The summer birding doldrums hit the Meadow earlier than might have been hoped with everything drying up far too quickly. The only birds of note since the last post were an unseasonal couple of Mediterranean Gulls up by Godstow Lock along with a few late Sand Martins. A calling Cuckoo, a Lesser Whitethroat and a Redstart along the canal all provided a bit of additional May interest.
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| Mediterranean Gull courtesy of Thomas Miller |
So, with summer comes summer nature interests such as Orchids, Butterflies and Odonata. The dry conditions have been it's been a bumper year for many of these with good numbers of butterflies and odonata in particular. Orchids are rather particular and conditions that are too dry do not suit them so on my annual survey of orchids in Burgess Field I only found a single Pyramid Orchid this year with no Bee Orchids at all.
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| A very large Pyramidal Orchid on Burgess Field |
The main news on the Odonata front was the appearance of Southern Migrant Hawkers at the Trap Grounds. This species recently colonised the county and is now seen regularly at a number of sites so perhaps it was only a matter of time before they appeared on the Meadow. Still, it was very exciting first to find a patrolling male and then subsequently to have an additional pair ovipositing in the ditch that runs parallel to the boardwalk. Apart from this species, it was good to have Small Red-eyed Damselflies back on the main pond in the Trap Grounds after an absence last year. The truth is that they were probably still there but reduced coverage meant that they in all likelihood went under the radar. Willow Emerald Damselflies have already been seen this year on the Trap Grounds though they really come into their own towards the end of August and into September.
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| Southern Migrant Hawker on Tim's Pond in the Trap Grounds |
On the butterfly front, it was a good year for Painted Ladies with lots of them seen at various locations. Apart from that it's been the usual species in the usual places. Unlike for moths and Odonata where there can be fairly rapid changes in colonisations, things are a bit more sedate for butterflies. On the moth front, Steve Goddard is our moth person in residence up in Wolvercote. The highlights of the summer for him have been his first Dewick's Plusia and a number of Small Mottled Willows.
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| Dewick's Plusia courtesy of Steve Goddard |
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| A Hummingbird Hawkmoth that found it's way into our kitchen |
To round things off, a pair of Otters were seen in the canal up towards Wolvercote one evening by a lucky observer and Glow Worms were seen in the same area in a couple of occasions.
So all good stuff! With August now upon us it's time to turn our attention back to birds with the first returning migrants now turning up in the county.
Adam Hartley
