Langford Lakes, Wilts

Langford Lakes is a nature reserve run by the Wiltshire Wildlife Trust and is home to many butterflies, dragonflies, wetland wildflowers and especially birds. The reserve is made up of paths that run out into the huge lakes that give it its name.
We went in hope of seeing plenty of dragonflies and wildflowers, possibly to add to our year lists and we certainly did.
I'll start with the birds because the Trust have worked hard to attract plenty of different and interesting species to breed there. One example is the use of tern decoys which are placed in the middle of the lakes with plastic models of terns apparently feeding by the nest. Anyway, the highlight in the birding world today was a pair of kingfishers that sat on one of these tern decoys before whirring off across the water and into the safety of the reeds. Other birds on the lake comprised of great crested grebes, canada geese, various gulls and some hybrid ducks (Langford lakes is a very special place in the winter) though we didn't look very hard. 30 different species had been recorded already this august.
There were a lot of butterflies around, most notably a comma, but also a couple of red admirals, very good numbers of peacocks and green-veined whites and a common blue.
While sitting in one of the hides, we watched two male migrant hawkers (they only come out at the end of July so it was a new species for the year) patrolling up and down a little inlet that snaked away from the lake. The male is easily identified from its brownish thorax, minimal markings on the top of the thorax and blueish body. We also spotted an emperor, blue-tailed damselflies and plenty of common blue's as well.
Langford Lakes is very good for wetland wildflowers due to the calcareous soil and so it proved! Hemp agrimony, black horehound and common fleabane lined the paths as well as common and russian comfrey, ribbed melilot which is just finishing, wild angelica and common toadflax. Down by the lake I found some yellow loosestrife, gipsywort and greater burdock. Also chicory, spear-leaved orache, small teasel and weld were spotted. We were almost back at the car when we past a notice board set up by the volunteers working there about what to look for in august. A quick skim down the list told us that migrant hawkers hadn't been recorded but there were plenty around today and also that green-flowered helleborines could be found on the north side of the main drive. Eagerly I set out in search of this scarce orchid and was finally rewarded (20 minutes later) by two wonderful flowers in the shade of the woods. Plenty of photos were taken and we left with a smile on our faces!

BIRD OF THE DAY: Kingfisher
INSECT OF THE DAY: Migrant hawker
FLOWER OF THE DAY: Green-flowered helleborine

Very very good and well worth a visit, whatever the season!