A group of seven Nature Group members met at 9 am on a sunny warm morning at Summer Leys Reserve in Northamptonshire.
The meadow, which is normally still green and full of flowers and insects etc, has been partly mown and otherwise is straw-coloured with dry dead foliage and, for the most part, without any flowers. Therefore it was not surprising to find a lack of insects in these drought conditions.
There were some Grasshoppers and Crickets but even those genera were less abundant. The main subjects were the butterflies able to move around to find the remaining flowers for nectar.
The species included Brown Argus, Common Blue, Small Heath, Small Copper and Small White. A Clouded Yellow was a favourite subject when it paid a visit to the area.
The water level is low in the lakes and many of the scrapes are dry plus the Bird feeding station is not being used in the summer (as the RSPB have recommended). This has resulted in lower than usual bird species though the Herons and Egrets have done ok judging by the number of young birds around.
Migrant hawkers and Willow Emeralds in the Odonata family were abundant especially at the Dragonfly look-out area and the pond.
Gallery of Images RPSNature - Summer Leys August 23rd 2026
Images by Ann Miles, Ian Willis, Penny Reeves, Peter Ward, Richard North and John Kirkelionis
For more events to attend go to Nature (rps.org)
