Back to Moths

A few warm days this week has led to some decent catches of moths and several new species for me, in addition to those from monday. Last night I caught a gorgeous Buff Arches (pic 1) and a few nights ago I got a Scalloped Oak (pic 2) along with Small Rivulet and Crambus Pascuella which are both new for me. Unfortunately the weather forcast for the rest of this week is horrible so I suspect the moths will be keeping low as will the birds so I'm not expecting to see very much.

Full List from Yesterday

Here is a full list of the species me, Ash and Aaron saw yesterday, read the full account in the post below. Red species are new for me.
Birds
summer plumage American Golden Plover
singing Tree Pipit
2 Lesser Redpoll
female Siskin
Green Woodpecker
Nuthatch
Peregrine
3 Raven (2 young)

Butterflies
2 Small Pearl Bordered Fritillary
10+ Dark Green Fritillary
1 High Brown Fritillary
30+ Grayling
50+ Large Heath
1 Painted Lady
2 Red Admiral
2 Common Blue
10+ Small Heath
4 Small Skipper
8+ Large Skipper
1 Comma
4 Green Veined White
6 Small White
2 Large White
5+ Small Tortoiseshell
5+ Meadow Brown

Dragon/Damselflies
20+ Black Darter
10+ Emerald Damselfly
4 Emperor Dragonfly
1 Black Tailed Skimmer
15+ Four Spotted Chaser
2 Common Darter
5 Large Red Damselfly
4 Azure Damselfly
50+ Common Blue Damselfly
10+ Blue Tailed Damselfly

Moths
Large Emerald
Manchester Treble Bar
Clouded Buff
Common Heath
Catoptria Margaritella
Common Footman
Silver Y

Reptile
Adder
Common Lizard

Lifers across the Board

Be warned that this will be quite a long post with lots of photos and lots of different types of wildlife described (Insects, Birds, Reptiles in different colours). The day started with picking up Ash and Aaron at 9am before going to Skippool Creek to try and see an American Golden Plover which had turned up the previous evening, and which I had failed to see in the falling light when it did. Luckily it was still being reported in the morning so we parked in the car park and walked north towards Ramper Pot expecting there to already be people present as not many had connected the previous evening. However we didn't spot anyone else in the area we we set up in a gap between the jetties that allowed goods views over the mud around the bend in the river where it had been seen. Me and Ash had the scopes and quickly located 4 Golden Plovers in winter plumage around a small pool, and then a little further to the left a full summer plumage and darker bird, the American Golden Plover (British 263). It had noticeably darker plumage especially on it's back, a larger white flash on the neck, and when it moved closer to the other plovers it was obviously smaller and slenderer in structure. Distant pic below sort of shows these features however much better shots can be seen on the Fylde Bird Club website.

From here we headed to Arnside Knott in north Lancashire to search for butterflies, especially the gorgeous Fritillary species. Our main target species were Small Pearl Bordered, Dark Green and High Brown Fritillaries and Northern Brown Argus, all scarce species in Lancashire but with good populations in this area. In the car park we met a man coming off the hill who informed us that there were several fittilaries around but they weren't landing much due to the heat making identification difficult, and that he hadn't seen any argus's, however he did tell us that there were lots of Graylings around which would be a new species for all of us. So we set off up the hill which was steeper than we were expecting, and around 50 metres above the car park we came to an area of brambles and small bushes where we saw our first Graylings (pic 5) and also Small Heath butterflies which was new for Aaron. We soon located several Frittilaries flying around but as we had been told they were not landing at all for the first 10 minutes we were there. Eventually 1 stopped on a bramble flower and we crept closer managing good views and when it lifted it's wings we could see the green tinge that let us identify it as a Dark Green Fritillary (pic 2/3). There were in fact several of these in the area and also a couple of Small Pearl Bordered Fritillaries which didn't land but allowed decent views through the bins as they flew slowly around the bushes. After a while we spotted another Fritillary flying around a bush so I rattled off a few pics as like the others it didn't land, and on looking at them on the camera I could see the missing third spot on the bottom wing that identified it as a male High Brown Fritillary (pic 4). Happy with these we headed back down the hill hearing Green Woodpecker (yeartick) and Nuthatch in the woods around the car park, and also our first Painted Lady butterfly of the year at the year in the car park itself. From here we then crossed the river into Cumbria and onto Foulshaw Moss where the main focus was dragonflies and we quickly found a pool that had dragon and damselflies all around it, of many different sizes and colours. There were several small dragonflies around the wooden viewing area that we were stood on, some black and some yellow, so I photographed these and we identified them as Black Darters (pic 6 is male, pic 7 is female), one of our targets and new for us. There were plenty of Four Spotted Chasers, several large Emperors and at least 2 Black Tailed Skimmers were also present. Also close to the platform was an area of cut reeds and grass where damselflies were mating and egg laying. There were lots of beautiful Emerald Damselflies that were new for us (pic 8/9) giving brilliant views along with small numbers of Azure, Large Red (pic 11) and Common Blue Damselflies (pic 10). Further round the boardwalk Ash found a metal sheet which we carefully lifted up revealing a Common Lizard which scuttled off, a new species for me in Britain, and further round still Ash again flushed a day roosting Large Emerald moth (pic 12) that landed nearby allowing us great views of this beautiful moth and another new species for all of us! We headed back to the pool where we met a man (the only other person we saw on the reserve!) who asked if we would like to see an Adder, to which there could only be one answer as I have always wanted to see one. He led us along the main path and then off it onto a smaller track towards another larger metal sheet which wasn't visible from where we had already walked, hence why we missed it. I got my camera ready and when he lifted the sheet up I was greeted with a stunning Adder that took a quick look around before slithering off into the undergrowth nearby. This was certainly one of the highlights of the day and might even knock the plover off the top spot. However I know this is a birding blog and there were some birds around, a couple of Lesser Redpolls were flying around calling loudly, a male Stonechat around the car park area was a yeartick for the others and only my third of the year, and a female Siskin that landed in a tree next to the path as we were walking back. Our final site of the day was Methop Meadows, just down the road from Foulshaw and similar habitat, a large heathland bordered by woodland. This is a good site for Large Heath (pic 15/16) butterfly and we saw them all over the place whilst we were there, although like the Fritillaries earlier they didn't land very often. Talking of Fritillaries there were several Dark Green Fritillaries flying around and also plenty of day flying moths that we mainly focused on. We found Common Heath, Silver Y and then I flushed a orange moth that flew off so I started to follow it across the heath. It went down about 20 metres ahead of me so I made my way over but suddenly found my right leg falling down a concealed hole up to my knee and when I pulled it out it was covered in mud! The inside of my shoe was soaked but relatively clean, but my sock was completely brown as were the bottom of my trousers and up my leg. I turned round and walked towards the others who couldn't contain their laughter, and to make matters worse they had just caught one of the moths I was chasing (a Clouded Buff). I managed to clean most of the mud off but I was still soaked and had to take the sock off and carry it with me, not the best end to the day to say the least! There was a Tree Pipit singing in the area which made me a bit happier as we headed back to the car started home, which took longer than expected due to an overturned van on the road just west of Milnthorpe. So all in all an amazing day, 15 new species for me (1 bird, 5 butterfly, 5 moth, 1 dragonfly, 1 damselfly and 2 reptiles) and visited some amazing sites on a gloriusley warm and sunny day. I will do a post soon with a full list of the days species.

Massive Post Tomorrow

Sorry for not posting today however be prepared for a long read tomorrow as I have had an absolutely amazing day today so will be writing it all up in due course. A little insight into what it will include - an American on Independence day, all manner of flying insects, creatures hiding under metal sheets, and a bog on a heathland. Confused? Tune in tomorrow when all will be revealed...

Even Better

The good run I have had recently continues into today as an early morning start saw me back at St Michael's with my mum to look for the Kingfisher from yesterday. Yesterday I stood in the same spot for an hour or so and failed to see it, however just 10 minutes into the vigil today I spotted the familiar shape and flight of the Kingfisher (yeartick) flying upriver and then turning up the Brock before landing out of view in some riverside reeds. I moved round to get a better at which point it flew back towards us and over the bank we were stood on, being lost from sight as it dived down to river level on the other side. We walked back towards St Michael's and were treated with a gorgeous display as it flew past us twice more showing off it's vivid blue upper parts and the rich orange breast feathers. Happy with this I headed home thinking it would be hard to beat as the highlight of the day.

I had been at home for about an hour when I got a text off Ash, informing me that Dave had just text him saying he had found a White Letter Hairstreak in Devonshire Road Rock Garden, the first of the season. Luckily I managed to get my mum to take me so I was on site within 25 minutes where I met Dave who showed me the area where he had seen it. The problem with this particular species is that they tend to feed high up in the tree canopy, and on this particular day they were only flying for short periods before settling down for 10 minutes at a time. We looked around one side of a line of sycamores and other trees where he had seen 1 and possibly 2 earlier, and then he went round the other side to see if he could locate anymore. After a while he shouted me over and pointed out a beautiful White Letter Hairstreak quite low down, just above head height but a few metres away, seemingly laying eggs on some of the lower leaves. We watched it in this area for 10 minutes or so as it kept landing on a leaf then moving down to its base and obviously laying an egg before returning to the top of the leaf and starting again. I managed a few half decent shots of this new butterfly for me before heading back extremely happy with the day. Tomorrow I will be going to Arnside Knott and Foulshaw Moss in North Lancs/South Lakes to look for butterflies and dragonflies with Ash and Aaron, so will report back hopefully with lots of photos.

Good to be Back

Gorgeous sunny weather today with not a cloud in the sky meant good hot birding conditions and I made the most of it. I decided to go to St Michael's on Wyre to try and see a Kingfisher that has been seen on the river recently, a species which is now very scarce in the Fylde after two back to back very cold winters. I walked along the river to where the Brock joins with the Wyre and noticed several insects flying over the water with a very distinctive flight pattern, Banded Demoiselles! These are one of my favourite species having seen my first at Brockholes a few weeks back, and luckily there were several flying about today. There was a sort of path down to the bottom of the bank opposite the confluence so I carefully made my way down and found a good spot to watch the demoiselles right next to the water. They were flying very close giving wonderfuly views and I counted at least 4 males and 3 females, including 2 pairs in tandem and egg laying. After a while one of the females landed on a leaf not 3 feet from me so making my heart jump into my mouth as I saw just how dazzling green it was, and luckily I managed to move round without disturbing it into a good position to get the below shots. Although there was no sign of the Kingfisher a local dog walker said that he sees them regularly so I will be going back tomorrow morning. There was still plenty of birds around to keep my occupied including a pair of Kestrels giving good views as they kept going back to a tree where we could here hungry chicks crying for food. At least 2 singing Corn Buntings were along the hedgerows and there were family parties of Sedge Warbler and Whitethroat in the area, as was a Jay, my third in three days after taking six months to see one! From here we went to Myerscough Quarry where there were 3 Little Ringed Plovers (including 1 juvenile) and a family party of Shelducks. On the way home I saw a Raven over Inskip and another Jay (argh!) over Mythop.

6 Months to see a Jay!

Up until yesterday I had failed to see a Jay in 2011, despite going to plenty of good sites for them. So yesterday evening I went out to Pilling Lane Ends where a pair have bred this year in the hope of seeing them, and after a quick search around the car park area me and my dad both spotted a bird flying through the woods. I managed to see where it landed and getting my binoculars up I was greeted with a flash of blue on the wing of a Jay (yeartick)! It was definitely a massive relief to finally connect with one this year and brings my Fylde Yearlist up to 179 species, equalling my all time record which was set in 2009. We walked round the pools where 2 Tufted Duck families were present, one female with 5 young and one female with 2 young. I noticed a few damselflies flying around the rushes at the north end so I walked round there and found a spot where several landed close by allowing for identification. Several Blue Tailed and Common Damselflies were flying around with at least one pair of each in tandem, however a male that landed close to me allowed good views and I managed to identify it as an Azure Damselfly, a new species for me (my 11th odonata for Britain). Walking back towards the car park there were several Six Spot Burnet moths in an area of grassland some of which allowed for a few good photos. Later on we went to Winnmarleigh Moss where I saw another Jay, over 300 Swifts in a huge flock, Brown Hare and an Emperor Dragonfly.