Middleton full of birds & dragonflies

Heysham Obs
No known coastal coverage today

Middleton IE ringing
A good morning produced, for a team of five ringers, 92 captures (this after a slightly delayed start!). Captures included 34 Long tailed Tits, 12 Sedge Warblers, 2 Reed Warblers, 8 Grasshopper Warblers (a total of 13 ringed in two visits this week, the locations suggesting four broods), 11 Whitethroat, 3 Lesser Whitethroats & 8 Willow Warblers. (AJD)

Middleton IE dragonflies
Red-veined Darter - on the model boat pond, absolute minimum of 4 males and a pair in tandem with the female ovipositing. No definite evidence that the paired male was not one of the four previously observed singletons. This is the first observed ovipositing since 2006, although I remain to be convinced that any of these are of local origin, as opposed to a migratory influx along with the Painted Ladies. Today sightings do, however, point the pendulum a little more towards some local emergence.

Elsewhere
Ringed Little Egret at the Allen Pools - definitely a wild bird - details soon, but apparently British-ringed.