We have been waiting for the weather to improve over the past couple of weeks, so that Gail and I could get into the reedbed and scrub to see what sort of breeding season it has been, but unfortunately the weather hasn't played ball, so we've been ticking over.
The moth trap has been out in the garden, and we've added a few new species for the garden, including Barred Yellow, Clay, Small Dusty Wave, Single-dotted Wave, Obscure Wainscot, Agiphila straminella, Eudonia mercurella and Mottled Rustic. On one morning we had a Water Boatman in the trap, along with a species of harvestmen, Odiellus spinosus and the caddis fly Mottled Sedge.
We had a walk along the Wyre estuary, but headed upstream instead for a change, but we couldn't believe how busy it was around the country park. However, once we got a few hundred metres from the car park it quietened down. Three Whitethroats, two Chiffchaffs and a Blackcap were singing from the riparian scrub, and four Reed Buntings were singing from the reeds bordering the saltmarsh.
The Sea Lavender looked resplendent out on the marsh, and was a sea of vivid purple, and Parsley Water-dropwort and Thrift were also flowering, although the Thrift was starting to go over.
Three Little Egrets fed along the water's edge and a flock of 65 Lapwings reminded us that it was indeed autumn. On a small pool next to the footpath a male Broad-bodied Chaser was strutting his stuff, but it wasn't quite in the right place in relation to the sun to get a good shot.
A few days later we were back on the estuary, but this time down by the quay, and we added Mugwort and Wild Parsnip to our plant list for the site for the year.
was an unusual location
It was a morning for chick sightings, and we enjoyed watching some juvenile Swallows being fed by their parents by the old ferry terminal. The Swallows had successfully reared a few broods from their nest sites within some of the old wrecks out in the quay. Several of the wrecks don't flood, even on a big tide, so they provide a very safe place to nest in terms of protection from predators.
A Herring Gull had a single chick on one of the pontoons of the old ferry terminal, and we had a pair of Oystercatchers with two chicks on a roof nest site, and a pair of Great Black-backed Gulls with two chicks, on a different roof nest site.
We also had our first passerine migrant of the autumn in the form of a juvenile Whitethroat. It won't have come far, but it was a migrant nevertheless. A few butterflies were on the wing including six Small Whites, two Small Tortoiseshells, two Gatekeepers, two Small Skippers and a Meadow Brown. We also had two day flying moths in the form of a Yellow Shell and Silver Y.
Some ringing soon, hopefully!
Over on the right you will see that I have updated the totals for Fylde Ringing Group up until the end of June. Five new species for the year were ringed during June, and these were Avocet, Kestrel, Stock Dove, Goldcrest and Oystercatcher.
Below you will find the top 8 'movers and shakers' for the year. I haven't done a top 5 ringed for the month, as only one species made it into double figures, and this was Sand Martin, with 22 ringed.
Top 8 Movers and Shakers for the Year
1. Blue Tit - 77 (same position)
2. Goldfinch - 66 (same position)
3. Sand Martin - 51 (up from 4th)
4. Great Tit - 48 (down from 3rd)
5. Chaffinch - 25 (same position)
6. Pied Flycatcher - 23 (same position)
7. Lesser Redpoll - 17 (same position)
8. Reed Bunting - 10 (same position)
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