Summer

I try and keep my blog posts as positive as possible, celebrating the joy of nature, but as time goes on, I am struggling. Trying to keep my eco anxiety in check gets harder all the time. Our beleaguered wildlife is under constant attack, and I am of certain age where I can remember how relatively bountiful biodiversity used to be. It shocks me to think about the sheer number and species that have vanished from the pages of my notebooks. In comparison to my notebooks from the 1970s and 80s, the pages of my recent notebooks are empty. It is as if somebody has erased all the wondrous wildlife from the pages, and they are now blank. And this just in my lifetime; depressing... 

We have a general election next week in the UK, and the usual political parties are touting for votes, including a new political party called Deform, sorry, Reform UK, led by the racist, narcissist, compulsive liar, and all-round environmental hooligan, Nigel Farage. A quick look at their manifesto, and it is obvious that a vote for this fascist party, is a vote against our wildlife. Not a single positive environmental pledge, but plenty of negative ones!

It reads as though it has been written by a teenage schoolboy, high on a sugar rush, from eating too many Haribo's! 

They pledge to:

- scrap net zero targets

- start fast-track licenses of North Sea gas and oil

- grant shale gas licences and enable major production

- explore clean coal mining (an oxymoron, if I ever did hear one!)

- productive land not to be used for rewilding

- replace current farm subsidies with direct payments (oh dear!) 

- stop Natural England from taking action that damages farmers 

 

I don't think the above needs any further explanation, it is quite clear that a vote for Reform, is a vote to further damage biodiversity in the UK, in a very measured, and purposeful way. I was particularly alarmed at the last pledge above, regarding Natural England. It is clear that under Deform (that is a far better name for them), if a landowner wants to damage a Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) for example, to increase production on their land, no action will be taken against them. 

 

Put simply, a vote for Deform UK, is another nail in the coffin of our wildlife. 

 

Now, on to the more positive stuff!

 

I've talked about this before, the fact that there isn't really a summer in the bird world, or perhaps just a couple of weeks at best. Spring starts in early March, and lasts until early June, and then autumn begins in late June, when the first returning waders (failed breeders) appear. So, in the avian world, summer is that small window between early and late June, the exact period that this blog post will cover.

 

My last post was on 10th June, and to be honest, it has been fairly quiet over the last couple of weeks or so, but there have been a few highlights. 

 

Mid-month we had two back-to-back breeding bird surveys, necessitating two 4:00 a.m. alarm calls! Our first survey site was south of the Ribble near Burscough, and we had virtually full cloud cover with a brisk north-westerly wind. 

 

At this time of year, there are lots of young birds about (nowhere near as many as they used to be), and I love the antics of young Rooks with their parents. We were watching several young Rooks with their parents in an arable field this morning. The adults were busy trying to find food for their now fledged chicks, and I suppose I should technically call them juveniles, and the juvs in their desperation to be fed, were continually badgering Mum and Dad, and being more of a hindrance than a help. Lovely to watch. 

Anecdotally, I think Long-tailed Tits have had a good breeding season, as I am seeing flocks of adults and juveniles every time I go out, and this morning was no exception with a flock of at least nine. 'Lotties' are early breeders, and it is likely that they managed to fledge their chicks before the wet weather that has seriously hampered the breeding success of other passerine species. 

 

Long-tailed Tit
 

It was nice to see a pair of Whitethroats carrying food, and I hoped that they would be as successful as the Long-tailed Tits. A singing Yellowhammer was noteworthy, and it is sad to think how much they have declined in my lifetime, somewhere in the region of 62%, and their range has contracted by over 20% as well!

 

The only other highlights of this particular survey, was the 'sea' of humble, not so humble, Red Dead-nettles that we came across, and a group of six confiding juvenile Swallows. 

 

Red Dead-nettle (above & below)

 

 

Swallow
 

The following day I was closer to home, on a gloriously sunny morning, although at 5:00 a.m. it was cool in the light north-westerly wind. The number and range of birds singing drops off at this time of the year, as summer is in full swing, but on this morning, I still had two Blackcaps, two Song Thrushes, a Lesser Whitethroat, two Whitethroats, and two Chiffchaffs singing. 

 

A few days before the Solstice, Gail and I had a late morning wander around Marton Mere, and it is at least a couple of decades since I was last here. Singing warblers were the order of the morning, with five Chiffchaffs, five Whitethroats, four Sedge Warblers, two Reed Warblers, three Cetti's Warblers, two Lesser Whitethroats and a Grasshopper Warbler. Very few insects were on the wing, except a few bee and hoverfly species, and a pair of Broad-bodied Chasers. Absolutely no butterflies!

Just after mid-month we had a breeding bird survey to complete on the coast in north-west Cumbria, not far from Whitehaven. It was a cool, overcast morning, but we had good views across the firth to Scotland, and across the Irish Sea to Ireland and the Isle of Man.

 

The highlights of our survey were the Northern Marsh Orchids, a couple of Slow Worms, and a pair of Stonechats with food, waiting for us to walk past them, before they fed their chicks. 

 

Northern Marsh Orchid

 

Slow Worm

Stonechats (above & below)

 

The day after the Solstice, I headed to the Nature Park to clear the net rides, and put the ropes on, in preparation for the forthcoming autumn ringing programme. In one of the net rides was an Early Marsh Orchid, and a Southern Marsh Orchid, and elsewhere I found some Bee Orchids that had gone over. 

 

Early Marsh Orchid

 

Southern Marsh Orchid
 

A moth trapping session over the night of 23rd/24th June with my garden light trap, resulted in the following catch:

 

Common Emerald - 2

Willow Beauty - 3

Evergestis forficalis - 1

Carcina quercana - 2

Bee Moth - 4

Riband Wave - 1

Dusky brocade - 1

Codling Moth - 2

Light Brwon Apple Moth - 1

Setaceous Hebrew Character - 1

 

Common Emerald

 

Riband Wave
 
 

I also trapped a Water Boatman. 

 

I was back at the breeding bird survey site close to home near Poulton-Le-Fylde, just less than a week ago, and I had another encounter with a number of Long-tailed Tits. Again, mainly juveniles with some adults mixed in, and this time I had 20!

 

Gail and I were carrying out some judicious pruning of the Privet hedge, and some Willows, in our front garden, and we disturbed a Lunar Hornet Moth. I would need to check, but I think this is about the 5th or 6th record for our garden. Willows and Sallows are the food plant for the caterpillars, of which we have both in our front and back garden.  

 

Lunar Hornet Moth
 

A positive note, to end this not so positive blog post on.

Fylde Nature Notes

An odd title for a blog post I can hear you say, but it is to remind me, to remind you, that I have set up a Facebook group called Fylde Nature Notes. Influenced by a Facebook group called 'West Lancashire Nature Notes', started by Graham C in 2019, I thought I would start something similar for the Fylde area of Lancashire. With Graham's blessing, I basically replicated the West Lancs group, and adapted it for the Fylde area. 

 

The main purpose of the group is to enable members to celebrate, enjoy, promote, and share information about the wildlife, nature and landscapes of the Fylde, and adjacent areas. This includes wonderful nature reserves like Marton Mere, and nationally and internationally designated areas and habitats such as Winmarleigh Moss, the Lune, Ribble and Wyre estuaries, and Liverpool and Morecambe Bay. Equally as importantly, it includes our gardens, open spaces, farmland and countryside. This group will aim to let others know about issues and problems facing our already beleaguered wildlife and countryside, including planning issues, illegal land management activity, illegal persecution of wildlife, or simply where to ask for help.

 

Members are encouraged to share their local wildlife, nature and natural landscape photographs, videos, updates, sightings, and news. It all helps to promote a greater awareness of biodiversity and our environment. I hope people will discuss land management, wildlife gardening and how to attract species, or improve the diversity of their patch. We'll give it a go, and see what happens. So, if you fancy having a look, or even joining, head over to Facebook and search Fylde Nature Notes.

 

Now to catch up on the last couple of weeks...again!

 

Since my last post, Gail and I have checked our boxes in Bowland and near Garstang twice, and the outcome has been bleak. Our Pied Flycatchers in the Hodder Valley have not done very well at all. If you remember, we had four boxes occupied (2023 = 5, 2022 = 4, 2021 = 7, 2020 = 10), and the mean over the last 5 years is 6 occupied boxes, so we have been struggling this year. The outcome of our 4 occupied boxes is as follows:

 

Box 1 - Predated (female and eggs)

Box 2 - 6 young dead in box

Box 3 - 6 dead young, and one poorly looking chick, just about surviving

Box 4 - 6 healthy chicks

 

Pied Flycatcher
 

The outcome has been similar for Blue Tits, with any successful boxes only managing to get between two and four chicks to the fledging stage. It would seem that timing has been key, with breeding attempts started earlier having been more successful, than later attempts. The weather has been poor (very wet) throughout the later stages of the breeding cycle, hatching onwards, resulting in adults struggling to find food. Let's hope they all bounce back next year. 

 

At our good friend's farm near Nateby, the Kestrels have now hatched, or should I say five out of the six eggs have. However, when we checked them again yesterday, there were only three chicks left. These three were all healthy, so they were duly ringed. We suspect that the adult Kestrels have been struggling to find food with all this wet weather, and that is why there was only three chicks left. Usually, this box is littered with the corpses of small mammals and birds, but not this year, further evidence that the adults have been struggling. Fingers crossed for the remaining three little ones! 

 

Kestrel

Towards the end of May, Gail and I were south of the Ribble near Burscough carrying out a second breeding bird survey (BBS) for the site. The forecast hadn't been too great, but the rain held off just long enough for us to complete the survey. Nothing amazing, with the highlights being a singing Yellowhammer, at least 16 Blackbirds, three Stock Doves, a Buzzard, three Chiffchaffs, two Song Thrushes and a Whitethroat. 

 

The following day, we were looking after our Grandson, Alex, and we had gone into the garden to feed the Frog tadpoles in our little garden pond, and out of the corner of my eye, I spotted an Eyed Hawk-moth 'perched' on the bottom of a fence panel. It was a cracking beastie, and I picked it up and showed it Alex.

 

Eyed Hawk-moth
 

The following day, Gail was pottering around the garden and shouted me to come outside, as she had found two mating Eyed Hawk-moths at the bottom of our garden. Not rare by any means, but what cracking beasties they are! 

 

Eyed Hawk-moths
 

At the end of the month, we had a walk along the River Wyre at Jubilee Quay, and it was quiet. We were hoping for a few invertebrates, but there wasn't anywhere sheltered from the cold north-westerly wind. The only insect we did find was a beetle, Oedemera lurida/virescens, which was new for us. 

 

Oedemera lurida/virescens...probably
 

I have not had my moth trap out very often for one reason or another, but mainly the cold, blustery, wet weather, and a session overnight on 1st/2nd June produced only a handful of moths:

 

Heart and Dart - 2

Lychnis - 1

Angle Shades - 1

Green Pug - 1

Carcina quercana - 1

 

Angle Shades (above & below)

 

Green Pug

 

Lychnis
 

Later in the morning, I noticed a large Bumblebee mass hanging from a Meadow Buttercup, and it was a male and female Buff-tailed Bumblebee mating. Something that I have never observed before.

 

Buff-tailed Bumblebees
 

Last Friday, I was at my client's farm near Slaidburn in Bowland, to complete the third and final breeding wader survey of the year. It was a mixed morning weather-wise, with a hefty shower mid-morning, and there was a cool westerly wind. But the sun did make an appearance now and again, and when it did it was warm.

It's very quiet now in terms of breeding waders, with just Curlews left guarding their broods. Our RSPB friends have been radio tagging the chicks, and a couple of adults, on the farm this year, and I'll report back at a later date as to the outcomes of the tagged broods when we finally know them. Four broods were tagged, with 3,4, 3 and 2 chicks being tagged out of each brood. Unfortunately, the two chicks tagged were the complete brood for this pair (3 eggs laid and only 2 hatched), and sadly both chicks have found their way into a Buzzard nest! Not completely unexpected. However, the remaining chicks are still surviving, so fingers crossed for the next couple of weeks. 

 

We have numerous feeders up at the farm, and we feed throughout the summer to give adult birds a much needed protein boost. Every feeder I went past during the morning, was hooching with Chaffinches, Goldfinches, Linnets and Siskins, so pleasing to see. 

 

Chaffinch

 

Linnet

Siskin
 

A few warblers were singing as I walked round, and I had six Willow Warblers, a Garden Warbler and three Sedge Warblers. Talking of a singing, a male Cuckoo was very vocal, although I couldn't see him, and he was moving around the farm a lot, particularly in the area of the farm that backs on to the fell. I did see a female however, so that was great. 

 

Along the hedgerow next to a restored hay meadow, I had a Broad-bodied Chaser, and it was probably the most sheltered, and warm bit of the farm that morning. An adult Orange-tip butterfly was also making use of the sheltered conditions. 

 

Broad-bodied Chaser

 

Orange-tip

One of our recently restored hay meadows looking nice and flowery
 

 

Down by the central wetland, Common Sandpiper and Oystercatcher were alarm calling, so they obviously had chicks, and I noted that the pair of Mute Swans that nested here had five recently hatched cygnets. 

 

Mute Swans
 

Over weekend, Gail spotted an unusual looking spider on our garage door. I took a few shots, and then spent some time looking at Britain's Spiders - A field guide by Lawrence Bee, Geoff Oxford and Helen Smith, and I thought it was one of the Long-jawed Orbweb spiders, Tetragnatha montana. However, spider guru, and all round great Naturalist, Anno, tells me that to get it to species level I would need good lighting and a microscope. So Tetragnatha sp. it is! 

 

Tetragnatha sp.

 

I've got a few breeding bird surveys to complete this coming week, so fingers cross the weather the holds out.

 

Over on the right, you will see that I have updated the ringing totals for Fylde Ringing Group up until the end of May. Two new species for the year were ringed during May, and these were Pied Flycatcher and Jackdaw. 

 

Below you will find the top 2 ringed for the month, and the top 5 'movers and shakers' for the year.

 

Top 2 Ringed in May

 

1. Blue Tit - 21

2. Tree Sparrow - 13

 

Top 5 Movers and Shakers for the Year

 

1. Siskin - 112 (same position)

2. Blue Tit - 56 (same position)

3. Tree Sparrow - 34 (up from 5th)

    Goldfinch - 34 (same position)

4. Chaffinch - 29 (same position)

5. Great Tit - 21 (up from 6th)