Signs of an approaching heat wave were evident by 1 August with a hot and sunny weekend quickly building into the hottest spell of what had already been a very warm year. Temperatures soared to 30°C by 6 August, but light easterly sea breezes made the park one of the more pleasant places to be in the heat. The long hot spell continued through to the month end with several days seeing temperatures reaching 30°C.
Two juvenile Peregrines were loafing on the south tower of the Humber Bridge on the morning of 5 August and making stoops onto passing birds over the estuary. One bird attempted to take advantage of an adult Avocet flying west with a juvenile bird, but the Avocet ditched into the Humber leaving the Peregrine wondering where it’s breakfast had gone. Both Avocets then returned to feed on the foreshore in front of the park, where there were also eight Black-tailed Godwits. One of the Peregrines later made a few passes over the northern park, putting all the feeding birds to flight before it moved off eastwards. Peregrines continued to be a feature of the month with the south towers of the bridge forming convenient perching and roosting sites for up to four different birds. A fine pair of adults on 25 August were joined by the odd juvenile on several dates to the end of the month. On several days birds hunted over Water’s Edge or the adjacent foreshore. The first Marsh Harrier of the year for the park flew over on the afternoon of 16 August and there were regular sightings of Sparrowhawk, but the Kestrels departed at the end of July.
Wader migration is at a peak in August and several species were recorded, although not in the numbers seen in 2002. A further three Avocets were flying around over the park on 20 August and there were records of single Knot 17th and Black-tailed Godwit on a few dates. The abundant mud on the new lagoons attracted a regular Green Sandpiper, with three birds being present on the Middle Lagoon on 5 August. Also of frequent occurrence were Common Sandpiper, Redshank and Snipe. A roosting flock of Redshank at the month end peaked at 42 birds during some exceptional spring tides. Snipe built up to five birds by 27 August, while a flock of seven Whimbrel was seen flying south on 6 August. The drought meant that there was virtually no water left in the Middle Lagoon and that unfortunately had a negative impact upon wader numbers.
A few Common Terns were still around to the third week of the month and a juvenile Black Tern was present briefly on the morning of 9 August. In the nest boxes, some late broods of Stock Dove saw recently fledged juveniles still occupying the entrances at month end. No young Cuckoos were reared on the park in 2003 but a fledged juvenile arrived from across the Humber on 16 August. It disappeared into the woodland after being chased off by the local Pied Wagtails. The hot weather and abundant insects attracted good numbers of wagtails, especially in the evenings, when up to 22 Pied and 6 Yellow Wagtails could be found around the meadows and the new ponds. The first juvenile Grey Wagtail of the autumn appeared on 30 August. In the plantations there were very few warblers, with the odd Chiffchaff and Blackcap being the most regular. Several Reed Warblers were still about at the end of the month, but by then there were just single Sedge Warbler and Whitethroat to be found and all the Willow Warblers seemed to have departed. The northern park attracted good numbers of hirundines with up to 60 Sand Martins being typical along with 20-30 Swallows. On cooler days, the Sand Martins often rested on the chalk and shingle or the bare earth banks where they benefited from the residual heat in the substrate.
Firsts for the year were an eclipse drake Garganey, with five Teal, and a Whinchat on 30 August. The Whinchat was the only occurrence this year of what is an increasingly scarce migrant species.
The established meadows and the abundant weed and grass seed on the northern park made good feeding for several seed eaters. A mixed flock of up to 75 Linnet, 35 Greenfinch and 11 Goldfinch was a fine sight but a flock of 58 House Sparrows in mid-month was just as impressive. Fishermen included a few immature Grey Herons, three juvenile Cormorant and daily sightings of Kingfishers, with a peak of four individuals mid-month.
Insects were still buzzing aplenty in the first week. The whole park was seemingly carpeted in butterflies from the big and obvious Large Whites, Painted Ladies and Peacocks through a myriad of Small Tortoiseshells to some superb powder blue Common Blues. A later brood of Speckled Woods saw day counts of up to 15 individuals around the park, while brilliant coloured Red Admirals were much in evidence at the month end. Dragonflies were also still making an impact, with the rarest of the crop being the first park record of an Emperor on 4 August. This, one of the largest and most colourful of our dragonfly species, was overdue for a park visitation. They breed in several ponds around the Humber estuary, although not along the Barton to Barrow clay pits. As usual, August was dominated by Migrant Hawkers. Their presence around the plantations was guaranteed on any warm day, when up to 30 were in evidence. Black-tailed Skimmers were still on the wing to 4 August, but as usual species variety declined through the month. Common and Ruddy Darters and Migrant Hawkers were the main species by the middle of the month.
A fox cub was sunning itself on the Middle Lagoon island on 4 August and there were the usual frequent sightings of Water Voles.