In June, it is typically warm in the UK. Nevertheless, I found myself making a chilly start with the temperature around 14 Celsius at 7 am. I was off to the London Wetland Centre at Barnes, managed by WWT, a conservation NGO. I was leading a walk for the London Bird Club (LBC), a section of the London Natural History Society (LNHS). By 10.30am, at the appointed time for the start of the walk, I began to peel off the layers for a nice, warm day where the temperature eventually peaked at 23 Celsius. The weather can change dramatically during the course of a day in the British Isles, and those going outdoors need to be prepared for this.

I found myself leading a small group of eight people, all with a shared interest in natural history. An overcast sky began to clear, and with warm thermals rising, we began to scan the skies for aerial birds. A flock of Swifts careered around the sky whilst the Sand Martins that had returned from Africa to breed here during the summer were a touch less frenetic. I pointed out to the group that the similar body and wing shapes of the swifts and martins were an example of convergent evolution as they are placed in scientific orders that are not closely related. The Swifts are in the Apodiformes and the Martins and Swallows in the Passeriformes. The swifts are more closely related to hummingbirds and the martins closer to wagtails, than the swifts are to martins, despite external similarities. Another hunter was in the air, and this one was also hunting insects. A Hobby cruised at high altitude. Being fast and agile, a hobby would also happily take an aerial bird like a swift.

Anticipating the arrival of families on a warm summer’s day, we decided to first go along the woodland path beside the sheltered lagoon, at a time when it was still quiet. The foliage in June was quite thick and concealed birds. We could hear several of the warblers. Despite the common name of ‘warbler’, many of them are actually in different scientific families. Reed Warbler, Chiffchaff, Blackcap and Cetti’s Warbler were four of the species in evidence and each in different families despite superficial external similarities. Other birds of woodland and garden included Blackbird, Wren, Blue Tit, Great Tit and Dunnock. Greenfinches were heard wheezing. Corvids were present with Carrion Crow, Magpie, and Jay. Later, during lunch, cheeky Jackdaws studied us with no good intent.

The wintering waterfowl had long left and it was no surprise at all that Wigeon were missing and only a lone male Shoveler was seen. A Pochard with chicks was of note as it is a scarce breeder in Britain and a bird on the Rare Breeding Birds Panel (RBBP). The London area is significant for its share of breeding pairs. Mallard, Tufted Duck and Gadwall were present in small numbers. The naturalised Egyptian Goose is now regular. A pair of Mute Swans tended to two goslings. From the Peacock Tower, looking over the seasonally flooded meadows we could see Canada Geese and Greylag Geese.

A Great Crested Grebe drifted past a hide whilst a Grey Heron had its beak open presumably to lose heat. A Little Egret with its golden slippers was seen briefly. Great Cormorants were keeping their distance as were the gulls. We took some trouble to study the larger gulls and I pointed out how the subspecies graelsii has contrasting black wing tips on the upper parts. The form intermedius has the contrast less pronounced and the race fuscus (Baltic Gull) it is uniformly black. For the benefit of two non LNHS members I referenced the paper in the most recent issue of the London Bird Report 2022 by Richard Bonser on the first record of a Baltic Gull in London. I used the plates in ‘The Birdwatchers Pocket Guide to Britain and Europe’ by Peter Hayman and Rob Hume published by Mitchell Beazley to show the differences.

This amazing pocket book has well over 2,000 illustrations and is often available very cheaply on Amazon and Ebay. I always take a copy with me on the LBC walks to help beginners with identification. Herring Gulls and Black-headed Gulls were also present, with a Common Tern showing occassionaly in the distance. An Oystercatcher seated on a tern raft was the second wader for the day. Earlier, we had been directed by a WWT volunteer to a Ringed Plover. It was in full breeding plumage and lacked the swollen yellow eye ring of the Little Ringed Plover.

Wood Pigeons with juveniles were out feeding on the grassy fields, and one of the people in the group found a pair of Stock Doves. The Common Coot and Moorhens seemed at peace with each other and seemed to have lost the urge to get into a scrap. A contrast from a few weeks ago when I found them in a quarrelsome state. Bearded Tits were heard pinging but eluded being seen. Other regulars absent included Kestrel and Sparrowhawk.

Anticipating that the odonata would be out in force, I had taken with me a copy of the slim first edition of a ‘Field Guide to the Dragonflies and Damselflies of Great Britain and Ireland’ edited by Steve Brooks and illustrated by the phenomenal artist Richard Lewington. This superb book, first published by British Wildlife Publishing, is lightweight enough to be added to a daypack already heavy with camera gear. We took some time to identify Azure Damselflies and tell them apart from the Common Damselflies. The male Azures were easy to identify when I zoomed into the photographs.

The characteristic U-shape on the second segment isolated from the black ring at the posterior end was easy to make out. Blue-tailed Damselflies were easier to identify as their abdomen is black on the upper surface, with segment 8 being all blue. A Large Red Damselfly was also easily identified by its black legs and broad, red antehumeral stripes. A perched, male Broad-bodied Chaser also gave good views.

A harder test of identification arose with a skimmer that perched a few feet away from a hide that helpfully had a wide glass pane from floor to ceiling. It was a skimmer, but which one and was it a female or a juvenile male? In contention were the immature male of Keeled Skimmer with both the immature male and female of the Black-tailed Skimmer. The black wing-spot (pterostigma) confirmed it was a Black-tailed Skimmer and the anal appendages showed it was a female.

Easier to identify were the Brown Hawkers that roved around. One male repeatedly perched offering the group excellent views. Every stretch of water seemed to have an Emperor Dragonfly patrolling it. One repeatedly fought a Brown Hawker that had not read the keep out sign. I found a Hairy Hawker (a.k.a. Hairy Dragonfly) ovipositing in a pond near the Sir Peter Scott statue. This is one of the first hawkers to take wing, from May to June and has a characteristic long brown wing-spot. My photograph does not show the downy thorax, but the long anal appendages and a fearsome spine towards the end of the abdomen can be seen. It is special in that it is the only member of the genus Brachytron.

As the temperature climbed the odonata activity increased, the birdlife quietened and a Common Lizard came out to sun itself on a wooden bridge. We changed our plans and decided to stop early for lunch and then resume for a second session for anyone who wanted to continue. One of the group pointed out some Bee Orchids which was in addition to the Early Marsh Orchids which were plentiful. We had a close view of a Marsh Frog.

Probably the highlight of the day was when we met a keen entomological photographer. He was photographing a female ichneumon wasp which was inserting its thin, long red, ovipositor down the nesting burrows of bees that were nesting on some wooden columns. The wasp also had a thin long black extension longer than its entire body length attached to the dorsal side on the end of its abdomen. The ovipositor and the long extension operated independently of each other. I am not sure of the function of that extension. But it was amazing to watch it prospect the holes with its ovipositor and presumably it was inserting its eggs into the larva of solitary bees.

On the lepidoptera front, a few butterflies were also out, mainly Brimstone, but also a few Holly Blues and Large Whites. We finished close to 4.00pm, retiring to the café again after what had been a good day for all-round natural history. We had seen or heard 49 species of birds. The WWT London Wetland Centre is an amazing site for keen naturalists and photographers and is easily accessible by public transport throughout the week.