Quite and interesting day

A warm sunny day with a light west breeze

Middleton Nature Reserve 

Moth report by Alan:

I set a small moth trap last night and checked through the moths this morning.  The catch was modest, with only 59 moths of 15 species recorded.  This was far fewer than the catch overnight of the 28/29th when the catch was 115 of 37 species although the weather conditions were similar, but perhaps a little cooler.  All moth records are entered onto iRecord.

I checked this afternoon - Malcolm

Main pond only briefly checked 

2 Mute Swans

4 Coot

c15 Mallard, mainly immature 

5 House Martins

"No swimming" pond

1 Mute Swan

13 Mallard

3 Gadwall

1 Shoveler 

1 Tufted Duck

1 Teal

11 Coot (3 obviously immature)

Moorhen 2

Male Mallard, moulting out of eclipse and surrounded by feathers!

Male Tufted Duck

Mallard, Shoveler, Coot

Three Gadwall coming in to land......

.......and landing 

There were no dragonflies seen on or around this pond and just one distant Damselfly over the water, looked to be a Small Red-eye

Red Nab - Malcolm 11:00 - 12:00

I went as the tide was approaching Red Nab. There weren't a lot of gulls roosting, mainly as it was a nice Saturday and many holidaymakers were exploring the rocks (exactly as I do when I go somewhere new).

Mediterranean gulls 3 

Two of the Mediterranean gulls with Black-Headed gulls

There were c2000 Oystercatcher spread across the mud so I went to
check them out and managed to find two colour ringed birds

This one was on the skear in early June. Ringed in Dublin Ireland in 2013,
it has been seen several times in Ireland and Norway and once in Scotland,
but these are its first sightings in England

This one was only ringed this February at the Exe estuary Devon.
Identified as a 3rd calendar year bird when ringed, this is its first sighting 

381km, as the Oystercatcher flies. But it is unlikely that it took this route 

Curlew 150+ in several flocks south

Redshank 1

Little Egret 3

In the Nature Park 

Large White 2

Small White 4

Red Admiral 2

Painted Lady 1

Peacock 2

Common Blue 1

Speckled Wood 2

Meadow Brown several 

Migrant Hawker 1 - first record this year (it won't be the last!)

Peacock

Quite a worn Large White

Faded Common Blue

Migrant Hawker