Some top insects

A dry day with sunny spells, particularly in the morning. A light NW wind

Canada goose 2 low and loud skeins heading north over medical centre at 09:30 - J Byrne

Clouded Yellow 1 along the promenade past Knowlys Road 11:00 - P Crooks

Middleton Nature Reserve main pond - Janet

Two visitors to the main pond saw a Lesser Emperor. (both had cameras, any pictures and or more detail would be very much appreciated - see sidebar for contact email addresses)

A male Red-Veined Darter was resting on the west bank

Red-Veined Darter

These were on the spit

Black-Tailed Skimmer

Four-spotted Chaser

Broad-bodied Chaser

Loads of Damselflies over the water, likely after the flies there.

This from Kevin Eaves:

I had a Sycamore Moth in the trap this morning, which is the second site record. It's very local, and uncommon in the north of Lancashire.

Sycamore moth

Heysham skear - Malcolm 14:15 - 16:00

Eider 2 female

Red-breasted Merganser 1

Gulls only c200 today. I would have expected more as the tide would be going out further than of late, exposing more seed mussels. The mussels, at this end of the skear at least, are still tiny. You can barely see them as the gulls graze them.

Great Black-backed gulls aren't regulars here, and they don't "lower" themselves 
to scraping up seed mussels!

Lesser Black-backed gull. The lesser in this case means its back is less black.
Of course, it is also a smaller bird than the Great Black-backed gull.

Herring gull

No green ringed birds were seen today, but it wasn't helped when a south bound Osprey at 15:30 lifted them all.

Osprey, probably heading to the outfalls to fish

Oystercatcher c1000

Curlew 1

Knot 11

Sanderling 7

Turnstone 2

Curlew

Knot

Sanderling 

It was hat and gloves weather again!

Significantly cooler today, not helped by a fresh SW wind. It warmed up in the evening as the sun finally broke through.

About 45 Canada geese in total grounded by yesterdays thunder c0730  
Out from Sandylands promenade - Graham Wheeler 

Middleton Nature Reserve - Janet

House Martin

Swallow

Male Pheasant

First Large Skipper this year

Bee Orchid

On a visit this evening, there was a Koi Carp swimming near the spit on the main pond.

Quite a large Koi Carp

Heysham Skear - Malcolm 13:30 - 15:30

It was surprisingly cool on the skear, I ended up with my wooly hat and gloves on!

Eider 1 female

Female Eider

Red -breasted Merganser 1

Great Crested Grebe 1

Shag 1 2nd calendar year

It had been swimming around

But then climbed onto a rock to freshen up.

Little Egret 2

I was there quite early in the ebbing tide so I could see where the waders were arriving from.

Oystercatcher were arriving all the time, almost all from the south.

Curlew 1 arrived from the east

Knot 1 just appeared 

Knot

Sanderling 22 in two flocks 4 and 18 came from the north, shaped to land but didn't and continued south.

Sanderling 

Ringed Plover 2 arrived from the north and settled high up the skear

Ringed Plover

Gulls c450. Three new green ringed birds for this year were read.

This one ringed as a Herring gull at Bowland in 2022, is now showing the
characteristics of it being a hybrid with a Lesser Black-backed gull

Bell Aire Park - Alison Hayward

A nice pair of fruit flies - Chaetostomella cylindrica, a  tephritid fruit fly

More RVD

 A very heavy thundery shower around 07:00. Kevin Eaves' weather station recorded 88 lightning strikes within a 20km radius! After that a sunny morning with increasing cloud cover again in the afternoon. A SE wind.

Middleton Nature Reserve - Janet

A visitor with binoculars saw at least one male Red-Veined Darter flying over the main pond.

There seems to be plenty of food for the growing Coot chicks

Painted Lady

Common Blue

Silver-ground Carpet (phone shot, this evening)

This Roe Deer was at exactly the same spot on the south side as yesterday 

South Shore - Malcolm 12:45 - 14:45

I started at the saltmarsh and immediately a female Darter flew past me. She didn't land but I managed some in flight shots. None of the shots were great, but they all showed the diagnostic blue of the lower eye of a Red-Veined Darter

Female Red-Veined Darter

I thought I was going to see lots of dragonflies after this good start, but a glimpse of something small and dark past the Roundhead was the only other sighting. It was likely to have been a damselfly or possibly a demoiselle 

Meadow Pipit also on the saltmarsh (possibly breeding?)

Meadow Pipit

It was eying the myriad of flies around.

Rock Pipit 5 - 1 on Red Nab and at least 4 in the harbour 

Rock Pipit between the lighthouse and waterfall 

Rock Pipit on the light to the right of the lighthouse 

Linnet 4 between the lighthouse and waterfall 

Still at least 2 chicks in the Carrion Crow nest under one of the
 harbour platforms. Still no visits by adults seen

This green ringed Herring gull was on top of a platform.
Almost certainly one ringed at the Power Station last year. Details awaited 

This green ringed Herring gull was on No.2 outfall.
It was definitely ringed as a chick on the Power Station 24th June last year.
It was at Southport Marine Lake as early as the 8th August last year,
then at Seaforth docks from February to April this year

There were plenty of Butterflies coming in/off again, but the fresh wind blowing up the sloping wall lifted many over the perimeter fence, rather than them flying along the sea wall, so the count wasn't as high as it could have been. These are the totals from the same walk as the last two days.

Painted Lady 32 (including a surge of 10 in quick succession at 13:45

Red Admiral 2

Common Blue 3

Small White 4

Large White 1

Silver Y 1

Burnet Companion 1

Cinnabar 1

Light Brown Apple Moth 1

These striking crane flies are Nephrotoma sp (likely submaculosa)

There were two spikes of Bee Orchid near the gate behind Red Nab

The double flower spike is circled, the single flower just to the left

Kevin Eaves spotted these beetles along the sea wall

Harpalus affinis

Poecilus versicolor

Cardinal

Cinnamon Bug

Bell Aire Park - Alison Hayward

It was nice to see large numbers of Figwort Weevils (Cionus scrophulariae) on a small patch of Figwort plants in the lane near Bell Aire Park.  Interesting that a significant number flew in during the few minutes I was watching joining the 10s already there.  

Figwort Weevil