I saw no emperors this week and haven't seen one since the teneral male three weeks ago. Maybe the recent unsettled weather hasn't suited them. There are plenty of blue damselflies, both azure and common blue,
large red damselflies,
and blue-tailed damselflies.
Butterflies this week included more painted ladies,
more large skippers,
more common blues.
and several speckled woods.
The site is home to several pairs of willow warblers. The odd one is still singing but there are lots of calls so I occasionally catch sight of one.
I heard another call I didn't recognise, sounding like a persistent alarm call. I eventually got a glimpse of the source - a garden warbler. You can hear the alarm call in a xeno-canto recording here.
The garden warbler was joined at one point by two willow warblers and they were all troubled by something low down in the hedge, although I couldn't see what it was. A stoat or weasel perhaps. Both birds nest close to the ground.
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