Summer Doldrums

June can be a pretty quiet month for birds, spring migration is generally over but by mid-month the first trickle of 'autumn' migrants start to appear, most likely failed breeders. So if the weather is suitable then I usually turn my attention to insects. However, this year spring migration carried on well into June and for much of the month it was cold and overcast, definitely not good for insect watching.

On June 7th, I made my way deep into South London for my annual trip to Hutchinsons Bank and the only time each year I actually use the tram. I was hoping that the Black-veined Whites that were released last year would be flying but we didn't see any despite earlier reports. There were plenty of other butterflies flying in the sunny weather, the highlight being Glanville Fritillary.

female Brimstone

Dingy Skipper

Glanville Fritillary

Holly Blue

Small Blue

We saw very few moths compared to previous visits and only a few other insects but there were Bee and Common Spotted Orchids in flower.

Two-banded Wasp Hoverfly

Common Spotted Orchid

The following day I received a text from John Archer who had found a flock of Sanderlings and Ringed Plovers at Barking Riverside. I left home immediately and soon found the flock which now numbered 16 birds. Unfortunately it was low tide so they were a long way off so I only managed to get a poor record shot.

Sanderlings & Ringed Plovers

The following day I received a message saying a probable Red-backed Shrike had just been found at Dagenham Chase. While I was getting ready to go out and look for it another message alerted me to a Purple Heron at Rainham Marshes! I wasn't sure which one to go for but when I walked out of the house I turned right so realised I was heading to Rainham. I got a train to Purfleet pretty quickly and hurried onto the reserve. I stopped to talk to the finders to get news of where it was - it had come down near Aveley Pools so it was just a question of waiting for it to come up again.

I tried a couple of spots and after a long wait I picked it up flying towards the pools near Butts hide where it went down into cover again. It was my first Purple Heron at Rainham and possibly the first ever record as the only previous record is considered a bit dodgy. I was also pleased I'd made the right choice as the shrike wasn't seen again at The Chase.

The rest of the month was spent visiting my local patches and recording butterflies and dragonflies. I also found a few firsts - Bee Orchid at Beam Parklands and Pyramidal Orchid & Marbled White at Dagenham Chase.

Pyramidal Orchid, Dagenham Chase

Black-tailed Skimmer, Beam Parklands

Essex Skippers, Beam Parklands

Marbled White, Beam Parklands

Marbled White is probably new for Beam Parklands as well as this site hasn't really been well recorded before. It appears that Marbled Whites are now colonising the suburbs of East London in the same way they did in NW London. All of my local patches have suitable areas of rough grassland so I'll keep looking out for them.

On one day I recorded nine species of dragonfly at Dagenham Chase, mostly on Fels Field which has a couple of really good ponds for Odonata. The best for me was Four-spotted Chaser as I never saw these in NW London.

Banded Demoiselle

Black-tailed Skimmer

Broad-bodied Chaser

Four-spotted Chaser

I even found time for a couple of visits to Ingrebourne Valley which I didn't have time to visit in spring.

Female Banded Demoiselle, Ingrebourne Valley

male Banded Demoiselle, Ingrebourne Valley

Comma, Ingrebourne Valley

female Emperor Dragonfly, Ingrebourne Valley

Willow Emerald Damselfly, Ingrebourne Valley

I also managed a couple of dragonflies in my garden for the first time, although I clearly missed one egg-laying last year.

my garden pond

Blue-tailed Damselfly

Common Darter, recently emerged...

...from this exuvia which I found a few days later

Bird photos

It was a quiet month for bird photos. I decided not to count the rubbish photo of Sanderling (see earlier) so the only new species I photo'd in June was Great Egret at Rainham. I also upgraded one thanks to a rather tame Jackdaw which I've met a couple of times. With half the year gone I've photographed 115 birds in London. It will be pretty difficult to get another 35 but will see how it goes.

3 Great Egrets & a Grey Heron, Rainham Marshes

Great Egret, Rainham Marshes

Jackdaw, Beam Parklands (upgrade)

London birding May 2024

With most of the summer migrants having arrived in April (at least species rather than the whole population), May is usually the time to look for the rarer birds as well being the better month for waders. It certainly proved to be the case this year at Rainham Marshes where a reported Woodchat Shrike did the decent thing and hung around near the Butts hide for a couple of days allowing most people to connect.

Woodchat Shrike

It was refound on a dismal damp Friday, luckily I was only 100 metres away so I was watching it before you could say 'Usain Bolt'. It barely moved all afternoon. Saturday morning brought nice sunny weather but fortunately the shrike decided to stick around and some of us watched it distantly from the riverwall before the reserve opened. Once the doors opened we went straight round to the shrike which was feeding in bushes by the path. By going past the bird to the Butts hide we got good views of it.

A week on from the sunny shrike and Saturday dawned to a misty murky day - perfect for bringing in migrants. As I exited Rainham West there was news of a Guillemot on the Thames, drifting downriver on the ebbing tide off the barges. I decided not to go directly to the barges as I expected it to have gone past out of view so instead hurried to the car park by Aveley Bay.

It proved the right decision and after a bit of scanning I found it mid-channel near the Darent Barrier. I'd been after a Guillemot for ages having never managed to be at Rainham on the days they turned up and it was my second London tick in just over a week. The Guillemot hung around most of the day allowing several London yearlisters to catch up with it. 

The day wasn't over yet though as a flock of four Kittiwakes flew upriver. A couple of Knot had been seen on the reserve so we went over to the Woodland viewpoint to look for them and soon found two brick red summer plumaged birds. While we were there a small wader flew in and landed in the distance. It looked good for a Temminck's Stint but we wanted better views. It hadn't escaped the notice of those on the riverwall who found it at the same time and put the news out. We wandered around to a closer view point and were able to confirm its identity.

Yet another good Saturday at Rainham occurred a week later on the 18th when a Little Stint flew in and landed next to us in Aveley Bay. With the encroaching tide covering up the mud it flew onto the reserve and was just about visible from the riverwall with a flock of Ringed Plovers and a Turnstone. 

After three consecutive days I decided to have a rest from Rainham the next day but news of a singing Nightingale had me change plans. I elected to take the train to Purfleet as the Nightingale was by the reserve car park and I could hear it singing as soon as I arrived. It wasn't showing so after a few more bursts of songs I left before the reserve opened. It's been a good spring for Nightingales in London as I'd already heard three at Tylers Common and one at Dagenham Chase. 

With Garganey and Spoonbill seen at the beginning of the month I finished May having seen 137 species at Rainham this year, a pretty respectable total. I missed Little Gull and Little Tern but saw most of the waders apart from a Wood Sand which I hope to catch up with in autumn.

Towards the end of May I made a couple of visits outside London, down to Worth Marshes in Kent for a day where we saw a couple of Red-footed Falcons and then down to Weymouth for a few days (on a separate blog post).

Red-footed Falcon, Worth Marshes

Photos

With more days of nicer weather I was able to take a few photos in my pursuit of snapping 150 birds in London this year, but apart from the Woodchat Shrike, all the good birds at Rainham were too far away for any photos.

Gadwall, Rainham Marshes (upgrade)

Little Grebe, Rainham Marshes (upgrade)

Cuckoo, Rainham Marshes

Swift, Dagenham Chase

Avocet, Rainham Marshes

Common Tern, Dagenham Chase

Grey Heron, Rainham Marshes (upgrade)

Little Egret, Rainham Marshes (upgrade)

Kingfisher, Rainham Marshes

Hobby, Rainham Marshes

Rook, Rainham Marshes

Skylark, Rainham Marshes (upgrade)

Goldfinch, Dagenham Chase (upgrade)

Greenfinch, Dagenham Chase (upgrade)

By the end of May, I've managed to photograph 113 species.