Mole, out of hole

I found this quite sizeable, but dead, mole on the way into the recently cut School Meadow. Apart from a slight mark on its back there was no obvious sign of why it died, but I assume an owl or fox are the prime suspects.

A bit further on, at Scouts' Pond the flag irises are now in flower, and I'm quite pleased with this picture of a bee just leaving one of them. Nothing much else to report there at the moment; certainly no dragonflies yet.

On the common itself there were at least two reed buntings singing, and still one reed warbler. Took loads of pictures of a bunting near Warren Road, but none of them turned out particularly well.

I am however not too displeased with this whitethroat, which was in the field above Pit Common.

Three juvenile moorhens on the Pit, expressing some alarm about a cat that was prowling around. Let's hope the moggy went hungry!

Flowers etc

Good to see in this morning's sunshine that the ragged robin, orchids and cotton grass is coming into flower.

Still very few butterflies - there were a couple of white ones about, and some speckled woods in Warren Woods, but otherwise not much else.

On the birds front, good to hear the reed warbler still going strong, and I heard a whitethroat for the first time this year (on the common, that is). Lots of blackcaps (I counted 6) and several chiffchaffs, but sadly still no willow warbler. This species has gone into a steep decline, and I fear we won't be hearing its lazy summer song on the common this year. And no cuckoos either.

At least there are still at least two young moorhens on the Pit. And I'm seeing more house martins than I have done for a couple of years (one of the wildlife survey species don't forget).

Deer seem to be proliferating; I had a good view of a muntjac on School Common this morning, and took this

last week at Scouts' Pond. Other people are reporting more frequent sightings of Chinese water deer and Roe deer.