, Thursley Common NNR, 30 May 2016 (taken with Samsung Note 4)

Weather: Heavily overcast (8 oktas), windy and cool.

Autumn Ladies-tresses on Epsom Downs: 9 September

A tweet from Steve Gale about 2,000 spikes of Autumn Ladies-tresses Spiranthes spiralis orchids on a roadside verge just 6.5 km from my home was too much for me to ignore, so Rachel and I drove along to take look this morning. I didn't bother counting them - there was a lot, and they were an amazing sight right beside a busy road.

Autumn Ladies-tresses is distributed throughout southern England, Wales and Ireland, though is most common in the south. A species of short grass, it has declined due to loss of habitat and and is now categorised as Near-threatened in Britain.

They are the latest flowering orchid in Britain and many were starting to go over, but a few were still fresh. Many thanks to Steve for the directions.

Autumn Ladies-tresses Spiranthes spiralis orchids, Epsom Downs, 9 September 2015

Barred Warbler at Staines Moor: 2 September

What a day! After several hours thoroughly searching the patch for a Pied Flycatcher or Wryneck, it was mid afternoon before I reached the scrub in the north-west corner. Scanning from a distance, I noticed a large pale warbler crashing about in the hawthorns. Immediately an alarm went off - that really looks like a ******* Barred Warbler! But it can't be, this is Surrey! Approaching slowly, increasingly closer views eventually clinched it as Staines Moor's first Barred Warbler, and one of very few London records. A fantastic bird that showed very well eating blackberries and catching flies, and even sunbathing for about 15 minutes at close range! Many thanks to Peter Alfrey and Darryl Spittle for help with the ID and providing a much needed sanity check.

1st winter Barred Warbler, Staines Moor, 2 September 2015

1st winter Barred Warbler, Staines Moor, 2 September 2015

The bird spent a fair amount of time gorging itself on blackberries

A couple of videos - best watched in full screen with HD 1080p selected (click on the play icon and then the cog icon).



Other grounded migrants included 1m Whinchat (SE corner), 2 Northern Wheatear (east side), 1 Sedge Warbler (SE corner), 2 Common Whitethroat, 5 (2m, 3f) Blackcap, and 1 Willow Warbler and a Goldcrest in with a large Long-tailed Tit flock along the old railway. Noted overhead were 1 Grey Wagtail (over high W), 1H Yellow Wagtail, 9 Sand Martin (mainly S) and 33 Barn Swallow.

Also logged were 4 Hobby, 1 Eurasian Sparrowhawk, 2 Kestrel (including 1 catching dragonflies), 1-2 Common Buzzard, 1 Bullfinch (west side), 3 Little Egret, c300 Goldfinch (feeding on the thistles at the south end), 1 Grey Heron, 3 Reed Bunting, 40+ Eurasian Starling, and just 1 each of Skylark and Meadow Pipit. To top this lot off, 2 Barn Owl showed very well hunting over the east side at dusk.

Stanwell Moor added 2 Little Owl (first horse paddock from Stanwell Moor Village), 1 Kingfisher (over the first horse paddock), 1 Red Kite, 22 Northern Lapwing, 1 Kestrel, several Chiffchaff (H) and 1H Cetti's Warbler, and 1 Red Kite and 4 Barn Swallow were noted at Stanwell Moor village.

Other bits that made it into the notebook today were a small colony of Least (Small) Water-pepper Persicaria minor around the edge of the round pond in the NW corner (many thanks to Rob Innes for the heads-up), 1 Red Fox, 1m Banded Demoiselle, 2 Comma, 2 Speckled Wood, 1 Small Heath and a Meadow Brown on Staines Moor, and 1 Red Admiral and a Speckled Wood on Stanwell Moor.

Least (Small) Water-pepper Persicaria minor, Staines Moor, 2 September 2015

Good to see the bulrush clearance we carried out in this pond last November has paid off with a nice colony of Redshank Persicaria
maculosa growing in its place

Bat surveys and Surrey heath nature

Back at Acorn Ecology in Guildford this week and next on the second part of the work placement part of my Certificate in Ecological Consultancy course.

Had three bat dusk emergence surveys in a row since Tuesday. A hunting Common Pipistrelle Pipistrellus pipistrellus gave great views during Tuesday's survey in Caterham, but Wednesday's survey near Jacobs Well was particularly good - a Brown-long-eared Bat Plecotus auritus hovering in half-light around the willow I was surveying was a nice bonus, but after the survey Jess, Nick and I spent a magical half hour watching 1-2 Daubenton's Bats Myotis daubentonii hunting just above the surface of the River Wey, with the Duet detector switched on the whole time so we could hear what was going on (and also recording them on the Anabat Express for sonogram analysis later) and were treated to a great view of a fly-by Barn Owl by torch light.

On the mornings of the 24th and 25th I visited Thursley Common NNR and Hankley Common to look for inverts and plants before work. Highlights were an emergence of Silver-studded Blues Plebejus argus - with a single male at Thursley Common NNR on 24th and shed-loads at Hankley yesterday - most were males but I did find a single female at Hankley. Silver-studded Blue is a heathland specialist - adults feed principally on heather Erica spp. and the main larval foodplant is Bell Heather Erica cinerea. They are a UK Biodiversity Action Plan (BAP) priority species - they have a tiny distribution in Britain and are sedentary, rarely moving more than 20 metres in their life, and do not readily colonise new areas.

Other noteworthy inverts were a Silver Y Autographa gamma and lots of Red-banded Sand Wasps Ammophila sabulosa at Hankley Common on 25th. Found a nice colony of Oblong-leaved Sundew Drosera intermedia at Thursley on the 24th.

Best of the birds noted over the last few days were a Common Cuckoo was seen over the A3 in the centre of Guildford at 10:30 on 24th, 1m Stonechat at Thursley on 24th, and 2 Tree Pipit (singing and displaying), 2H Dartford Warbler, 1H Woodlark, 1H Skylark, 1m Stonechat and a family party of 1 ad and 4 juv Coal Tit at Hankley on 25th.

All photos in this post were taken with my Samsung Note 4 smartphone and have had minimal cropping, levels and sharpening applied. The quality and speed of the 16 MP rear camera on the Note 4 is, well, bonkers frankly!

Male Silver-studded Blue, Thursley Common NNR, 24 June 2015

Male Silver-studded Blue, Hankley Common, 25 June 2015 (taken with a Samsung Note 4)

Male Silver-studded Blue, Hankley Common, 25 June 2015 (taken with a Samsung Note 4)

Female Silver-studded Blue on Bell Heather Erica cinerea - the adult's main food plant, Hankley Common, 25 June 2015
(taken with Samsung Note 4)

Oblong-leaved Sundew Drosera intermedia, Thursley Common NNR, 24 June 2014 (taken with Samsung Note 4)

The patch: 6 June

My first visit to the patch for a long time, concentrating on the east side of Staines Moor today. Between my ecological consultancy course, building the new REGUA website and other commitments, I haven't had very much time for birding at all this spring.

Staines Moor produced 1 very elusive Grasshopper Warbler in the thistles and sedges in the SE corner that showed fairly well briefly mid morning though was wasn't particularly vocal, 3 Redshank (1 off from the Colne NE and a very territorial pair beside the Colne, possibly with chicks nearby but I couldn't see any), 1m Lapwing with them that was also behaving a little territorially, 2+ Common Tern (fishing along the Colne and overhead), 1+ Little Egret, 1 Kingfisher and a single Coot all along the Colne, and 1m Tufted Duck flew W from the Colne early morning.

Also a flock of c250 mixed adult and juvenile Common Starling around the livestock, 1 Cetti's Warbler in the NE corner along Bonehead Ditch showed briefly, 3 Sedge Warbler, 5+ Linnet, 6 (5m) Reed Bunting, 1f Sparrowhawk, 2+ Kestrel (including 1 first yr m harassing a female), 2H Reed Warbler, lots of Meadow Pipit (several carrying food) and Skylark, 2 (1ad, 1 imm) Grey Heron, 4H Blackcap, 4H Chiffchaff, a flock of fledged Long-tailed Tits, and 2 (1m, 1f) Common Pheasant in the SE corner.

Logged overhead at Staines Moor were 2 (1m, 1f) Shelduck NNW, 2+ Hobby briefly, 3 Red Kite, 3+ Common Buzzard (including presumably the same pale individual), 2 (1m, 1f) Tufted Duck, 4 Barn Swallow, 9+ House Martin, several Common Swift and 2 Egyptian Geese low S.

Redshank are down to just a single pair this year from a peak of 23 adults and three young on Jun 12th 1999. Re-wetting the moor and encouraging winter flooding would almost certainly improve their numbers.

I didn't spent much time looking for bugs today, but a Cinnabar moth was my first this year, and several Banded Demoiselle and Common Blue Damselflies and lots of Downlooker Snipe-flies Rhagio scolopacea were noted amongst the irises.

Botany-wise, Staines Moor has turned yellow with Meadow Buttercups Ranunculus acris and Yellow iris Iris pseudacorus, with patches of Marsh Stitchwort Stellaria palustris, and along Bonehead Ditch lots of Water Forget-me-not Myosotis scorpioides. Just a single Cuckooflower Cardamine pratensis seen in flower today.

A fair amount of Marsh Stitchwort Stellaria palustris in flower today. This species requires areas where there is standing water in winter
and has declined considerably in southern and eastern England due to the drainage of wetlands and eutrophication from agriculture.
Now classified as Vulnerable on the Vascular Plant Red Data List for Great Britain and a UK BAP priority vascular plant species.

Stanwell Moor added 3(2H) Common Whitethroat, a pair of Canada Geese with two young and 4-5 Shelduck SE.

Moth dip at Thursley: 23 May

Made a late afternoon/early evening trip to Thursley Common to try and attract an Emperor Moth using pheromones (many thanks to Keith Kerr for the loan). No Emperor Moth (too cold maybe?) but some nice lowland heathland inverts, plants and birds.

Freshly emerged Four-spotted Chaser

Mangora acalypha - a small orb spider found locally on heaths mainly in south-east England

Pleurota bicostella - a common heathland specialist preferring damp areas. The larvae feed on heather. LOTS of these around today

Brassy Tortrix Eulia ministrana - prefers woodland but we found this one on the open heath

Plenty of Bogbean Menyanthes trifoliata flowering on the mire at the moment - an aquatic species of acid bogs, widespread but
scarce in south-east England now that many of the regions wetlands have been drained

Birds noted include 1m Dartford Warbler, 1 Woodlark, 2(1H) Tree Pipit, 3(1H) Common Cuckoo, 1m Stonechat, 1 Curlew, 2m Reed Bunting, 1 Skylark and 4 (2m, 2f) Tufted Duck. Also a few Common Lizard were seen on the boardwalks.

Hardly worth posting

A quick visit to the patch this afternoon (26 April) produced the following 'highlights': 3+ Barn Swallow, 1 Redshank, 1 Little Egret, 1 Lesser Whitethroat, 2H Common Whitethroat and 1 Pied Wagtail on Staines Moor, and a Common Cuckoo on Stanwell Moor. Had 1 Speckled Wood along the old railway, and found a patch of 6 Cowslip Primula veris on Staines Moor by the iris channels in the NW corner, which is the first time I've ever found this common and widespread flower anywhere on the patch. The Colne flows through chalk so perhaps the seeds were carried here by water from further upstream? Or maybe they are a garden escape?

One of six Cowslip Primula veri, Staines Moor, 26 April 2014 - the only time I've ever seen this calcareous species on Staines Moor

First Whinchats pass through

Had the first Whinchats of the year at Staines Moor today with 3 superb males flitting around at the north end, including one 1st year male singing it's head off!

One of three male Whinchats at Staines Moor today, including one bird singing. Up to four pairs of Whinchat bred at Staines Moor
from the 1930s to 1966, with the last breeding attempt in 1967.

Other migrants today were very elusive 1f Common Redstart in the hawthorns at the north end, 2f Northern Wheatear on the west side, and a very late Fieldfare in the NE corner briefly along Bonehead Ditch. Overhead, the only migrants seen were 1 Barn Swallow and 5 Sand Martin heading north. 1 Common Cuckoo in the trees along Bonehead Ditch (also seen on Stanwell Moor), and 1(H) Reed Warbler in Butts Pond are new in for the summer, 1 of the Grasshopper Warblers was heard a few times and 3(1H) Sedge Warblers were noted.

Record shot of today's late fieldfare

Other notables include 4(1m, 3f) Pochard over NE (surprisingly scarce here, even overhead), 12+ Lapwing including a pair with a chick, 1+ Redshank, 2 Red Kite, 1 Common Buzzard, 2 Egyptian Goose SE, 3+ Common Tern fishing along the Colne, 2+ Little Egret, 4(3H) Lesser Whitethroat in the NW corner, 3(1H) Common Whitethroat, 1(H) Cetti's Warbler at Butts Pond still, 5 Blackcap, 4(H) Chiffchaff, 3+ Gadwall and a male Blackbird showing some 'progressive greying' (not partial albinism apparently) in it's plumage.

Noted my first Green-veined White butterfly today - although I must admit I've ignored the whites so far this year so I've probably been seeing them for weeks! Also, a major hatching of Hydropsyche contubernalis caddislfies today. Had a go at photographing the Upright Chickweed Moenchia erecta, but unfortunately it wasn't sunny enough to open the flowers.

Hydropsyche contubernalis caddislfies

Upright Chickweed Moenchia erecta on an anthill on the east side. Hopefully I'll catch it with the flowers open.

Autumn migration increases at Staines Moor

A lot more migrants in evidence at the patch today, including: 2 Greenshank that flew off east from the Colne early morning, 5 Whinchat and 3 Northern Wheatear ranging widely at the north end, 4 Yellow Wagtail around the livestock, 1 Common Snipe along the Colne, 1 1st yr Red Kite N, 1-2 Common Buzzard, 1 House Martin N, 1 Sand Martin NW, 32 Barn Swallow, and 1 Pied Wagtail over (H). Also, 1+ Hobby, 1 Common Whitethroat and 1 Reed Warbler still (Butt's Pond), and c400 Starling, c60 Goldfinch, 3 Grey Heron, 5+ Linnet, 1+ Sparrowhawk, 2+ Kestrel, 9 Meadow Pipit, and 1m and 1f Common Pheasant noted.

1st winter Whinchat - one of five today

Fewer butterflies around now with 3 Small Copper, 3 Small Heath, 1 Large White, and still a fair number of Meadow Browns. Also still several Migrant Hawkers Aeshna mixta about. Photographed some flowering Tasteless Water-pepper Persicaria mitis along one of the iris channels - a fairly scarce plant in Britain (many thanks to Rob Innes for the tip-off).

Tasteless Water-pepper Persicaria mitis

Orchid confusion in Northumberland: 7 June

This week I've learned that Dactylorhiza orchids are 'fracking' hard to ID! And I'm not talking Reed/Marsh Warbler hard here, more like Alder/Willow Flycatcher hard! Not only do Dactylorhiza species look incredibly similar, but there is a huge amount of variation within species and hybridisation is very common. Even Kew struggle to put a name to them (see here), so as a notice botanist what chance do I have?

At Lindisfarne on Sunday we found quite a few orchids growing in the sand dunes at The Snook and in the dunes along the north shore of the main island. I identified several as Northern Marsh-orchid Dactylorhiza purpurella but noted a large variation in flower colour and shape. But after a little online reading I started to doubt my identification, so back on Lindisfarne this morning I took a closer look at them.

Dactylorhiza orchids, The Snook, Lindisfarne. Note the variation in size, shape and flower colour.

I think both the pale pink and darker purple orchids we found here are Northern Marsh-orchid Dactylorhiza purpurella. Both have similar shaped flowers with a similar pattern of deeper purple lines and spots on the lip (lower petal) and a whitish throat, as well as unspotted leaves (although apparently some purpurella can have dark spots on the leaves too).

Northern Marsh-orchid Dactylorhiza purpurella, The Snook, Lindisfarne

Northern Marsh-orchid Dactylorhiza purpurella, The Snook, Lindisfarne

Note the similarity in the flower shape and pattern of deeper purple lines and spots in this pic and the pic below

Maybe the flowers become lighter as they age?

Animalia were easier to name but thin on the ground at Lindisfarne today. Lepidoptera were keeping their heads down in the cool easterly wind, with just a single Wall Lasiommata megera butterfly and a few The Cinnabar Tyria jacobaeae moths seen, and still no sign of any Dark Green Fritillaries. 3 Common Swift over north and several Ringed Plover, 5 Dunlin and a few Common Eider were picked out on the estuary were the only birds of note.

Wall Lasiommata megera, The Snook, Lindisfarne. These butterflies have declined severely over the last several decades and are
now found mainly in coastal areas. Northumberland lies at the northern edge of their range.

The Cinnabar Tyria jacobaeae, The Snook, Lindisfarne

A quiet hour or so this afternoon at Newton Pool logged 1m Yellow Wagtail, 2m Common Teal, 4 Ringed Plover, several Pied Wagtail, 1 ad. Kittiwake, 4+ Sand Martin, 1 Sedge Warbler, 1 juv Stonechat, a juv Robin being fed by an adult and a couple of Willow Warbler (H). No sign of yesterday's Barnacle Goose though.

Today was our last day in Northumberland and we're really sad to leave. Northumberland is teaming with wildlife and we've had a great week taking in the seabird spectacle and wild flowers. We're really looking forward to coming back - maybe in the autumn for some east coast migration?

Long Nanny to Newton Pool: 6 June

Rachel and I spent the day walking the St. Oswald's Way along the coast from Long Nanny south along Newton Links to Newton Pool Nature Reserve. Several nesting Little Tern (the wardens told us 10 pairs at least this year), hundreds of nesting Arctic Tern, a few Common Tern, 8 summer plumage Sanderling, 2 Ringed Plover and 2 Shelduck were logged at Long Nanny, and 3 Stonechat (1m, 2 juv), 1 Barnacle Goose, 2m Common Teal, 2 Common Swift S, several Willow Warbler, 3 Sedge Warbler, 2+ Reed Bunting, 2 Shelduck and 2+ Sand Martin at Newton Pool.

Arctic Tern, Long Nanny - never tire of 'em!

Arctic Tern, Long Nanny

The Arctic Tern colony at Long Nanny is the largest on the UK mainland with around 1000 pairs

1 of 2 juvenile Stonechat, Newton Pool

Barnacle Goose, Newton Pool - summering or plastic?

Also, several Wall Lasiommata megera butterflies were noted, as well as a number of Northern Marsh-orchid Dactylorhiza purpurella along with lots of with common wild flowers.

Northern Marsh-orchid Dactylorhiza purpurella, Newton Links

Wild flowers - Craster to Howick: 4 June

No birding today but plenty of wild flowers noted on a circular walk from Craster to Howick returning along the Northumberland coast path, including Spring Squill Scilla verna, Northern Marsh-orchid Dactylorhiza purpurella (with some dark spotting on the leaves), Ivy-leaved Toadflax Cymbalaria muralis, Lungwort Pulmonaria officinalis, Common Comfrey Symphytum officinale, Red Campion Silene dioica, Herb-Robert Geranium robertianum, Primrose Primula vulgaris, Bush Vetch Vicia sepium, Greater Periwinkle Vinca major, Lesser Periwinkle Vinca minor and Bush Vetch Vicia sepium.

Spring Squill Scilla verna, coast path south of Craster. This plant is found on grassy cliff tops mainly on the west coast of Britain
and east coast of Ireland.

Lungwort Pulmonaria officinalis, near Howick. A garden escapee now common in the wild across Britain.

2 Wall Lasiommata megera butterflies were the most notable Lepidoptera seen today.

Castle Point and Lindisfarne: 2 June

Our first full day in Northumberland was spent walking the coast path between Embleton and Castle Point (Dunstanburgh Castle) in the morning, and then Lindisfarne (Holy Island) in the afternoon. Good numbers of Kittiwake, Razorbill and Fulmar were noted on the cliffs at Castle Point, along with a single Guillemot, 1+ Rock Pipit, 19 Common Eider and 21 Oystercatcher. 1 Northern Wheatear, 2 Sedge Warbler (1H), 2 Shelduck, 6+ House Martin, lots of Barn Swallows and a Yellowhammer were also logged. Lots of Green-veined White Pieris napi butterflies about and flowering plants noted include Bird's-foot-trefoil Lotus corniculatus,

Lindisfarne was very quiet bird-wise but Rachel and I had an excellent walk around the island as well the dunes at The Snook. Spent a few hours doing macro photography and found plenty of The Cinnabar Tyria jacobaeae moths, several caterpillars and pupae of Six-Spot Burnet Zygaena filipendulae, lots of Garden Tiger Arctia caja caterpillars, and some cool plants including several Northern Marsh-orchid Dactylorhiza purpurella and Common cotton-grass Eriophorum angustifolium.

The Cinnabar Tyria jacobaeae, The Snook, Lindisfarne

Garden Tiger Arctia caja caterpillar, The Snook, Lindisfarne

Northern Marsh-orchid Dactylorhiza purpurella, The Snook, Lindisfarne

Common cotton-grass Eriophorum angustifolium, Lindisfarne

11 hours patching

An 11 hour session at the patch today produced virtually no migrants, while simultaneously elsewhere in London and the south-east, scarce migrants and rares were cropping up all over the place!

On Staines Moor, 1 Greenshank along the Colne at 06:30 for an hour before being flushed by dog walkers and flying off high north was the highlight, and 1+ Cuckoo, 1 Red Kite NW, 57+ Common Swift, 2 Barn Swallow, 2-4 Shelduck, 1+ Redshank, 1 Little Owl in the NW corner, 1 Lapwing, 1 Little Egret, 3 Grey Heron, 1+ Lesser Whitethroat (H), 1 Reed Warbler (H), 1+ Kingfisher and 1+ 'Commic' Tern were also noted. Missed a Spotted Flycatcher in the north-east corner seen by another birder.

Greenshank along the Colne at 06:30 for an hour before heading off north

An emergence of thousands of adult mayflies, Ephemera danica, especially along Bonehead Ditch, attracted 4+ Hobby, 40+ Black-headed Gulls and Common Swifts overhead.

A major emergence of Ephemera danica mayflies at the patch today. There are 51 species of mayfly in Britain, this one is over two
inches long! The three tails are diagnostic of this species.

Lots of other inverts around today in the warmer weather. Saw my first Banded Demoiselles Calopteryx splendens of the year, a Small Copper Lycaena phlaeas, several Nettle-taps Anthophila fabriciana, lots of Yellow Dung Flies Scathophaga stercoraria, and a Wasp Beetle Clytus arietis.

Newly emerged male Banded Demoiselle Calopteryx splendens

This insect was crawling around on the wing of the above demoiselle. Any ideas what this is?

Nettle-tap Anthophila fabriciana, several of these day-flying moths were along Bonehead Ditch around Common Nettles Urtica
dioica, it's larval foodplant.

Wasp Beetle Clytus arietis

Also spent some time photographing wildflowers.

Cut-leaved Crane's-bill Geranium dissectum is flowering on some of the anthills

Silverweed Potentilla anserina

On Stanwell Moor, 1 Lesser Whitethroat (H), 3+ House Martin, 2 Tufted Duck and 1m Shoveler were noted, and Common Vetch Vicia sativa and Common Comfrey Symphytum officinale are now flowering.

Common Vetch Vicia sativa

Common Comfrey Symphytum officinale