Ringlet abound and a Fritillary bonus

WNW light winds and plenty of sunshine

Janet had a walk around Heysham Nature Reserve including the dog walk and Nature Park. She saw Ringlet butterflies everywhere, it's not long since they were rarities here. Typical were seven around the small area of long grass between the newt pond and the Power Station perimeter.

Other butterflies included:

Large Skipper

Small Skipper (first records this year)

Small Skipper

Meadow Brown 

Common Blue

Red Admiral 

And, most intriguing, a brief sighting of a large orange butterfly on the high meadow of Heysham Nature Reserve.

Moths included this Straw Dot

Straw Dot moth

I was busy today and didn't get a chance for a walk till late afternoon, still it proved to be an enjoyable walk (MD)

Middleton Nature Reserve 

Mute Swan 2 adult 7 cygnets 

Moorhen 3 adult 1 chick

Mallard 1 female 3 chicks plus 7 males

Little grebe 2 adult 2 juvenile 

Stock Dove 1 flew to south from scrub near Tradebe - first record since early in the year

Warblers singing

Cetti's Warbler 1 ("no swimming" pond)

Willow Warbler only two or three

Chiffchaff several 

Common Whitethroat 4+

Blackcap 3

Dragonflies in order of abundance 

Black-Tailed Skimmer

Broad-Bodied Chaser (only in second place as the small ponds not checked)

Emperor

Four-Spotted Chaser

No darters seen today

There's an east wind forecast for the morning, perhaps it will bring in something more interesting.

Butterflies:

Ringlet

Large Skipper 

Speckled Wood 

Red Admiral 1

Green-veined White 1

Common Blue 1

No small Heath seen, again partly a result of today's shortened route.

Heysham Nature Reserve 

I called in to see if I could locate the butterfly Janet glimpsed this morning. There were several possibilities, all interesting. And so it proved.

Dark Green Fritillary 2 - Feeding on the clover on the high meadow, they were very flighty and presumably the same sex as neither wanted the company of the other.

Dark Green Fritillary 

Other butterflies on this plateau:

Ringlet

Meadow Brown

Large Skipper 

Small Skipper

Common Blue

When I first arrived at the meadow, this Roebuck was feeding (the background buzzing if the overhead electricity cables)

Eventually it moved on but as I was leaving and approaching the car park, it was in the Power Station non operational land. It was a mute point as to who was watching whom. Until a family party with well behaved, but noisy kids approached.

We both quietly tiptoed away!