A dry mainly sunny day with a light west breeze.
First some shots taken by Rosemary and Peter Silvester, at Heysham Nature Reserve. During Rob and Belinda's Insect Identification Workshop on Saturday.
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| Common Green Grasshopper |
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| Bumblebee |
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| Alder Leaf Beetle larvae |
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| Male Gatekeeper |
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| Female Gatekeeper |
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| Dingy Footman |
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| Female Speckled Wood |
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| Funnel Web Spider Peter and I really enjoyed the workshop even though it highlighted just how much we didn't know we didn't know!! |
Janet is back after a well earned break. These shots from Middleton Nature Reserve today.
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| Female Southern Hawker near the pond on the southern section of the Reserve |
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| Red-Veined Darter on the west bank of the main pond |
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| Common Darter |
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| Meadow Brown |
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| Comma |
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| Red Admiral |
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| Looks like the spider has already incapacitated the "insect" |
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| Mallard with two small chicks |
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| Bald as a Coot.........chick |
South shore (Malcolm) 10:30 - 12:00
Wheatear 1 juvenile near the slipway
Mediterranean gull 1 adult flew along the sea wall, 1 juvenile briefly on No.2 outfall
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| All four juvenile Herring gulls raised on the two platforms in the harbour have now successfully fledged |
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| Summer Plumage Redshank was the only one seen |
Dunlin 88 resting on No.1 outfall and the rocks below the wooden jetty.
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| Some of the Dunlin resting below the wooden jetty |
Curlew 200+ plus flew to the north side.
Whimbrel 1 near No.2 outfall
Rock Pipit 1 Red Nab
Linnet 5 together near the waterfall
In the scrub near the lighthouse
Common Blue 60+
Gatekeeper 5
Red Admiral 1
Small White 1
In the Nature Park
Meadow Brown lots
Gatekeeper lots
Common Blue 6
Large White 2
Small White 3
Red Admiral 3
Peacock 2
Comma 2
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| The tiny white mark on the underwing is the comma that gives this butterfly its name |
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| Chiffchaff |
Heysham skear (Malcolm) 15:30 - 16:30
I started at low water, hardly any birds were still feeding, they were just resting till the tide moved them on.
C150 gulls scattered all around the skear, mainly Herring.
Little Egret 4
Eider c25 females and young.
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| Eider resting on an island |
No mergansers seen
Great Crested Grebe 1
Oystercatcher 500 (probably an underestimation, it is difficult when they are spread over a large area)
Curlew 60 (ditto)
Redshank 48 in two flocks
Turnstone 25 in two flocks, several small groups may have been additional
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| Oystercatcher and a summer plumage Turnstone |
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| A variety of plumages |
Knot 2 - first returning birds
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| Female Knot leave the nesting grounds as soon as their eggs hatch. Dad takes care of the young till they fledge. If breeding fails then both males and females return early. |
