Saturday 21st June

The Park was very wet this morning after some rain during the night. Because of the rain the only insects seen were a few Banded Demoiselles.

4 Great Spotted Woodpeckers were seen, a Coal Tit sang from a Yew along Laurel Walk, 3 Green Woodpeckers were seen, 5 Blackcap, 5 Chiff Chaff, and 15 Whitethroat were singing, a pair of Goldcrest were observed dodging the drops of water as they picked insects from a Yew, 3 Pheasants were heard in the rough grassland, 2 Linnet were seen making visits to and fro from a Hawthorn, a Jay was mobbed by a male Whitethroat, 3 Nuthatch were heard, 3 Treecreeper were heard, roughly 13 House Martin and 12 Swifts were watched catching insects low over the Lake, and a Spotted Flycatcher was heard singing from the top of a Beech.

On the Lake the number of Canada Geese has now increased to 109, there were 5 Great Crested Grebes, the resident pair of Mute Swan, and the countless Mallards, Moorhens, and Coots. There were 7 Black-headed Gulls, and 2 Lesser Black-backed Gull also on the Lake, a Cormorant sat on the island next to the Weir, a Grey Heron perched on the northern edge of the Lake amongst the Willows, and 6 Reed Warblers were heard singing around the perimeter of the Lake.

I also noted several of these Oedemra nobilis beetles. The beetle in the photo below is a male, easily recognised by it's swollen hind legs.