The seasons are changing fast and early, but not the temperature. I ate my first ripe blackberry in July this year and have a container of them in the freezer. The apples have been coming off the trees, even the russet in the garden thinks it’s time to drop its load. Trees are under stress and losing their leaves. The elderberries are turning black, and the sloes look ready for the gin. I don’t think they will have the flavour without the frost on them and I don’t think we are going to have one of those for a while!
This latest heatwave was unexpected to me. The reserve had been freshening up again. I thought that was the hottest part of our summer over for the year. How wrong I was. The wildlife (and myself!) is having to hide again from the heat. Some wildlife appears to be enjoying it. If you’ve walked along the Meadow Trail in the last week or 2, you must have seen common darter dragonflies whether you know what one looks like or not. They have emerged in their hundreds. They sit on the metal fences warming up and occasionally flying off to catch a fly. Dragonflies apparently see the world in slow motion with a reaction time of 25 milliseconds, which is 10 times faster than a human. Approach them slowly and you can have a staring match. That’s where macro photography is so brilliant. Their compound eyes give them such a wide field of view, which also detect motion. They also have 3 simple eyes (ocelli) which maintain orientation, stabilise their flight and keep their gaze level. I need a transplant!
I’ve been enjoying taking photos of the eyes of butterflies and moths this year. Last year that would have been difficult, with so few around. This year many butterfly species have been doing well. Common blues and brown argus turn up in unexpected places. Speckled woods keep their cool in the shadier areas. However, small heaths are not as numerous as I hoped and, as I write, no second-generation grizzled skippers have been seen. Some of the migratory ones have been seen, such as Clouded Yellows. Colourful Jersey moths when they flash their red underwings are having a good year as well. Perhaps they are breeding here. You may have also seen other day flying moths, such as the mint moth (Pyrausta aurata) in your garden or the Common Purple and Gold (Pyrausta purpuralis)(see photo). There are lots around this year.
On the subject of moths, I took a photo of a fat palped Tachina (Nowickia ferox) recently. Did you know that it parasitises the caterpillar of the Dark Arches moth to feed its eggs? I’ll say no more!
Wasp spiders can be found in the long grasses. There are plenty crickets to feed them.
It is nearly Water Bird Survey (WeBS) time again. Email me if you are interested in helping. No knowledge is required. Just the ability to count and be up earlier on a Sunday morning occasionally.
One of these birds’ bigger relations, a barn owl, has been spotted a couple of times using one of the new boxes by the arable field. Let’s hope it has a partner and uses it for breeding next year.
Bird ringing is progressing well this year. The last visit in July showed migration was already starting with a record number of reed warblers ringed. They caught another sparrowhawk in a more recent session. A male, which was much more docile than the one had earlier in the season! A lesser whitethroat also made a session more interesting. If you are interested in receiving the reports, let me know.
The lakes may be quiet, but there is plenty to see and enjoy and I always enjoy hearing about your sightings. Let me know at friends@paxton-pits.org.uk.
Best wishes
Ann
If you no longer wish to receive information regarding the Friends of Paxton Pits Nature Reserve wildlife survey group or other wildlife surveys, please email Ann (eannth@gmail.com) stating that you wish to unsubscribe from the Friends’ wildlife survey communications
Ann Thomas 17.8.25
Love your blogs Ann, thank you for doing this.