A First Visit to Tetney Blow Wells.

It was the 21st June, the day after the summer solstice and the longest day of the year as we walked into the Lincolnshire Wildlife Trust's Tetney Blow Wells Reserve. It was a beautifully warm and sunny morning with temperatures up to 27C as befitted the longest day which can be a moveable feast. Often on 21st June but occasionally the 20th, as this year or the 22nd. The exact day and time depends on when the sun reas its northernmost point from the celestial equator and so it won't always occur on the same day. As we stood at the nearest pond we could see a single four spotted chaser dragonfly and a solitary white butterfly; the only dragonfly of the day and one of few butterflies. We did see quite a few meadow brown butterflies (10) however, 1 ringlet and a couple of speckled woods. Numbers were well down on what I would have expected at this time of the year. I am sure that the wet weather over the past months is making its presence felt. We did better on the bird front with 20 species, the highlights being blackcap, sedge warbler, cetti's warbler and kingfisher.