Wader numbers growing, but insects still the main interest

A warm sunny day with a west wind,

Middleton Nature Reserve 

These shots from Janet.

Some of the several Copper-Tipped Longhorn moths.
See Tuesday's post for the location 

Male Red-Veined Darter where the Swans rest on the west bank
of the main pond

Male Common Darter, one of several

Comma

Meadow Brown

Male Gatekeeper

Male Large white

The Coot chicks are growing 

Chiffchaff 

Kevin Eaves took this shot of a Common Sandpiper on the peninsula of the main pond.

Common Sandpiper 

Heysham skear (Malcolm) 14:00 - 15:30

I went down early on the ebbing tide. There was very little skear showing, but at least it concentrates what birds there are.

Oystercatcher 50 - many more arriving later

Curlew 3

Redshank 98 - probably more arrived later

Turnstone 84 - probably more arrived later

Dunlin 1 arrived later

I can empathise with this shot.
 Redshank and Turnstones looking out to sea

Redshank and Turnstone 

Turnstones 

Turnstone 

This one looks like it's on a mission!

Redshank 

Gulls initially 100 growing to 250 mainly Herring gulls. Two ringed birds seen, but both have been seen here before.

Red-Breasted Merganser 6 female type flew north together 

Great Crest Grebe 1

Starlings flying back from the skear, they collect fragments of barnacle
shells for grit

This Hoverfly was in Kevin's moth trap.

A nice intruder in my Heysham moth trap last night. Volucella zonaria, or Hornet Hoverfly.
It's the UK's largest species of Hoverfly and really is quite chunky.