Still plenty of Meds

The sunshine today was hazy at times coupled with a fresh variable breeze keeping the temperature under 25°C

Middleton Nature Reserve - Janet

Main pond

Small Red-eyed Damselfly 

Common Darter

Another Common Darter, quite a friendly one!

Southern section 

Ruddy Darter by the pond

Common Darter

Red Admiral

Peacock

I was hoping for a Copper Tip Longhorn but just found this beetle sp

There was a comment yesterday asking where to find the dragonflies and is there a map. 

There isn't a map of the Reserve, but there is a map of the recording area at the foot of the posts. Someone from the Observatory team regularly checks the reserve and reports here saying what is to be seen and including a location shot if relevant. The three ponds referred to most commonly are:

The main pond. This is where the bottom car park is.

"No swimming" pond this is just next to the main pond on the west side.

The southern section begins on the other side of the road from the car park. If you follow the track and cross the small bridge then turn left it takes you to the pond there.

South shore

I went to check the feeding beach by the wooden jetty at low water (Malcolm). It was empty?

No Mediterranean gulls on the feeding beach

Juvenile Black-Headed gulls on No.1 outfall

Rock Pipits 2 together flew along the sea wall

Mediterranean gulls 110 on Red Nab. That's a lot at any time, but they are normally feeding at low water. But these long days allow them plenty of time to feed then rest and preen. An increase in juveniles, there were 9.

 

It's becoming increasingly difficult to be confident of the age of some of the 
immature birds

Two Juvenile Meds

This juvenile is stretching its wings

Kevin spotted this Hummingbird Hawkmoth on the sea wall this afternoon 

Heysham skear - Malcolm 17:15 - 19:00

A very pleasant evening walk with a cooling inshore breeze.

Eider 1 female

Great Crested Grebe 2

Eider and a Great Crested Grebe

Little Egret 3

Sandwich Tern at least one fishing 

Mediterranean gulls 3 - they are not commonly seen here

Black-Headed gull (left) and Mediterranean gull

There were about 130 large gulls on the skear to begin with, plus more on the sea. There were about 250 feeding when I left. The mussel beds are well established now, but seed mussels continue to arrive. Not as easy to find as a month or so ago but still a plentiful food source.

The Herring gull centre is one of two previously seen ringed birds located.
The gull lower right is just swallowing a seed mussel

Oystercatcher c300

Curlew c60

This Curlew with a plain orange ring and a black ring code A5
Ringed at Llanrhystud near Aberystwyth, Ceredigion, 10/02/2016
Its only other sighting was here last September 

Nearly 200 Meds!

Another hot sunny day with a light variable breeze

South shore

Shaun Coyle made a thorough check of the gulls and insects:

Heysham Red Nab. 1030-12:00:
Mediterranean Gull 190. 3 juvs, at least 30 2cy, the rest 3cy/adults. 

Nature Park:
Red Admiral 29.
Painted Lady 13.
Peacock 16.
Comma 3.
Large White 2.
Small White 8.
Meadow Brown 8.
Gatekeeper 36.
Speckled Wood 5.
Common Blue 3.
Small Skipper 1.
Also, 2 Hummingbird Hawkmoths.
Emperor Dragonfly 2.

I checked the gulls from the shore (Malcolm) once again there was no disturbance by Peregrines.

I could only find six ringed Mediterranean gulls. Just two new ones for this year, but one was the red ringed bird I caught a glimpse of yesterday 

We have seen this one before, it was here last August when we also had a 
high number of Meds. Ringed in Poland 2024. Hopefully it has been seen
since leaving us last year.

These are just some of the gulls on Red Nab

I walked back through the Nature Park with Shaun. This is his second Hummingbird Hawkmoth. In the same location as seen yesterday and the portion of the wing missing showing it to be the same insect.

Yesterday I incorrectly said it was feeding on tiny flowers. Maurice Pons has correctly pointed out that; "this is a female landing on a non flowering Lady,s Bedstraw for a split second to lay an egg. A sight rarely recorded." She was doing the same today. An area to watch for caterpillars later on.

c30m west of the small anemometer, along the back track from the anemometer, 
to where the track opens to a clearing with the large Buddleia stand beyond 

Swifts 8 south over Heysham as I headed home

Middleton Nature Reserve - Shaun

Lots of Small red-eyed damselflies on Main Pond and also on the No Swimming Pond (lots of Blue-tailed/Common Blues too)

Male Red-veined Darter on the No Swimming Pond with about 5 Common Darters. 

Commons also on Main Pond. 

Male Ruddy Darter on the pond in the Southern Section. 

Quite a few Emperor's, Black-tailed Skimmers, Brown Hawkers and a female Broad-bodied Chaser

Met a couple who had seen Southern Hawker too. 

Just out of the recording area:

Small Red-eyed Damselflies were seen for the first time at Walney today. They are certainly rapidly expanding their territory.

Janet was watching the Common Terns feeding in the River Lune from Bazil Point, before flying back to their nest at the Conder pool.

Common Tern

Another Hummingbird Hawkmoth

Another hot sunny day with a light variable breeze.

South shore - Malcolm

09:45 - 11:00

I went out to watch the tide reaching Red Nab. Starting at the saltmarsh.

I saw the Meadow Pipit on the same bush as yesterday, then it flew to Ocean Edge grass. Less than a minute later it returned with not one, but two bush-crickets 

Its nest must be close to the bush, but it wouldn't go down to it while I was watching

Juvenile Pied Wagtail 

Summer Plumage Redshank

Mediterranean gull 46 minimum, including 3 juvenile 

I managed to find three white ringed birds, one new for this year. Also the Red Ringed 2nd calendar year Hungarian bird.

Red HJ8A

But there was another red ring and I only managed a glimpse of the top of it.

This is a typical ring sighting! This is an older red ringed bird and it
appears to end in 0. One to watch out for

There was also a white ringed Black-Headed gull

It is definitely one from a Dutch ringing scheme. The code looks to be E4V6.
But it was difficult reading in the bright sunlight and you can see the effects 
of the heat haze in the background. We await feedback from the scheme manager.

Once again there was no sign of the Peregrines, but a raptor did lift them all once. An Osprey flew over with a fish. And everything lifted, but quickly settled again.

The fish looks to be a small Bass. The Osprey flew east and would have
passed directly over Middleton Nature Reserve. Blue ring on its left leg.

I returned this afternoon to check the feeding beach by the wooden jetty, but all the gulls, including Mediterranean were anting. 

Gulls including a Med (top right) over the Nature Park 

Swift 3 over the Nature Park

The number of Cormorants on the wooden jetty is increasing again

Some sort of "pigeon" between the Cormorants. 

The 2cy Shag relegated to the lower level

Rock Pipit with grubs above the lighthouse nest area

The breeze was from the west, and very refreshing it was too. But no good for insect movement here and nothing was coming in off.

There was quite a lot going on in the Nature Park

Red Admiral 35

Painted Lady 4

Peacock 1

Plus Small White, Gatekeeper, Meadow Brown, Speckled Wood and Common Blue

Red Admiral

Painted Lady

Peacock

The heady smell of the Buddleia was almost overpowering, but this Hummingbird Hawkmoth looked to be feeding on tiny flowers but Maurice Pons has correctly identified this behaviour as; "this is a female landing on a non flowering Lady,s Bedstraw for a split second to lay an egg. A sight rarely recorded."

To Maurice "it was obvious", and it is obvious, when you know what you are watching. Thanks Maurice.

Hummingbird Hawkmoth 

Redeyed invasion!

Another hot sunny day, with a light breeze that couldn't decide which direction to blow!

Middleton Nature Reserve - Janet

There has been a significant increase in the number of Small Red-eyed damselflies! These were over the main pond at the NW corner.

Not every one of these is a Redeye, but most are!

These were in the SW corner

Small Red-eyed Damselflies 

This male Emperor has just finished eating a Ladybird 

Male Banded Demoiselle near the seat in the car park

A Common Sandpiper flew across the pond

On the south side

Ruddy Darter, at least 2 males in different areas of the pond.

Male Ruddy Darters

Common Darter

Brown Hawker

Bluetail Damselflies

Common Blue

Tatty Green-Veined White

Six-spot Burnet

Hoverfly sp

South shore - Malcolm

09:15 -10:30

I thought this Meadow Pipit by the saltmarsh had caught a grasshopper.
But its antennae are very long, suggesting bush-cricket? Either way I
wouldn't fancy being the youngster that gets this pushed down its throat!

I went out on the shore to watch the tide covering Red Nab. 

There were plenty of gulls awaiting 

At one point all the Curlew left, but the gulls didn't move, it must have just
been time for the Curlew to move on. The arrow points to an Osprey resting 
on the post at the end of No.2 outfall

This is a slightly clearer shot of the Osprey. It was there the whole outing 

Mediterranean gulls 36, including a juvenile 

Juvenile Mediterranean gull

For a change there was no disturbance by the Peregrines. I just had to wait 
till they had to move a little as the tide pushed them higher, to check all their
legs for rings. Fortunately there were three ringed: white, yellow and green

The yellow ringed bird is a returning regular. Ringed as a chick in Germany 
in 2019, it has been seen at Heysham every summer since except 2021. Most
years here was its only sighting but it was seen in Poland just 18 days ago.

The green ringed bird is also a returning bird. Ringed as a chick in France in 2022, it was seen at Heysham last year and then back in France between January - May this year. 

The White ringed bird is new for Heysham, and not the one seen yesterday at the feeding beach. Ringed as a breeding bird in Holland in 2025, it was also seen at Merseyside last year.

One of two Little Egret

All the gulls were still there as I was forced off by the incoming tide.
It was nice to watch them undisturbed for a change.

I returned at 14:30 to walk along the sea wall to watch the feeding beach become exposed. But only two Meds turned up and there were no sandmason worm tubes showing close to the sea wall.

Mediterranean gull on an empty beach

2nd calendar year Shag on the wooden jetty

Rock Pipit having a daintier snack than a bush-cricket

At this time the breeze had shifted to the west and nothing was coming in off the sea. But just as I was getting back to Red Nab it moved to the east again and in the last few hundred metres 3 Red Admirals, a Painted Lady and a Small White came in.

There were lots of Red Admirals in the Nature Park, plus 2 Painted Lady, 2 Peacock, a Brimstone and a Large White.

Also Gatekeeper, Meadow Brown, Speckled Wood and Small White

Brimstone