What to look for in JULY
For
many birds the breeding season will be drawing to a close. By mid month most
adult Cuckoos will have left and the
young terns – Sandwich, Common and Little - will be fledging if the
season has been successful, along with Black-headed
Gulls, Oystercatchers, Ringed
Plovers and Redshank.
The
passage of wading birds returning from the north gathers momentum with Dunlin, Little Ringed Plover, Greenshank,
Black-tailed Godwit, Whimbrel, Common and Green Sandpipers and probably a
few Curlew Sandpiper and Little Stint. Wildfowl such as Teal
and Shoveler will also be increasing
in number, and Sand Martins will
begin to return early in the month.
This is a good month for very rare bird records: Least, Sooty, Caspian and Roseate
Terns, Wilson's Phalarope and Baird's Sandpiper have all been
recorded here in July.
Our
rarest plant, Least Lettuce, begins
to flower late in the month, but it is very hard to find on the Beach Reserve
as its flowers are very small and only open in the mornings ! More conspicuous flowers will include Wild Carrot, Pyramidal Orchid, Viper’s
Bugloss, Red Valerian, Yellow Horned-poppy and Sea Pea.
On
warm, calm days the ditches and pools are alive with hundreds of Common Blue and Blue-tailed Damselflies and dragonflies such as Emperor and Common Darter may be seen.
Many grasshoppers will reach maturity, the males recognised by their
distinctive songs. Dark Bush-crickets can also be found in
scrubby areas, while the Beach Reserve supports the scarce Grey Bush-cricket.
This is perhaps the best month for numbers and variety of moths
including some of our rarer species such as Pale Grass Eggar and Pygmy
Footman. Some of the commoner
butterflies to look for include Meadow
Brown, Small Tortoiseshell and Essex
Skipper.
