Tuesday 30th June [Sunshine & showers]
I went to the lake late in the day and counted seven Great White, nine Little and ten Cattle Egrets, plus a new brood of two Mallard ducklings. The level has dropped sufficiently now for waterbirds to be able to stand and roost on Tiny’s Shallow in front of the Fishing Lodge, so if things continue in the same vein then we might actually start to attract waders now that some species are already on their return migration from breeding grounds further north. I estimate the water level to be around 68-70% currently. 27 spp.
The Hummingbird Hawk-moth is still paying the lavender on our patio periodic visits to top up its energy reserves today.
Monday 29th June [Cool, and mainly sunny]
Andy D. paid the lake a visit today and recorded two Great White Egrets, 28 Little Egrets and 22 Cattle Egrets (including two juveniles). Thanks Andy.
Sunday 28th June [Cool & breezy]
Not taken at the lake, but I saw this Hummingbird Hawk-moth over the patio this afternoon – one to look out for in your gardens while the sun shines.
Hummingbird Hawk-moth, Blagdon garden © Nigel Milbourne 2026
Friday 26th June [Very hot]
I decided to venture out this afternoon as the heat started to go off the day. It wasn’t so hot locally today, although another June record temperature was set in the east of England. I wanted to look for large dragonflies and found four Emperors, two of which were ovipositing females, nine male Lesser Emperors, and two male Black-tailed Skimmers. The few birds I saw included at least two Little Egrets, four Great White Egrets and fifteen Cattle Egrets. 23 spp.
Male Lesser Emperor, Blagdon Lake © Nigel Milbourne 2026
I have been looking for Norfolk Hawkers at the lake for the last two years, and have heard that they have been found at Chew Valley Lake recently. I first saw them last year in Somerset (see 11th May 2025 for photo). As yet they still elude me at Blagdon. Today, and recently, Lesser Emperors are the most numerous of the dragonflies with the possible exception of Black-tailed Skimmers.
Sunday 21st June
I have a report from Nick P. with the following sightings: 19 Gadwall, nine Tufted Duck & seven Little Egrets, of note.
Saturday 20th June [Early drizzle & cloud, with sunny spells later.]
I was up and out before 0800 hrs this morning in my running gear, so didn’t get to the lake until after tea. There wasn’t a lot to tell you about I’m sorry to say, although I did find a (barely alive) Purple Hairstreak butterfly behind Top End hide. This is the first one I’ve seen at the lake for a long time. There were at least three each of Great White and Little Egrets, and a few others at roost that I couldn’t see well enough to identify to species. I spotted a drake Shoveler in front of the Lodge feeding over Tiny’s Shallow, which is likely to be uncovered very soon. Long, Holt, and Wood Bays are already pretty well weeded up, with prolific growth over much of Top End too. It’s such a shame to see the lake in this state. I hope it recovers to something of its former glory one day, but I guess it won’t be in my time.
Friday 19th June [Sunshine then clouding over late afternoon. Warm.]
Spotted Flycatcher, Blagdon Lake © Nigel Milbourne 2026
Bird of the day for me today was this Spotted Flycatcher (apologies for the slightly soft focus), the first I’ve seen this year. They’re always a welcome sight at the lake, as the species is in decline in these parts. I hope it sticks around to breed. I spent time chatting to an angler who’d seen a Hobby this morning, and then far too much time trying to get a decent shot of the flycatcher, which resulted in my not recording as much as I should have. I saw a lone male Tufted Duck, two new broods of Mallard (three juvs. in each), and two Lesser Emperor Dragonfies, of note. There were three Great White Egrets, I think, and just one other, under a tree, that I couldn’t identify. 32 spp.
Thursday 18th June [Sunny spells]
Andy D. was at the lake this morning and reported five Great White, 17 Little, and nine Cattle Egrets and a Red Kite. I ventured down in the evening, met Mark H. and had a catch-up, before having a drive to Top End hide and back. I saw singles of Great White and Little Egret but little else of interest, apart from a Barn Owl in the village as I drove home. 19 spp.
Tuesday 16th June [A gentle breeze & mainly cloudy]
I wanted to try and get a picture of the eclipse Mandarin Duck this morning, but I didn’t manage to find it. Neither did I see two Little Terns that were said to be flying towards Blagdon from t’other place. I went back to the lake in the evening and walked from the Lodge to Top End hide and back. There appeared to have been lots of egrets at the lake this morning, but I didn’t try to count them. This evening there were clearly fewer, but I noted three Great White, ten Little and at least eleven Cattle Egrets. A Hobby put in an appearance late on from Burmah Road, and I saw some Pyramidal Orchids in flower. 34 spp. Nick P. reported twelve Little Egrets.
Monday 15th June [Breezy, with watery sunshine.]
Dave P. and I carried out the monthly WeBS this morning between 0940 and 1315 hrs. From a birding point of view it didn’t prove to be too much of a challenge, apart from trying to count egrets and the Canada Goose moult flock. There was an eclipse drake Mandarin Duck by the Spillway that we nearly missed in its drab coat, and two new Mute Swan and three new Mallard broods were welcome additions. We spent some time looking at dragonflies/damselfies and butterflies as well, noting among others two male Lesser Emperors at the west end of Green Lawn, and Ringlet and Large Skipper at Top End. Count details were as follows: Canada Goose 121 (inc. 3 juvs), Mute Swan 43 (inc. 3 broods, 14 juvs.), Mandarin Duck 1, Gadwall 6, Mallard 195 (inc. 4 broods, 23 juvs), Pochard 1, Moorhen 2, Coot 100, Little Grebe 1, Great Crested Grebe 15, Little Ringed Plover 1, Black-headed Gull 1, Great Black-backed Gull 3, Lesser Black-backed Gull c. 10, Cormorant 1, Little Egret 6, Great White Egret 2, Cattle Egret 13, Grey Heron 5, Sparrowhawk 1, Cetti’s Warbler 1, Grey Wagtail 4. Also noted were: Beautiful Demoiselle, Common Blue Damselfly, Red-eyed Damselfly, Emperor, Lesser Emperor, Black-tailed Skimmer, Large Skipper, Red Admiral, Painted Lady, Speckled Wood, Meadow Brown, and Ringlet.
Sunday 14th June
Nick P. reported five Little Egrets.
Saturday 13th June [Breezy with warm sunshine]
It remains quiet at the lake, although I saw two Little, two Great White and three Cattle Egrets. Kestrel and Mistle Thrush were welcome sightings, but best of all were two Grass Snakes that must have been warming themselves on the road late afternoon. You go ages without seeing one and then, just like buses, there’s two (in different spots)! 31 spp.
Friday 12th June
Last night I drove down to St. Austell, where I went for a 6 km walk along the National Cycle Route 3 towards Pentewan and back, before turning in. This morning I was up at 0630 hrs for an early shower, breakfast and drive to Tregony, where I caught a bus to Portloe. I have just Portloe to Lizard Point to complete the South West Coast Path, most of which I walked alone or with friends in 2013/14. I did Mevagissey to Portloe last year, and wanted to try and do 22 km to Place (ferry) / St. Mawes to catch the bus back to Tregony, where I’d parked my car. I left Portloe at 1000 hrs and walked almost continuously, with a minute to read a sign about a cold war bunker at Nare Head, and another couple of minutes to remove my sweat shirt at Porscatho. It took five hours and two minutes at a fairly relentless pace, albeit in very pleasant conditions after the early drizzle stopped. It included 2400 feet of ascent and descent. But this time, and unlike last year, I got to my chosen bus stop with 25 minutes to spare, which made for an early evening arrival back home. Just 53 km to do now – hopefully in the next week or two. Rupert Higgins reported a Cuckoo and four Little Egrets.
Tuesday 9th June [Very breezy, with sunshine in the afternoon.]
The weather has been pretty dismal for the first few days of summer, apart from yesterday afternoon, but I took a walk this afternoon from home to Top End hide and back undeterred. To be honest it wasn’t a day for looking for insects, the wind was way too strong, although I saw two Painted Lady butterflies. There were a few moulting Mallards on the dam wall, and several hundred Swifts and House Martins over the water (I couldn’t spot a Swallow though). I noted three Little Egrets on Rainbow Point, and a Hobby on two occasions, over Wood and Long Bays. 29 spp.
When I got home, I was amazed to see a Red Kite very low over the car park of the Seymour Arms. It was as if it was about to swoop down for something it had spotted, but instead it lifted and drifted off over the High Street and out of sight. I wonder what caught its attention?
Monday 8th June
Chris P. sent me the following news: I ventured down the lake this evening and started walking out at 19:45 hrs. Hobby, Kestrel and one Little Egret. Swan pair with five young that I could see in the deteriorating light. 31 spp. Cheers Chris.
Thursday 4th June [Some heavy rain showers. Windy.]
I spent an hour or two at the lake around lunchtime and saw all three species of egret, with quite a decent flock of Cattle Egrets ranging around the north shore. They seem to be feeding along the water’s edge in the main, and I wonder if they’ve been attracted over the last few days by the constant emergence of damselflies. I saw a Red Kite over Top End, but nothing else of particular note apart from an excellent showing by Swifts over the water.
Tuesday 2nd June [Rain overnight, but mainly dry in Blagdon today.]
I had a tooth out late this morning, so was ordered to sit quietly for a few hours afterwards to let the wound start healing. As a result, I left it until this evening before walking down the hill to the lake and along to Bell’s Bush and back. It was pretty windy, and it looked like the boats might not have been out. I saw a new brood of two Mallard ducklings at Long Bay, and the family of Mute Swans has been reduced to six cygnets, one having been carried off by a Fox (pers. comm. Chris P.). There were hundreds of Swifts over the lake, with a few each of Swallow and House Martin, but no sign of any Hobbies. Neither was there any sign of either Cattle or Little Egret, but I counted four Great Whites at Rugmoor, and twelve Great Crested Grebes at Hellfire Corner. There was also a colour-ringed sub-adult Great Black-backed Gull on the dam wall with a yellow darvic D:LE. I’ve reported it to the BTO and is very likely another, of many, recorded at the lake that were ringed on Denny Island in the Bristol Channel.