Blimey, That Was Hot!

 Regular wildlife watching pal Alan Shorrock and I popped over to Summer Leys this morning, we hoped an earlier start might help us beat the promised heat. Early we may well have been but we were not early enough to catch the Bittern that apparently showed well on the scrape this morning.. Despite this dip related disappointment we carried on and enjoyed a reasonably interesting but also a very hot walk around parts of the reserve.

Hardwater Mill

A brief stop at Hardwater Lake provided views of a few odes including Banded Demoiselle but not that much else. At the Leys a look from Rotary Hide provided distant views of Ruff, Common Sandpiper and Ringed Plover but that was it as far as interesting sightings went. A short walk between Rotary and the Marigold Pond was quite decent for odes, we saw half a dozen female Willow Emeralds while dragons included Common and Ruddy Darters as well as some Migrant Hawkers. Butterflies were somewhat thin on the ground today, there were a few Red Admirals, more Speckled Woods and plenty of whites but no other species - the butterfly season really looks as if it is drawing to a close.

Willow Emerald and Migrant Hawker.

The usual collection of wildlife paparazzi were gathered in Pioneer Hide, their lenses poised and ready to capture any sign of the reported Bittern but we chose to move on quickly. Paul Britten Hide was similarly quiet though we did note two Dunlin and a trio of Snipe from just outside it. A look from the screen hide didn't add much to our tally though we did see a colour ringed Great White Egret. By now it was getting pretty dam hot and after a quick look at the Toad Pond where a Brown Hawker and some sort of terrapin were seen we headed to Earls Barton and a spirits reviving visit to the Old Swan.

Speckled Wood and Terrapin.