Another very hot day even though hazy cloud shielded Heysham from the full glare of the sun. There was even a light shower in the morning. Light mainly east breeze till early afternoon then freshened and turned to west.
South Shore early(ish) morning
The tide was fully out, even so there was a large small gull roost on Red Nab. Unfortunately just a little too far for my optics (MD). Even so I managed to count a minimum:
Mediterranean gull 43 including 7 juvenile, 2 x 3rd calendar year and 1 x 2nd calendar year. Many others sat down with heads buried could easily have been Meds too.
At least three of them had coloured darvic rings. A green one on wrong leg to be ANLT, a yellow one that I almost managed to read, but not quite and a white one which I did.
 |
| The green ringed Med (top left) never showed any more of its ring than this. The yellow one was tantalising, managed to identify the scheme, but not certain of characters. The white one was ringed as a nestling in the Netherlands in 2019, hopefully when we receive its updated history there will be further sightings |
 |
| Adult Meds with Oystercatcher and Redshank feeding along the tideline |
 |
| Joined by a Little Egret (juvenile Med bottom right, BHG centre) |
 |
| Cormorant and a 2nd calendar year Shag on the wooden jetty The Shag is mid picture stood on the planking |
 |
| Shag detail enhanced by Alan |
Middleton Nature Reserve (MD)
It was still only 08:30, but 25C! So I decided to check the main pond to see if anything came in with yesterday's easterly. I was also here in the afternoon and there were many more insects flying at 09:00 than 13:30. But nothing different found in the morning check.
Little grebe 1 adult
Stock Dove 2
Dragonflies:
Black-Tailed Skimmer 8+ (2 ovipositoring)
Common Darter 6
Emperor 3
Butterflies:
Brimstone 1 male
Green-veined White 1
Small White 2
Large White 1
Small Skipper 4
Gatekeeper several
Meadow Brown several
Still no sign of Otters feeding on the crayfish yet.
But it was my short afternoon visit that paid dividends. I was exercising my daughter's dog so deliberately chose shaded paths. The one from the top car park to the wooden steps is ideal. c20m before the top of the steps I saw a "blue butterfly". Turned out it was a
Purple Hairstreak - my immediate thought was Holly Blue, so I must have seen plenty of blue, and had assumed it was a male. But the only sightings after that were with its wings closed, so best settle for "probably male".
Pretty sure this is the first record for the Reserve, and possibly for SD45 (the oak trees on Heysham Nature Reserve are in SD 46). There are a few quite immature, and therefore low, Oak trees here, but this one settled in a Hawthorn. I expect the priority was shade not food. Even so, not very easy to spot.
 |
| It is in this shot |
 |
| Purple Hairstreak - it is in the same location here as the shot above. But zoomed in. |
 |
| From this angle you can see its tail spikes |
This clip isn't really any different to the above shot, but you can make out the tail spikes better when they move slightly (and a nice Blackcap accompaniment)
It wasn't practical to investigate further today, but I'm hoping that this wasn't just a passage insect, but part of a local group. If so, they will be much easier to see on the lower Oak trees here than at Heysham Nature Reserve. I will be checking again! (MD)
