First Little Egret for ages

Heysham Obs
Outfalls/Red Nab
The dropping tide, not the best time, saw:
Kittiwake - 2CY
Med Gull - one adult and the 3CY
Little Egret - one OE saltmarsh channel

Moths
Two photographed in the field by Janet yesterday.  The C. perlella info can be seen at the excellent UK Moths site:     http://ukmoths.org.uk/show.php?id=2907

Celypha striana and a variant of Crambus perlella (see link)

Four Meds and a moth

Heysham Obs
Outfalls/Red Nab
Med Gull - 3 adults and the usual 3CY

Moths
Anyone any idea whether this will be Narrow-bordered 5-spot burnet or 6-spot burnet!  Thanks Janet

Broad-barred White made its second appearance in the trap this year.  Otherwise the first Smoky Wainscot of the year and a rather unseasonal Common Marbled Carpet

Thistle ermine reappears at last

Heysham Obs
Thistle Ermine has spread beyond its range as described in the excellent Goater Pyralid book, but a perusal of the VC60 MapMate database suggests, unless I'm missing some records, that there have been few records since a flurry in the early/mid 'naughties'...........until this year.  I was surprised to see that today's was the first record for here since 2000 and even more surprised to find an absence at the regular trap run from Hazel Morbay's residence at Sunderland Point until this year, presumably because recording started there in the downturn period about four years ago

Thistle Ermine HNR this morning (thanks Steve)
Described in recent days as a 'plague' at nearby Walney, the locally abundant White Satin also made its first of what are usually just a few annual records here

Please can we have some dragonfly weather, even if it does bring out the clegs!

Outfalls as viewed at long range from Ocean Edge
Arctic Tern - one adult briefly
Med Gull - Usual 3CY and a more distant view of what was probably an adult
A distant bird wheeling out of the bay was probably a Fulmar, but the heat haze was again problematic

Moths
See above, also Light Arches and three worn Shaded Pug - surely the end of the season for this local speciality.  We have been wondering where all the Shoulder-striped Wainscots were this year, usually our commonest wainscot species and the answer appears to be that they are emerging late with 20 this morning, many fresh

Jellyfish twitch ends in abject failure

Heysham Obs
..................as did the moth trap as the conscientious person who switched the light off yesterday forgot to put it on again

Ocean Edge/Red Nab
No sign of Lion's Mane
Med Gull - 3CY & Ad on sands south of Ocean Edge, the former asleep, the latter feeding

Orchid day

Heysham Obs
The second ever Blackneck (moth) for the reserve, following last year's first, was a rather predictable repeat, given the amount of Tufted Vetch.  A jellyfish reported by an Ocean Edge resident appears to be Lion's Mane - the first ever mention of jellyfish on this blogsite?  It's washed up near the slipway at the south end of Ocean Edhe foreshoer, by the saltmarsh creek.  Tides are dropping, so its going nowhere.

Various combinations of spotted & marsh orchid were on show at Middleton and Heysham today.  Also a single Twayblade and quite a good showing of Bee Orchid

Birds included just a single Ad Med Gull on a brief, rather heat-hazy visit to the outfalls

The final moth on yesterdays posting is causing some problems.  Any more ideas, any more pics of it, please Janet?

A Great Tit was doing an unusual distraction display as its young remained in a bush behind the photographer.  Thanks for the pics Janet.

The 'nice' day this week?

Heysham Obs
As tends to be the case on 'nice' days at this time of year, the heat-haze during the dailyish outfalls seagull check was horrendous.

Outfalls/Red Nab
Med Gull - adult and 3CY seen

Heysham Nature Reserve
Juvenile Sedge Warblers in four different areas in the wetland
At least two broods of juvenile Whitethroat
Two juvenile Lesser Whitethroat seen

Moths

Nothing dramatic in the hut trap but the 'nice' day served up some of the usual dayflying/day-disturbed moths for Janet.  Thanks for these pics which comprise Common Carpet, Straw Dot, Latticed Heath, Timothy Tortrix and Coleophora albicosta (thanks Nick and another reason for getting a proper computer screen at home!)

More not quite worth a seawatch wind

Heysham Obs
Outfalls/Red Nab
Kittiwake - 2CY 'reappeared'
Med Gull - adult and 3CY
Both Common and Black-headed Gull topped 300

Moths
Peach Blossom opened its account

Larophilic WeBs

Heysham Obs
Ocean Edge/Red Nab area
Med Gull - adult, 3CY and 2CY - all unringed
Black-headed Gull - leucistic bird with 'blackish' head a pitfall in flight at long-range, c270.  Early juv with rather unsteady flight on the outfalls.
Common Gull - c280
Little Gull - 2CY on end of outfalls briefly, then couldnt be found

Marsh Pug tracked down at last

Heysham Obs
The elusive day-flying Marsh Pug has been subject to the usual searches on two days this year but was not located until this afternoon.....and then wouldn't keep still!  Thanks Janet - you are on a 'roll' with quality day-flying moths!

Also YESTERDAY afternoon, a Burnet Companion moth was located at Middleton NR on a bank near the boundary with Ocean Edge - almost 1/2 mile from the location of the 2001 moth (thanks Steve).

Burnet moths are in various stages of development at the moment, with a adults already having emerged, yet this larva is only just ready to pupate today:

Outfalls/Ocean Edge incoming tide
Med Gull - unringed adult
Common Gull - c220
Black-headed Guill - c150

Maps and numbers day

Bee Orchid, Silver Ground Carpet and Common Whitethroat photographed today.  Thanks Janet

Heysham Obs
Work-wise at the computer and also in the form of today's rather modest novelties, two Map-winged Swift in the moth trap and, in the field, the long-winded Narrow-bordered Five-spot Burnet moth, along with the more marketable Six-spot burnet

Red Nab/Ocean Edge
A mistimed visit saw most of the gulls having disappeared due to the high tide but a 3CY Med was still sitting on the sea

Ringing recovery
The French ringing scheme seems to have got its act together with today's receipt of a load of Sand Martin controls ringed on the Lune and also this from Middleton showing how early adult Sedge Warblers depart the country:

Sedge Warbler
Ringed:  Middleton NR      Ad male        16/7/09
Caught:  Tour aux Moutons, Donges, Loire Atlantique, France  31/7/09