Out with the (not so very) old and in with the new.

A light SW wind. An early shower then dry with plenty of sunshine

Just my stuff so far (MD)

South shore

I had planned to go along the wall early to watch the beach by the jetty become exposed. But something happened (or more honestly, something didn't happen, I didn't get out of bed!). So I went down just after lunch to watch it being covered. I didn't hang around it was deserted except for:

Mediterranean gull 1 adult. I'll try and get down early in the morning to see if the Meds are feeding in numbers.

Rock Pipit 2 one on Red Nab plus one flew quite high to the south over the roundhead.

This is what today's title refers to. As from 17th August the new ferry the Manxman took over the regular Isle of Man service from Ben-My-Chree. The Ben only began service in 1998, ok last century, but not a long time for a ship. Today the Ben was heading out, to Douglas, as the Manxman was coming in.

The old ferry, Ben-My-Chree on its way out,
as the the new ferry, Manxman comes in

Nature Park 

Jay 1

Red Admiral 2

Large White 1

Small White 3

Speckled Wood 3

Male Small White and a splash of Autumn colour!

Just out of the recording area - Heysham Moss Nature Reserve 

Jay 1

Red Admiral 2

Large White 3

Small White 5

Speckled Wood 4

Most of the butterflies were around the reserve edges. On the raised peat moss itself there were hardly any but Silver Y moth were constantly lifting as I walked across the moss

Dragonflies 

Common Darter lots mainly male 

Brown Hawker 2

Brown Hawker and Common Darter

But I'd really gone to see if there were any Black Darters around. The first dragonfly I saw on the raised moss was a male. I couldn't get a very good picture of it but I reasoned (reasonably), that if there is one straight away there will surely be others. There wasn't! I walked all over the moss there were lots of pools which on previous years would likely be a territory, but not today.

The going wasn't easy over the moss, it is crisscrossed with sink holes filled with water.
In theory ideal for Black Darters but not today

I couldn't even relocate the one I saw when I first arrived, so I was left with a less than satisfactory shot, although it does capture key identification features.

Male Black Darter

Pelican update (see post 19/08/23). They've caught it!

The bird was found in Knaresborough, North Yorkshire, about 65 miles from its home at Blackpool Zoo.

The Eastern white pelican has Been missing since the 4th August

Picture courtesy of BBC News
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-lancashire-66608150