The highlight of the month was probably the visit from a family group of five common sandpipers on the 2^nd. They spent most of their time here perched on the posts around the lagoons, but also investigated the tern rafts. Single birds were also seen on a couple of dates later in the month.

Common terns (above) continued to be a daily fixture here, usually one or two birds at a time but we had the highest count of the year on the 21^st when five birds were here together. The terns almost certainly visit from the local breeding colonies at Walthamstow Wetlands and Banbury Reservoir. Two other birds which don’t breed here but don’t have to travel far from their breeding sites to get here are little egret and kingfisher. The former are usually seen several times through the summer, with at least a couple of sightings here this July, but kingfishers are rarely seen here in the summer, so a bird seen on July 20^th was a bit of a surprise.

Duck numbers always build up in late summer and autumn as moulting flocks form, and gadwall numbers reached over fifty in July. Shoveler (above) numbers were lower, but were close to double figures at the end of the month.

The great crested grebe chick (below) continued to thrive, benefitting from having no siblings competing for food, and had reached roughly adult-size by the end of July.

The swift flock this year never reached the several hundred birds which have been seen here in previous summers, but when supplemented by the smaller numbers of house martins and sand martins occasionally seen through July reached close to one hundred birds, and the flock not surprisingly drew the attention of a hobby, which was seen on three dates through July.

The first willow warbler of the year generally appears either in the last few days of July or the first few days of August, and this year one arrived on cue on the last day of July.

The total number of bird species seen here in July 2023 was 61, fractionally below the July average for the last five years.