I have to warn you, this is a bit of a long one! Once again I find myself reaching back over a month to start a blog post, where has the year gone? I can't believe, that as I write it is late August, and we are now in Autumn proper.
Back on the 3rd July, I noted that it was a little quieter that morning in our garden light trap, with 40 moths of 22 species recorded, including two Willow Beauties, four Riband Waves, six Codling Moths, two Cabbage Moths, three Dark Arches, a Clay, and a Single-dotted Wave.
After clearing the trap, and releasing all the moths safely in the garden, I headed up to Fleetwood and called in at the cemetery, where I recorded a few plants, before heading to the eastern end of the dunes at Rossall Point. I wanted to walk this stretch as I didn’t get that far a couple of days ago. I recorded a few plants, and noted a singing Whitethroat close to the car park, and two juveniles towards the tower.
I then went to Jubilee Quay to record plants, and look for insects. I had my first returning Redshank of the autumn, and seven Curlews headed upstream, and a couple of Little Egrets were out on the mud.
I had a new Hoverfly species for me, which isn’t difficult I suppose, as they are tricky to identify, and I don’t spend enough time looking at them. However, it was also a new species for that tetrad, and it is Britain’s largest hoverfly species.
I noticed a large insect on some Common Carrot, and at first I thought it was a Hornet, but when I got close, I could see that it was a species of hoverfly. It was Volucella zonaria, and its common name is Hornet Mimic Hoverfly, or Hornet Plumehorn. I contacted Fylde hoverfly guru, Malcolm E, who informed it was a first record for that tetrad.
Hornet Mimic Hoverfly
I was entertained by a couple of Ferruginous Bee Grabbers again, looking very furtive, with heads moving left, right, up, and down, looking out for their Bumblebee hosts!
On the 7th July I was at my clients' farm near Slaidburn, where I was identifying meadows that could be used as donor sites for Yellow Rattle for hay meadow restoration projects. I harvested a few yellow Rattle seeds for our garden as well, to try and reduce the competitiveness of the grasses in our mini-meadow.
autumn.
The highlight of the day, and it was a brief highlight, were the brief views I had of a male Goshawk flying across one of the fields that I was in. I didn't get onto it for long, but there was no doubt as to what it was. I couldn't possibly complete an adequate description from my views, so it won't get submitted to the County Recorder, just one for me and the pages of my notebook. A stonker though!
Several butterfly species were on the wing, and the two species that were most abundant were Meadow Brown and Ringlet, with 49 and 19 respectively. Twelve Swifts were hawking for insects over the pools and meadows, and even though it was hot, Willow Warbler, Sedge Warbler, and Garden Warbler were still singing.
After a few mediocre catches, it would be another five days before the garden light trap was out, and on the morning of the 8th July we had a better catch, with 56 moths of 27 species recorded, including two Swallow-tailed Moths, a Lime-speck Pug (new for garden), a Buff Arches, seven Dark Arches, two Scalloped Oaks, an Oak Nycteoline (new for garden), a Golden-rod Pug (new for garden), and a Cloaked Minor (new for garden, and our 201st species).
Late morning, Gail and I had a walk along the estuary from Jubilee Quay, recording a few plants and insects. We had six Meadow Browns, five Gatekeepers, seven Red Admirals, ten Small Whites, a Peacock, a female Orange-tip, a Small Tortoiseshell, three Small Skippers, and a Comma.
Late morning, Gail and I had a walk along the estuary from Jubilee Quay, recording a few plants and insects. We had six Meadow Browns, five Gatekeepers, seven Red Admirals, ten Small Whites, a Peacock, a female Orange-tip, a Small Tortoiseshell, three Small Skippers, and a Comma.
The following morning I was at Rossall Point, and both the sky and the sea were painted from the same blue-grey palette, and this combined with the flat mill pond nature of the sea, and the slight mist, meant that the horizon wasn’t discernible, and the sea and the sky seemed as one. Any birds sat on the sea, looked as though they were suspended in mid-air, in a resting position!
It was very quiet on the sea, and all I recorded were 25 Sandwich Terns, 83 Eiders, a Common Scoter, and a Gannet. I had good scope views of two Harbour Porpoises, and an Atlantic Grey Seal, in the flat calm conditions.
Out on the shore 105 Turnstones, and nine Dunlins roosted, until they were flushed by dogs. The Turnstones relocated to a nearby stone groyne, but the Dunlins cleared off.
It was very quiet on the sea, and all I recorded were 25 Sandwich Terns, 83 Eiders, a Common Scoter, and a Gannet. I had good scope views of two Harbour Porpoises, and an Atlantic Grey Seal, in the flat calm conditions.
Out on the shore 105 Turnstones, and nine Dunlins roosted, until they were flushed by dogs. The Turnstones relocated to a nearby stone groyne, but the Dunlins cleared off.
Turnstones
Walking through the dunes, 13 Gatekeepers, and 12 Meadow Brown butterflies were on the wing, and there were lots of Common Red Soldier Beetles on the amazing plant that is Ragwort.
Common Red Soldier Beetles
I then had a walk along the estuary from Jubilee Quay where I encountered more Gatekeepers and Meadow Browns, but also Small Skipper, Painted Lady, Red Admiral, Small White, and Large White Butterflies.
A couple of Ferruginous Bee-grabbers kept me entertained as usual, and I also recorded a Hook-banded Wasp Hoverfly, and a Batman Hoverfly, so named because of the Batman logo shaped markings on the thorax. Both common, but also both gorgeous!
A couple of Ferruginous Bee-grabbers kept me entertained as usual, and I also recorded a Hook-banded Wasp Hoverfly, and a Batman Hoverfly, so named because of the Batman logo shaped markings on the thorax. Both common, but also both gorgeous!
Hook-banded Wasp Hoverfly
On the 10th July, Gail and I had a short ringing session at Fleetwood Marsh Nature Park for a couple of hours, and packed in as soon as it started warming up.
Driving round to where we set up, we pushed 12 Lapwings off the model aircraft field, as we often do. Whether they roost on there (unlikely), or feed on the short turf, I am not entirely sure.
We ringed 15 birds as follows:
Blackcap - 6
Cetti’s Warbler - 3
Reed Warbler - 2
Lesser Whitethroat - 1
Wren - 1
Chiffchaff - 1
Blackbird - 1
All the Blackcaps and the Cetti’s Warblers were juveniles, proof of successful breeding on site.
The following morning in our Thornton Cleveleys garden light trap we recorded 60 moths of 31 species, including a Grey Pug, an Elephant Hawkmoth, two Limnaecia phragmitella (new for garden), a Least Yellow Underwing, four Silver Y, eight Lesser Yellow Underwings, a Smoky Wainscot, two Clays, a Lychnis, a Burnished Brass, a Cloaked Minor (new for garden), and an Olive (new for garden).
The following morning in our Thornton Cleveleys garden light trap we recorded 60 moths of 31 species, including a Grey Pug, an Elephant Hawkmoth, two Limnaecia phragmitella (new for garden), a Least Yellow Underwing, four Silver Y, eight Lesser Yellow Underwings, a Smoky Wainscot, two Clays, a Lychnis, a Burnished Brass, a Cloaked Minor (new for garden), and an Olive (new for garden).
On the 13th July, the Grandad and Grandson team, with ‘moth ticklers’ in hand, recorded 56 moths of 25 species in our garden light trap, including six Buff Ermines, a Small Mottled Willow, a Holly Tortrix (new for garden), an Udea prunalis, a Small Dusty Wave, a Bryotropha affinis (new for garden), a Small Fan-footed Wave (new for garden), and a Shuttle-shaped Dart.
In mid-July I was in a bit of a routine, and most of my time during this period, in terms of natural history, was spent looking for insects along the River Wyre from Jubilee Quay, and running my garden light trap.
My butterfly, and day flying moths, daily site totals during this period at Jubilee Quay, peaked at 18 Red Admirals, five Small Whites, seven Large Whites, seven Gatekeepers, a female Orange-tip, seven Peacocks, a Common Blue, a Small Skipper, two Painted Lady’s, two Meadow Browns, a Small Tortoiseshell, a Green-veined White, 18 Silver Y moths, and 14 Cinnabar Moth caterpillars.
My butterfly, and day flying moths, daily site totals during this period at Jubilee Quay, peaked at 18 Red Admirals, five Small Whites, seven Large Whites, seven Gatekeepers, a female Orange-tip, seven Peacocks, a Common Blue, a Small Skipper, two Painted Lady’s, two Meadow Browns, a Small Tortoiseshell, a Green-veined White, 18 Silver Y moths, and 14 Cinnabar Moth caterpillars.
Cinnabar Moth caterpillar
On the 14th, I managed to identify and photograph an Ichneumon wasp species, namely Ichneumon sarcitorius. A cracking wee beastie, and a first for me.
Ichneumon sarcitorius (above & below)
Roosting Gull numbers hadn't been as high as in recent weeks, and maximum totals were 119 Herring Gulls, and 19 Lesser Black-backed Gulls. Among the roosting Gulls, the numbers of this year’s juveniles have increased, introducing various shades of brown, to the grey and white colouration of the flock.
I had never recorded any species of fish on my walks here, and then I saw two fish swimming together parallel with the quay wall. I managed to get a few awful, murky pictures of them, and managed to work out that they were a species of Grey Mullet. Apparently, there are three species of Grey Mullet in the UK, and it is likely that the two I saw were Thick-lipped Grey Mullet. I didn’t know, but they are very common, and found around piers, estuaries, and harbours, and Jubilee Quay has all three of those habitat features.
I had never recorded any species of fish on my walks here, and then I saw two fish swimming together parallel with the quay wall. I managed to get a few awful, murky pictures of them, and managed to work out that they were a species of Grey Mullet. Apparently, there are three species of Grey Mullet in the UK, and it is likely that the two I saw were Thick-lipped Grey Mullet. I didn’t know, but they are very common, and found around piers, estuaries, and harbours, and Jubilee Quay has all three of those habitat features.
Grey Mullet sp.
During this period we had a couple of catches in our garden light trap, recording 104 moths of 36 species, including two Box-tree Moths, 14 Codling Moths, a Narrow-winged Pug (new for garden), a Small Mottled Willow, a Yellow Shell, an Ypsolopha dentella (new for garden), two Heralds, a Cochylichroa atricapitana (new for garden and our 210th species), a Willow Beauty, a Bulrush Veneer, a Dog’s Tooth (new for garden), and a Acrobasis advenella (new for garden).
On the 21st July, I was at Rossall Point for 0600, and the tide was falling, but I managed a couple of hours sea-watching. It was quiet. My totals included 22 Common Scoters, six Manx Shearwaters, three Sandwich Terns, three Red-breasted Mergansers, two Great Crested Grebes, six Eiders, and an Atlantic Grey Seal.
On the shore were 90 Oystercatchers, seven Ringed Plovers, seven Dunlins, four Curlews, 90 Turnstones, and nine Sanderlings.
I then had a walk through the dunes as far as the Marine Lakes, and recorded a few plants and insects.
On the 22nd, Gail and I had a ringing session at Fleetwood Marsh Nature Park. It felt quiet in the reedbed and scrub as we were putting the nets up at 0515, and it was quiet, with just six birds ringed as follows:
On the shore were 90 Oystercatchers, seven Ringed Plovers, seven Dunlins, four Curlews, 90 Turnstones, and nine Sanderlings.
I then had a walk through the dunes as far as the Marine Lakes, and recorded a few plants and insects.
On the 22nd, Gail and I had a ringing session at Fleetwood Marsh Nature Park. It felt quiet in the reedbed and scrub as we were putting the nets up at 0515, and it was quiet, with just six birds ringed as follows:
Robin - 2
Reed Warbler - 1
Sedge Warbler - 1
Blue Tit - 1
Willow Warbler - 1
Up until the 28th July, I had a couple of wee danders along the Wyre estuary from Jubilee Quay, and recorded a few bits and pieces. There’s a nice post-breeding flock of House Sparrows building up, with 21 birds during this time. It was nice to be shown a video by one of the fishermen of some of the juvenile Swallows that nest in the wrecks, landing on one of them for a short while, and then flying off. The fisherman in question was very excited about the experience, and said that he didn’t dare move, and just kept very still, and soaked it all up.
House Sparrow
There were up to three Red Admirals, seven Small Whites, six Common Blue Butterflies, a very worn Painted Lady, two Gatekeepers, four Meadow Browns, and three Peacocks. There was also plenty of Buff-tailed and Red-tailed Bumblebees, visiting Knapweed and Ragwort in the main, and I also had a Silvery Leafcutter bee.
I am no photographer by any stretch of the imagination, and I’m envious of the talented nature photographers who post on various blogs. I am a ‘point and shoot’ merchant, and a camera is just part of the kit that I carry when out in the field. In fact, in order of importance, my equipment in the field is listed as follows; my hearing, notebook, optics, and camera. I often say, that I would rather go out without any optics or camera, than without my notebook.
However, I do like to take photographs when I’m out, as long as the camera does all the work. I just want to set the camera to auto, press the shutter, and get a reasonable result. Well, to me anyway! I have a bridge camera, a Nikon P950, and I am very happy with it. It has a ‘bird-watching’ setting, that I tend to leave it on, unless I use the macro setting for plants and invertebrates, and I just zoom in, and press the shutter, and leave the rest to the camera.
The macro function on the Nikon P950 is okay, but it is not brilliant. I get some results that are good enough for me, but if I could improve on them I would. I have always thought that my only option would be to go down the route of a digital SLR, but I have always dismissed this, because I don’t want to be lugging a camera with a big lens around, when I am out in the field.
So, my interest was piqued, when I was reading an excellent blog, called North Downs and Beyond, penned by talented word-smith, naturalist and birder, Steve Gale. I can highly recommend Steve's blog, and you can find it HERE
In a recent post, Steve was lamenting the fact that his bridge camera, like mine, wasn’t brilliant for macro photography, and he had bought a little Olympus TG-7, that had been receiving rave reviews from naturalists regarding its’ macro function. It is a small camera, fits in the palm of your hand, so will fit easily in a pocket, and Steve was really pleased with the results. On the strength of this, I purchased one myself, and I used it for the first time on 29th July, snapping some of the moths from our garden light trap, and you can see the results scattered throughout this post. I’ve got to fully work the functions out properly, but I was pleased with the pictures I got.
On the debut morning of the TG-7, we recorded 58 moths of 17 species, including 35 Light Brown Apple Moths, two Small Mottled Willows, a Canary-shouldered Thorn, a Ruby Tiger, a Lychnis, a Rosy Rustic, and a Campion.
However, I do like to take photographs when I’m out, as long as the camera does all the work. I just want to set the camera to auto, press the shutter, and get a reasonable result. Well, to me anyway! I have a bridge camera, a Nikon P950, and I am very happy with it. It has a ‘bird-watching’ setting, that I tend to leave it on, unless I use the macro setting for plants and invertebrates, and I just zoom in, and press the shutter, and leave the rest to the camera.
The macro function on the Nikon P950 is okay, but it is not brilliant. I get some results that are good enough for me, but if I could improve on them I would. I have always thought that my only option would be to go down the route of a digital SLR, but I have always dismissed this, because I don’t want to be lugging a camera with a big lens around, when I am out in the field.
So, my interest was piqued, when I was reading an excellent blog, called North Downs and Beyond, penned by talented word-smith, naturalist and birder, Steve Gale. I can highly recommend Steve's blog, and you can find it HERE
In a recent post, Steve was lamenting the fact that his bridge camera, like mine, wasn’t brilliant for macro photography, and he had bought a little Olympus TG-7, that had been receiving rave reviews from naturalists regarding its’ macro function. It is a small camera, fits in the palm of your hand, so will fit easily in a pocket, and Steve was really pleased with the results. On the strength of this, I purchased one myself, and I used it for the first time on 29th July, snapping some of the moths from our garden light trap, and you can see the results scattered throughout this post. I’ve got to fully work the functions out properly, but I was pleased with the pictures I got.
On the debut morning of the TG-7, we recorded 58 moths of 17 species, including 35 Light Brown Apple Moths, two Small Mottled Willows, a Canary-shouldered Thorn, a Ruby Tiger, a Lychnis, a Rosy Rustic, and a Campion.
Light Brown Apple Moth
Gail and I then had a walk along the estuary from Jubilee Quay, and as usual recorded a few insects and plants.
We had 11 Sandwich Terns heading west, overland, from the estuary to the coast, just as we got out of our car. It was nice to see 26 Redshanks feeding on the mud as the tide ran in, and 136 Herring Gulls, and 12 Lesser Black-backed Gulls roosted on the shore by the dock channel.
We had 11 Sandwich Terns heading west, overland, from the estuary to the coast, just as we got out of our car. It was nice to see 26 Redshanks feeding on the mud as the tide ran in, and 136 Herring Gulls, and 12 Lesser Black-backed Gulls roosted on the shore by the dock channel.
Redshanks
It was quite blustery, so butterflies were at a premium, and we just had 11 Small Whites, a Red Admiral, a Large White, a Green-veined White, and two Silver Ys (moths of course).
The month ended in a similar vein, with Gail and I out and about mainly recording insects and plants, with a smattering of birds.
On the 30th July along the area of the old ferry at Fleetwood, was a glorious Hummingbird Hawkmoth foraging on some Red Valerian. I managed to take a few snaps, but this glorious moth was far too fast for my abilities and camera. However, the photographs below do give an impression of what a fantastic, and amazing beastie it is.
On the 30th July along the area of the old ferry at Fleetwood, was a glorious Hummingbird Hawkmoth foraging on some Red Valerian. I managed to take a few snaps, but this glorious moth was far too fast for my abilities and camera. However, the photographs below do give an impression of what a fantastic, and amazing beastie it is.
Hummingbird Hawkmoth (above & below)
At the mouth of the estuary were a flock of 81 Sandwich Terns that were looking for somewhere to roost, but the high tide had covered all the suitable roosting habitat.
The following morning, I had a walk around the farm fields at Larkholme recording a few plants, and looking for any early migrant passerines. In one section of scrubby hedge, I had three juvenile Whitethroats, along with a juvenile Robin and Dunnock, and a lovely, silky, juvenile Lesser Whitethroat.
The following morning, I had a walk around the farm fields at Larkholme recording a few plants, and looking for any early migrant passerines. In one section of scrubby hedge, I had three juvenile Whitethroats, along with a juvenile Robin and Dunnock, and a lovely, silky, juvenile Lesser Whitethroat.
Dunnock
It was only when I was looking back at my photographs, that I noticed that the Sedge Warbler I had attempted to ‘snap’ had a ring on. I could see that it was an adult Sedgie, and that it had a BTO ring on, and in reality, it could have come from anywhere from the south coast to Leighton Moss. It could even have been a bird that I have ringed in the local area.
Ringed Sedge Warbler
I have been enjoying looking at the Gulls roosting on the Wyre, adjacent to Jubilee Quay, and numbers have peaked at 93 Herring Gulls, five Great Black-backed Gulls, and 18 Lesser Black-backed Gulls over recent days.
Juvenile Great Black-backed Gull
Even though it has been fairly windy at the end of the month, a few butterflies have been on the wing, including 31 Small Whites, six Peacocks, five Red Admirals, 18 Painted Lady’s, four Large Whites, and four Common Blue Butterflies (not a great name for such a beautiful creature).
Early August started where late July left off , with good numbers of butterflies along the Wyre estuary between Jubilee Quay and the old Fleetwood Ferry, with a peak count of 55 Small Whites, 12 Red Admirals, three Common Blues, 26 Painted Lady’s, seven Large Whites, three Gatekeepers, four Peacocks, two Small Tortoiseshells, and a Small Copper. I also had another Hummingbird Hawkmoth.
On the 2nd August our garden light trap recorded 34 moths of 19 species, including a Rusty Dot Pearl, a Willow Beauty, an Iron Prominent, a Caloptilia stigmatella (new for garden), a Lychnis, a Lesser Broad-bordered Yellow Underwing, and a Acleris forsskaleana (new for garden).
A few days later I was at Rossall Point, and there were good numbers of waders moving through, and on the shore, including 98 Oystercatchers, 450 Dunlins, 10 Ringed Plovers, 54 Turnstones, and 470 Sanderlings.
The sea was quiet, with just five Little Egrets (single flock east), 88 Sandwich Terns, and 20 Common Scoters.
The only passerines on the move were 15 Swallows west.
I had a look in the cemetery afterwards, and recorded my second ever Hornet Mimic Hoverfly. What a beast, just as impressive as last time!
The sea was quiet, with just five Little Egrets (single flock east), 88 Sandwich Terns, and 20 Common Scoters.
The only passerines on the move were 15 Swallows west.
I had a look in the cemetery afterwards, and recorded my second ever Hornet Mimic Hoverfly. What a beast, just as impressive as last time!
On the morning of the 8th August, Gail and I recorded 46 moths of 17 species in our garden light trap, including two Double-striped Pugs, 17 Light Brown Apple Moths, a Cochylis atricapitana, a Lychnis, a Small Mottled Willow, four Square-spot Rustics, a Rusty Dot Pearl, a Setaceous Hebrew Character, and a Lesser Broad-bordered Yellow Underwing.
Setaceous Hebrew Character
Later that morning we had another Hummingbird Hawkmoth along the Wyre near Jubilee Quay, but I failed to get any decent, or even half-decent shots of it. There were still plenty of Painted Lady’s, Red Admirals, and Small Whites around.
We had our third Hornet Mimic Hoverfly of the year, and second for the site. Besides looking impressive, it even sounds impressive, with a deep, heavy, buzzing sound, mimicking the pitch and volume of a European Hornet. All part of the deception, to trick potential predators into keeping their distance.
We had 41 Redshanks out on the mud, so their numbers are starting to build up. As the autumn moves on, they will eventually peak at a regular 2 – 300 feeding on the invertebrate rich mud.
We had our third Hornet Mimic Hoverfly of the year, and second for the site. Besides looking impressive, it even sounds impressive, with a deep, heavy, buzzing sound, mimicking the pitch and volume of a European Hornet. All part of the deception, to trick potential predators into keeping their distance.
We had 41 Redshanks out on the mud, so their numbers are starting to build up. As the autumn moves on, they will eventually peak at a regular 2 – 300 feeding on the invertebrate rich mud.
A few days later, it was a Swallow kind of morning, and as I drove north along the road towards Rossall Point, a handful of Swallows were heading south over the road.
At this time of the year, the visible migration should mainly be westerly at this location, but with the stiff east-southeasterly wind, birds were doing what birds do, and some were flying easterly into the wind.
At my watch point, I had 24 Swallows head west (the right direction), and 16 head east (the wrong direction). Ten Alba Wags, seven Linnets, a Snipe, a Sand Martin, and 26 House Martins were on the move, and doing the same as the Swallows, some west, and some east.
On the shore were 15 Curlews, 184 Oystercatchers, 96 Ringed Plovers, 395 Sanderlings, three Dunlins, and two Turnstones.
The sea was quiet, with just 18 Cormorants, 100 Sandwich Terns, three Common Terns, three Common Scoters, and a Great Crested Grebe.
After a refreshing coffee at Burton's Tea Rooms at the Mount, a good migrant site, I had a look at Jubilee Quay. More Swallows here, 53 of them, all frantically feeding on Kelp flies as the tide pushed them off the shore. More of that in a moment.
A small area of foreshore remained uncovered in the Quay, and 161 Redshanks, three Turnstones, and 17 Dunlins roosted on it.
The wind had picked up, so there were less butterflies on the wing than of recent days, but there definitely seemed to be a few more Small Tortoiseshells.
At this time of the year, the visible migration should mainly be westerly at this location, but with the stiff east-southeasterly wind, birds were doing what birds do, and some were flying easterly into the wind.
At my watch point, I had 24 Swallows head west (the right direction), and 16 head east (the wrong direction). Ten Alba Wags, seven Linnets, a Snipe, a Sand Martin, and 26 House Martins were on the move, and doing the same as the Swallows, some west, and some east.
On the shore were 15 Curlews, 184 Oystercatchers, 96 Ringed Plovers, 395 Sanderlings, three Dunlins, and two Turnstones.
The sea was quiet, with just 18 Cormorants, 100 Sandwich Terns, three Common Terns, three Common Scoters, and a Great Crested Grebe.
After a refreshing coffee at Burton's Tea Rooms at the Mount, a good migrant site, I had a look at Jubilee Quay. More Swallows here, 53 of them, all frantically feeding on Kelp flies as the tide pushed them off the shore. More of that in a moment.
A small area of foreshore remained uncovered in the Quay, and 161 Redshanks, three Turnstones, and 17 Dunlins roosted on it.
The wind had picked up, so there were less butterflies on the wing than of recent days, but there definitely seemed to be a few more Small Tortoiseshells.
Small Tortoiseshell
On the quay wall where Gail and I usually sit to watch the tide run in, were thousands of Kelp flies, probably Xanthocanace ranula, and I tried to see if my little Olympus could manage any shots on its’ macro setting. You can see the results below, and I don’t think they are too bad considering the flies are only 2 mm in length.
Those dots on the above slab of sandstone are thousands of Xanthocanace
ranula
I’ve posted a few pictures of a few insects, plus a spider, from our garden on the morning of the 13th August. We ran our moth trap overnight, and recorded 91 moths of 34 species, which is a good catch for us. However, some local moth recorders regularly catch way more than this. A good example is a recorder from Carleton, not far from us, who recorded a whopping 458 moths of 79 species the same morning. Wow!
Our catch included a Swallow Prominent, five Small Mottled Willows, a Chestnut Tortrix (new for garden), 25 Light Brown Apple Moths, a Golden-rod Pug, two Setaceous Hebrew Characters, a Least Yellow Underwing, a Knot Grass (new for garden), two Vine’s Rustics, an Orange Swift (new for garden), and two Spectacles. The three ‘new for gardens’, take our total number of species up to 217.
Swallow Prominent
I am still playing around with my little Olympus TG7, and in addition to the moths, I took a couple of shots of a Zebra Spider and a Common Green Lacewing.
Zebra Spider
A couple of days later, Gail and I had a ringing session at Fleetwood Marsh Nature Park. We were hoping that it would be cloudy overnight, but at first light when we were putting the nets up it was clear. It clouded up fairly quickly though, and held the temperature a few pleasant degrees lower.
We ringed ten birds (recaptures in brackets) as follows:
We ringed ten birds (recaptures in brackets) as follows:
Blackbird - 1
Cetti’s Warbler - 1 (1)
Reed Warbler - 3
Robin - 1
Garden Warbler - 1
Wren - 2
Willow Warbler - 1
Garden Warbler
The recaptured Cetti’s Warbler was a bird that we had ringed at the site in June.
The Garden Warbler and one of the Reed Warblers were carrying quite a lot of fat. The Garden Warbler had a fat score of ‘50’, and the Reed Warbler ‘20’. This equates to three quarters of a tank of fuel for the Garden Warbler, and half a tank of fuel for the Reed Warbler. So, both will travel quite a distance on that amount of fat.
A Water Rail called from the reedbed as we were sat at the ringing table between net rounds, and a few Swallows were dropping in to feed over the pools before continuing south. Driving off site after we had packed up, at least 60 Goldfinches were feeding on Thistles.
The following morning our garden light trap was less busy, with just 30 moths of 17 species recorded, including three Vine’s Rustics, a Shuttle-shaped Dart, a Heart and Dart, a Least Yellow Underwing, and a Phycitodes binaevella (new for garden).
The Garden Warbler and one of the Reed Warblers were carrying quite a lot of fat. The Garden Warbler had a fat score of ‘50’, and the Reed Warbler ‘20’. This equates to three quarters of a tank of fuel for the Garden Warbler, and half a tank of fuel for the Reed Warbler. So, both will travel quite a distance on that amount of fat.
A Water Rail called from the reedbed as we were sat at the ringing table between net rounds, and a few Swallows were dropping in to feed over the pools before continuing south. Driving off site after we had packed up, at least 60 Goldfinches were feeding on Thistles.
The following morning our garden light trap was less busy, with just 30 moths of 17 species recorded, including three Vine’s Rustics, a Shuttle-shaped Dart, a Heart and Dart, a Least Yellow Underwing, and a Phycitodes binaevella (new for garden).
On the 16th August we completed our WeBS count at our two sites. First up was Fleetwood Docks, and our count included two Curlews, a Lapwing, 161 Redshanks, 17 Dunlins, 28 Ringed Plovers, eight Oystercatchers, three Turnstones, 90 Herring Gulls, 22 Lesser Black-backed Gulls, and a Sandwich Tern.
As we walked down to our second site, the reservoir next to the estuary, it kept on showering and we had to keep on finding cover. It was quiet on the reservoir, and of interest we recorded 20 Coots, three Tufted Ducks, four Little Grebes, and a Kingfisher. A Blackcap was still singing from the mature scrub next to the river, and two Jays called from the back of the reservoir.
On the 21st, Gail and I had a ringing session at Fleetwood Marsh Nature Park. It was nice to see about a thousand Starlings exiting their reedbed roost just after first light. There’s no real murmuration when they exit their roost at dawn, just a few turns, and twists, and then they head out to their chosen foraging areas.
We ringed nine birds as follows:
We ringed nine birds as follows:
Wren - 1
Blackcap - 2
Whitethroat - 2
Reed Warbler - 2
Robin - 1
Cetti’s Warbler - 1
All were juveniles.
One of the Reed Warblers raised a bit of an alarm with me when I first saw it in the net, with a prominent eye ring, and warm brown upperparts. It stood out. After a few measurements, it was obvious that it was a 1CY (first calendar year) Reed Warbler. But you have to check these things.
The following morning in our garden light trap we recorded 43 moths of 17 species, including 10 Lesser Broad-bordered Yellow Underwings, two Setaceous Hebrew Characters, two Double-striped Pugs, a Flounced Rustic (new for garden), a Small Mottled Willow, an Old Lady, and a Garden Pebble.
One of the Reed Warblers raised a bit of an alarm with me when I first saw it in the net, with a prominent eye ring, and warm brown upperparts. It stood out. After a few measurements, it was obvious that it was a 1CY (first calendar year) Reed Warbler. But you have to check these things.
The following morning in our garden light trap we recorded 43 moths of 17 species, including 10 Lesser Broad-bordered Yellow Underwings, two Setaceous Hebrew Characters, two Double-striped Pugs, a Flounced Rustic (new for garden), a Small Mottled Willow, an Old Lady, and a Garden Pebble.
Old Lady (above & below)
Two Ravens over as we checked the trap were noteworthy for our garden.
It was a solo effort on Monday (24th) morning checking our Thornton Cleveleys Garden light trap, as Alex said “I don’t want to hold any moths today Grandad”. As we progress further into autumn, numbers are dropping off, particularly the number of species. We recorded 59 moths of 15 species, including three Vine’s Rustics, 11 Large Yellow Underwings, six Setaceous Hebrew Characters, 14 Lesser Yellow Underwings, a Willow Beauty, a Rusty Dot Pearl, four Square-spot Rustics, and a Rosy Rustic.
Rosy Rustic
Yesterday morning, I was at Rossall Point for first light to record any seabird passage and visible migration. It started off quiet, but then slowly picked up, before ending abruptly after about three hours. It’s almost as if a tap gets turned off and no more birds move!
I was joined by Howard, and at sea we recorded 270 Sandwich Terns, 64 Common Scoters, 50 Eiders, 26 Cormorants, seven Gannets, 20 Manx Shearwaters, six Shelducks, 10 Teal, a Grey Heron, five Arctic Terns, and three Common Terns.
I was joined by Howard, and at sea we recorded 270 Sandwich Terns, 64 Common Scoters, 50 Eiders, 26 Cormorants, seven Gannets, 20 Manx Shearwaters, six Shelducks, 10 Teal, a Grey Heron, five Arctic Terns, and three Common Terns.
Distant 2CY Gannet
The visible migration was limited to Swallows, and 117 headed east into wind. The usual movement direction at Rossall Point in autumn is west, but if the wind is fairly stiff from the east, as it was, they will head into wind.
I checked the cemetery and Mount Park for grounded migrants, but there was nothing doing.
I checked the cemetery and Mount Park for grounded migrants, but there was nothing doing.
So, like I said at the start of this post, this was a bit of a long one, and I do apologise. We are moving into autumn proper now, and it won't be long until the first Pink-footed Geese are calling overhead...
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