CSN wildlife notes: July update

Another month has almost passed since my last post because technology has been beating me with lots of problems uploading pictures to my blog. I have finally discovered that the browser I have been using for sometime (Google Chrome) is the culprit and so I have reverted to Internet Explorer again, which seems to have solved the problem for now!

Early in the month I was delighted to see a spotted flycatcher on the wires opposite our house near the old rectory in Stantway. It appeared on a couple of evenings and then I didn't see it again but a few days later, whilst walking along Scrapton Lane, I saw another perched on the wires there. I think the latter was a young bird as on close inspection of the photos below you can see fluffy feathers on the breast which could be the remains of the downy fledging feathers. It is good to know they have bred in the area as numbers of this species has declined rapidly in recent years

Spotted flycatcher

The SSW has been looking lovely this month with a wonderful show of poppies intermingled with corn marigold, corncockle and ox eye daisies amongst others.

Many flowers have been late flowering this year, such as the pyramidal orchid. This is usually to be seen in June but this year it was mid July before any were spotted in the few places around the parish where I usually look for them and numbers were down on previous years.

Pyramidal orchid

The hot weather we have been having has resulted in more butterflies and moths taking to the air though and I have had fun trying to identify some species. Some, like this Comma butterfly, were relatively easy as there are only 59 species generally found in the UK