The swallows were flying very high up this morning and didn't come down to drink while I was there. There was still the usual crowd of greylags with a few Canada geese and some Egyptians, along with the mute swan couple - no sign of their cygnets today although they are well grown now.

The wasp nest has grown even more:

and is still just as active. I saw no bees today and only this hoverfly on a teasel:

Not too sure what this one is, but perhaps a syrphus species which are among the commonest flower-visitng hoverflies:

There was lots of preening going on today - great crested grebe:

A heron on the far bank of the Thames:

and a black-headed gull:

who was joined by a few more today. There haven't been many around in the summer but they will come in hordes in a few months time:

The hops are growing well, mostly in the hawthorn bushes but have also sprung up in new areas. I read recently that they can grow in areas where there is spilt beer which is a bit of an urban myth unless roots were mixed in:

Pond skaters were around in their hundreds today enjoying the sun:

and a wood pigeon kept an eye on me as I walked through the woods:

There were fewer warblers around today - the graden warblers had moved up to another area of wood today, plus a chiffchaff and a couple of willow warblers. I also heard a nuthatch which I don't hear often around this part and a large flock of long-tailed tits were busy in the trees with some blue tits and a couple of great tits.

A huge wasps nest has been made underneath one of the bird boxes by the side of the lake, in the old oak tree. I saw one last year taken over by tree bumblebees. I often see the wasps on the wooden bridge sawing up the wood for the nest, it's surprsing how noisy the gnawing sound is. Here is the nest today with the wasps being very active:

And a close up of the nest itself:

Even though wasps aren't my greatest friends, I know from having one just outside my kitchen door that they don't bother you at all. This nest won't be used again next year, it will be abandoned in the early autumn and the wasp colony will vacate it.

There was one lonely Canada Goose with over one hundred greylags this morning:

and a heron peering over from the other side:

Lots of flowers are now coming into seed and fruit. This yellow flag iris:

Hawthorn:

Elderflower berries:

And the lovely berries of the deadly nightshade. This is more commonly called bittersweet nightshade now:

The himalayan balsam has really spread around the far side of the lake this year. It's very invasive and smothers other plants, but they do remind me of Audrey2:

There were very few hoverflies and butterflies this morning despite it being fine with no wind. A few bumblebees were around including this one with huge pollen baskets. The bee will brush the pollen into the sac until they bulge over:

This weekend saw me in South Devon on a bird ringing course. Not directly related to my work at Beale Park but it's here that I got the idea into my head I'd like to learn more.

The weekend was gorgeous but not great for birds as there was quite a breeze. The friday evening saw us at a swallow roost by the sea - there was a bit of commotion with mackerel driving in whitebait which had become stranded on the beach by their thousands:

This meant I spent a lot more time rescuing the fish than at the bird mist nets. I also had to rescue a mackerel who'd been over keen and had got himself stranded as well. Later a seal came in to eat the mackerel so it was all go. Birds ringed that evening were swallow (all juvenile), one starling, a reed warbler and that was about it. A hobby was flying overhead trying to chase any unsuspecting juvenile swallows.

Every day was a 06.45 start  - the saturday we walked down to the spit area where the mist nets are:

and each had a turn in ringing. We practiced on wire legs first before the real thing. Most birds caught were reed warbler:

a couple of sedge warblers:

A blackcap which I ringed and a lovely little robin which of course, Robin ringed:

By 08.30 on each day the birds were drying up. The trainers said it was the slowest for a long time, perhaps because of the late cold spring. Just as things were starting to get slow, a sparrowhawk came in:

A beautiful juvenile, probably female.

The weekend was great - good company, good accomodation and great trainers. I learnt all that I had gone for, from setting up a net and dismantling to how to ring birds. We also had classroom sessions on migration and data inputting plus the reasons behind ringing in the age of new technology. I wouldn't say I am confident enough to ring birds and may stick to wild flowers but as the training is a minimum of 2 years, watch this space.

Perhaps I should practice on my chickens.....

I last visited the lake area a couple of days ago after an absence of 2 weeks. The purple loosestrife was out on show:

As well as the water mint:

The swallows were still making an appearance and there were a lot of small jumping fish today. A few more butterflies including the usual whites - green veined whites and small whites:

A bar-headed goose who had strolled over from the bird park was making its way around the lake feeding on the grass. I have seen this bird quite a few times here over the last couple of years before it wanders back:

 

By the rivers edge, a heron was fishing with just it's head poking out of the undergrowth: