A possible lack of Otter/Crayfish explanation

NW wind, a showery start but mainly sunny after mid morning.

Report from Shaun:

Red Nab to Wooden Jetty 

Shag 1 2cy on wooden jetty

Mediterranean gull 23 - 12 adult/3cy and 9 juvenile on Red Nab plus 1 adult on beach next to, and a juvenile feeing on No.2 outflow.

Redshank 68

Turnstone 65

Grey Seal 1

Nature Park

Red Admiral 3

Peacock 2

Comma 2

Small Tortoiseshell 2

Common Blue 1

Gatekeeper 5

Meadow Brown 4

Speckled Wood 5

Large White 1

Dog walking track to HNR:

Green-veined White 2

Common Blue 6

Peacock 2

Red Admiral 1

Comma 2

Small Tortoiseshell 1

Meadow Brown abundant

Gatekeeper 55+

Speckled Wood 5

Heysham Nature Reserve:

Large White 1

Small White 2

Green-veined White 2

Common Blue 16

{a blue seen briefly in the canopy of the tall trees in the NE corner may have been Holly Blue?}

Peacock 2

Red Admiral 2

Comma 5

Small Tortoiseshell 2

Meadow Brown abundant

Gatekeeper c35

Ringlet 1 (very worn)

Speckled Wood 8

Small Skipper 4

Emperor Dragonfly 3

Brown Hawker 4

Middleton Nature Reserve 

These nice shots from Alan Wilson

This is a very interesting shot. I photographed a Heron here (NW corner of the main pond) last year with a gold coloured fish, and had presumed it was one of the Goldfish/Rudd hybrids, but this high resolution shot from Alan shows this fish to be a small Tench. I didn't know that there were Tench in this pond (MD), but it may explain the apparent reduction in the Signal Crayfish (there has been no evidence, so far this year, of Otters feeding on the Crayfish). Tench are bottom feeders, and although they wouldn't worry a mature Crayfish, they will happily eat the fry. We'll see.

Gatekeepers

Common Blue 

A nice sequence of Green-Veined Whites

I just had a look along the south wall in the afternoon, there were 9 adult and 3 juvenile Mediterranean gulls on the sea out from the harbour, almost certainly some of Shaun's from earlier. This clip shows one adult and two juvenile.

And, continuing today's fish theme, this is one of Red Nab rock pools. These are small Grey Mullet.