Birds

Keep an eye out for a great white egret at the moment, as one has been spotted both in the Wetlands and nearby. They're only been appearing in Bedfordshire for about 5 years, and in fact only moved to the UK in the past 10-15 years (a very short time in bird terms). There are a few breeding pairs in the country, so eventually they will (hopefully) become a more common sight. We haven't got any footage of this year's sighting, but this video is from 2018 - 

Little egrets are far more common and are out all over the Park at the moment (almost into double figures). After breeding, youngsters and the adults who didn't breed will be moving around, throughout August and through into September. This video is from 2018 - 

You might see waders like sanderlings in August in the Wetlands - they'll be returning to Africa from their northern European breeding grounds, and you tend to see them on the pillinge at this time of year. This video is also from 2018 -

Animals and Insects

You might spot the brown hawker dragonfly at the moment; its name derives from the ‘hawking’ it does along rivers and in woodlands. It’s very distinctive due to it’s brown colouring and size - they are up to 7.3cm in size (they’re both the largest and the quickest dragonflies, amazingly). They are defensive and aggressive and catch their prey whilst flying - they can even fly backwards!

There have been loads of gatekeeper butterflies  out and about in the Park and across our wider woodlands - you’ll see them around hedgerows and field edges, where flowers like fleabane and ragwort pop up. Often, they’ll be accompanied by the meadow brown (which looks very similar) and ringlets, which are easier to tell apart as they don’t have orange patterns.

Ringlet and meadow brown (Credit to Mark King)

We’ve been spotting a fair few mink around the Park recently which is very bad for our ground nesting birds and the general water vole population in the UK (as they are threatened with extinction).

Contrary to popular belief, the mink problem in the UK didn’t stem from animal activists releasing them en masse in the 90s - populations had grown all over the country since the 50s (probably due to both escaped mink and people deliberately letting them out) and by the 90s, the mink who were in fur farms were essentially domesticated, and very easy to catch. Most interestingly, they have reverted to their natural brown colour over the relatively short period of time since they’ve established wild populations. Despite fur farming obviously being abominable, their presence in the wild continues to threaten native species and there’s no current, nationwide strategy to control the population.

Mink (Credit to Don Morris)

Plants

Burdock is out everywhere and very well known (especially with dandelion) but be careful if you’re picking it as you might confuse it for butterbur, which contains some harmful chemicals.

The famously named scarlet pimpernel only comes out in the morning and will even close in bad weather. You’ll see them in blue and pink occasionally, right up until october.

Burdock and scarlet pimpernel

You’ll see great willowherb in damp places like riversides and grassland - their big pink flowers are out until the end of August. Alternatively, rosebay willowherb can be found throughout woodland clearings, at the roadside and on waste ground. It colonises everywhere easily as its seeds have tiny parachutes which help them travel even in the slightest breeze.

Great willowherb and rosebay willowherb

Common fleabane, as mentioned earlier, is a favourite flower of gatekeeper butterflies as well as wasps, honeybees and hoverflies. Unsurprisingly, they are related to the common daisy - the overarching family they’re both part of (the Asteraceae family) is actually one of the biggest in the world, and their relatives include dandelion, chamomile and even sunflowers.

Mugwort can be spotted in hedgerows and on wasteland and is (apparently) good for deterring moths. If you’re into herbal medicine, it’s often used (for everything - from aiding digestion, boosting energy, helping menstrual problems, sleeplessness - the works) but obviously, you should always be very careful when foraging and get expert advice first!

Teasel is in flower at the moment - look out for its purple flowers, probably surrounded by bees. When they’re no longer flowering in autumn they start producing seeds and you’ll often see goldfinches on them having to ‘tease’ the seeds from the flower heads, hence the name.

Fleabane, mugwort and teasel

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All bird videos (Credit to Bob Hook)