Lesser Emperor showing well, but very mobile

Showers, short, but heavy. Still warm despite only occasional sunshine. Light variable breezes.

South shore 

Pete checked from Ocean Edge

Hummingbird Hawk-moth on lavender at Ocean Edge entrance 

Mediterranean gull 12 on Red Nab

Shag on wooden jetty

Middleton Nature Reserve - Malcolm 15:15 - 16:30

Main Pond

Mute Swan 3

Mallard 2 well grown broods with Mum

Common Snipe 1

Swallow 3

Emperor at least 5 males and a female

Lesser Emperor 1 male

Brown Hawker 1 female

Common Darter 4 males and a female

The Lesser Emperor was patrolling the pond and being chased by the Blue Emperors whenever it encroached into their territories. I saw it several times, but on each occasion it just seemed to appear out of nowhere and disappeared just as quickly!

Lesser Emperor. The last record was on 10th July so this is likely a new arrival 

Common Darter

Small Red-eyed Damselfly just one pair in tandem seen. 

Although the female wasn't really seen as she was below the water surface.

Common Blue Damselfly 

"No swimming" pond

Mute Swan 1

Gadwall 4

Mallard 8

Coot 8

Moorhen 2

There were more Small Red-eyed Damselflies on this pond 10+

Small Red-eyed Damselflies 

Emperor 3 males

Brown Hawker 1 male

Pond in the southern section of the reserve 

Ruddy Darter at least 2 males, no females seen

Ruddy Darter

Common Darter 1 male and 1 female

Migrant Hawker 1 male

Sparrowhawk soaring to the east

Long-Tailed Tits feeding party of at least 8 including juveniles 

Juvenile Long-Tailed Tits

Butterflies seen during the visit

Brimstone 1

Painted Lady 1

Red Admiral 3

Peacock 1

Gatekeeper 1

Meadow Brown lots

Green-Veined White 4

Speckled wood 4

The east wind provides some interest

Very warm (27°C) despite being mainly overcast. An east breeze all day becoming quite fresh in the afternoon 

This from Jeff Gorse.

The North Lancashire Wildlife Group (NLWG) did a field trip at Heysham yesterday. I’ll send the site records once received but in terms of immediate highlights we had 2 female Speckled Bush-Crickets on the landscape strip, a male Short-Winged Conehead at Ocean Edge 

speckled bush-cricket - more shots later in the week

Grey Seal bobbing near the jetty.

Steve Garland also found a Tebenna micalis - Small Thistle Moth, a micro-moth which is the fourth Lancashire record (he’d contributed the third as well, a week or so ago!). 

North shore - Pete Crooks

I had a walk along the prom this afternoon 

2 Mediterranean Gulls (adult and juvenile) on the sea in Heysham Village Bay at high tide 

Hummingbird Hawk-moth at St Peter's  Church, Heysham.

South shore

Malcolm 10:30 - 12 and just Red Nab 13:00 - 13:30

As soon as I reached the sea wall this morning I could see there was an Osprey on the post at the end of No.2 outfall again. These shots are from later when I was further along the sea wall.

Initially it was just finishing off eating a fish.

It then moved a little higher revealing its blue ring on its right leg.
There are no remains of the fish to be seen

Meanwhile a Grey Seal was eating a fish directly below the post.
Possibly the Osprey's discard

A fresh east breeze was blowing, it was warm and the tide was out. These are the three factors that we normally associate with insect migration here. But it was a bit early and although warm it wasn't sunny. On the way out along the sea wall the only insects seen coming in off were

Red Admiral 2

Small Tortoiseshell 1

But as I was checking the scrub and brambles at the end of the sea wall, more butterflies were coming in.

15 minutes checking the area saw:

Small White 7

Painted Lady 8

Red Admiral 7

Common Blue 1

Small Tortoiseshell 1

Meadow Brown 7

Silver Y 1

Walking back along the sea wall 6 Painted Lady flew past me

Painted Lady having a rest along the sea wall

Rock Pipit 3 at Red Nab

Rock Pipit

Linnet 5 at Red Nab

Linnet

In the Nature Park 

Red Admiral 7

Painted Lady 2

Peacock 2

Brimstone 2 males

Small White 5

Common Blue 1

Speckled  Wood 2

Meadow Brown 5

Migrant Hawker 1

Brimstone feeding on Buddleia. They always rest with their wings closed,
and both the male and female underwings have a leaflike colour,
but the males are more yellow than the females

It is only when the male flies does he reveal his bright yellow upper wings, so I took this clip to demonstrate. A Red Admiral also in this clip.

I'd noticed that there were quite a few Mediterranean gulls with the Black-Headed gulls on Red Nab, so I returned at 13:00 with wellies on.

Mediterranean gull 16 minimum

Even close to them they were difficult to see and most were hunkered 
down or partially obscured 

I did manage to see on yellow ringed bird AZTZ. One already seen this 
summer. Ringed in Germany in 2019

The Osprey was still on the post at the end of No.2 outfall.
This is looking from Red Nab at 13:10

Kevin checked the sea wall at 13:30

a total of 4 Painted Lady, 4 Red Admiral, and 3 Small Tortoiseshell. 

A Grey seal near the outfall and this rather impressive Red Wasp Vespula rufa.

Two Osprey!

A warm sunny day with very light variable breezes.

South shore - Malcolm 10:00 - 11:30

A walk out along the sea wall just after low water. There was almost nothing walking out, no feeding gulls on the feeding beach, plenty resting on all the beaches, but no Mediterranean gulls seen anywhere. I had thought there could be an Osprey today, but there were none as I walked out. But returning from the inner harbour I saw that one had settled on the post at the end of No.2 outfall. Then a second Osprey approached from the north and tried to land on top of the post. You can see the first Osprey trying to warn it off.

But the second bird was larger, presumably a female, and landed anyway 

Both looked to be adults, the lower bird with a blue ring on its right leg. The other bird not ringed at all.

This location shot shows the post at the end of No.2 outfall.
Both Ospreys are resting on the post in this shot

It was good to see that none of the resting gulls on the shore reacted to having two large birds of prey in the vicinity. They must be getting used to the presence of Ospreys 

Cormorant about to take off

One of two Little Egret

One of c50 Starlings on the brambles between the lighthouse and waterfall.
This one looking particularly smart in its winter plumage 

There were no Linnet or Rock Pipits seen between the lighthouse and waterfall. At this point there was no breeze at all and a few butterflies were drifting in.

Small White 3

Painted Lady 2

Meadow Brown 5, but likely residents

Painted Lady

There were 2 Rock Pipits and two Linnet on Red Nab.

Linnet

Rock Pipit

In the Nature Park 

Red Admiral 3

Painted Lady 2

Small White 3

Common Blue 1 

Speckled Wood 2

Meadow Brown several

Migrant Hawker 1

Speckled Wood

Middleton Nature Reserve 

Janet has just been released from hospital after having pins and a plate fixed to repair her elbow. She just managed a quiet sit on the bench in the main pond car park.

There were a few damselfly, not Red eye, and a Common Darter. 

All 3 mute were present.

Small White feeding on Fleabane

Quite an interesting day

A warm sunny day with a light west breeze

Middleton Nature Reserve 

Moth report by Alan:

I set a small moth trap last night and checked through the moths this morning.  The catch was modest, with only 59 moths of 15 species recorded.  This was far fewer than the catch overnight of the 28/29th when the catch was 115 of 37 species although the weather conditions were similar, but perhaps a little cooler.  All moth records are entered onto iRecord.

I checked this afternoon - Malcolm

Main pond only briefly checked 

2 Mute Swans

4 Coot

c15 Mallard, mainly immature 

5 House Martins

"No swimming" pond

1 Mute Swan

13 Mallard

3 Gadwall

1 Shoveler 

1 Tufted Duck

1 Teal

11 Coot (3 obviously immature)

Moorhen 2

Male Mallard, moulting out of eclipse and surrounded by feathers!

Male Tufted Duck

Mallard, Shoveler, Coot

Three Gadwall coming in to land......

.......and landing 

There were no dragonflies seen on or around this pond and just one distant Damselfly over the water, looked to be a Small Red-eye

Red Nab - Malcolm 11:00 - 12:00

I went as the tide was approaching Red Nab. There weren't a lot of gulls roosting, mainly as it was a nice Saturday and many holidaymakers were exploring the rocks (exactly as I do when I go somewhere new).

Mediterranean gulls 3 

Two of the Mediterranean gulls with Black-Headed gulls

There were c2000 Oystercatcher spread across the mud so I went to
check them out and managed to find two colour ringed birds

This one was on the skear in early June. Ringed in Dublin Ireland in 2013,
it has been seen several times in Ireland and Norway and once in Scotland,
but these are its first sightings in England

This one was only ringed this February at the Exe estuary Devon.
Identified as a 3rd calendar year bird when ringed, this is its first sighting 

381km, as the Oystercatcher flies. But it is unlikely that it took this route 

Curlew 150+ in several flocks south

Redshank 1

Little Egret 3

In the Nature Park 

Large White 2

Small White 4

Red Admiral 2

Painted Lady 1

Peacock 2

Common Blue 1

Speckled Wood 2

Meadow Brown several 

Migrant Hawker 1 - first record this year (it won't be the last!)

Peacock

Quite a worn Large White

Faded Common Blue

Migrant Hawker