High Brown Fritillary, Whitbarrow
5 July 2009 Stocks Reservoir. A brief early evening visit with Evi resulted in three adult Mediterranean Gulls around the island but I could only see one youngster, although admittedly I did not look very hard. Also here were: Little Grebes (the pair at the causeway's nest is still OK); Great Crested Grebe (one); Great Cormorant (two); Grey Heron (two); Greater Canada, Barnacle (18) and Greylag Geese; Mallard; Red-breasted Merganser (female and six ducklings by the causeway); Common Oystercatcher (one); Common Sandpiper (six); Little Ringed Plover (two, adult and juvenile); Black-headed; Great (one, 3cy) and Lesser Black-backed Gulls; Blackcap (two singing); Blue Tit and Common Chaffinch. Butterflies included: Small Skipper (five near the old hide); Ringlet (one from the old hide); Meadow Brown and Painted lady (one). A Little Owl was on the stone wall at Shays Barn on the way home.
5 July 2009 Stocks Reservoir. A brief early evening visit with Evi resulted in three adult Mediterranean Gulls around the island but I could only see one youngster, although admittedly I did not look very hard. Also here were: Little Grebes (the pair at the causeway's nest is still OK); Great Crested Grebe (one); Great Cormorant (two); Grey Heron (two); Greater Canada, Barnacle (18) and Greylag Geese; Mallard; Red-breasted Merganser (female and six ducklings by the causeway); Common Oystercatcher (one); Common Sandpiper (six); Little Ringed Plover (two, adult and juvenile); Black-headed; Great (one, 3cy) and Lesser Black-backed Gulls; Blackcap (two singing); Blue Tit and Common Chaffinch. Butterflies included: Small Skipper (five near the old hide); Ringlet (one from the old hide); Meadow Brown and Painted lady (one). A Little Owl was on the stone wall at Shays Barn on the way home.
Top two: Common Spotted Orchid at Stocks and bottom: Foxglove - a common sight in the Hodder Valley
4 July 2009. Arnside and Silverdale AONB with Mark Varley (0700-1430). The excellent Allen Pools of Leighton Moss from Eric Morecambe hide provided us with some great photographic opportunities, before the sun swung too far round to the south, with several waders very close to the hide. Highlights were: Little Egret (ten); Marsh Harrier (a male hunting over the grazing meadows); Common Buzzard (one); Spotted Redshank (two, in fading breeding plumage); Common Greenshank (four, including one colour ringed bird, maybe the same as last summer/lime green left but its right leg was not seen as it slept the whole time!); Black-tailed Godwit (430, islandica); Dunlin (12); Little Ringed Plover (one); Great Black-backed (pair) and Little Gull (seven); Common Whitethroat (two singing); Eurasian Reed and Sedge Warblers. I notice that the RSPB reserve centre is being refurbished at the moment, which strikes me as strange as it was pretty good anyway. I guess it might be an attempt to increase revenue from their shop and cafe? Heaven forbid they should refurbish their dreadful dilapidated hides! The Eric Morecambe hide now has some holes in the floor, the door doesn't open properly and the whole thing shakes when someone makes even the slightest movement, let alone when a train goes past on the nearby railway line.
Top two: Common Greenshank; next Spotted Redshank (and below with Common Greenshank); Black-tailed Godwits ( an amazing variety of plumages!); Common Snipe and bottom: Little Egret
As the glare grew stronger we made tracks for the shadows of Gait Barrows NNR, justifiably claimed to be 'one of England's finest wildlife sites'. The reserve includes some excellent carboniferous limestone pavement, shaped by glaciers some 15,000 years ago. It was declared a national nature reserve in 1977 saving its amazing geological features, not to mention its rich flora and fauna, from further destruction - since the 1960s a lot of limestone pavement had been removed, to be used in rockery gardens! The 'clints' (the large eroded slabs of limestone) are dissected by numerous fissures known as 'grykes', which provide a microclimate suitable for several rare plant species. Probably the most attractive of these is the Dark-red Helleborine (formerly known as 'Dark-flowered Helleborine') - a beautiful orchid that grows in a few scattered limestone sites from Derbyshire as far north as Cape Wrath (it is also the county flower of Banffshire). We managed to find about 20 plants without too much difficulty, some growing in very atmospheric situations, poking out of grykes on beautifully sculpted limestone surfaces. Most of the florets were slightly singed, owing to their exposure to the strong sunlight of the last week or so but there were still a couple of very nice flowering spikes and even one large plant that had not yet opened at all. Also here were: High Brown Fritillary (only two of c.10 large fritillaries bombing around were definitely identified as this species); Dark Green Fritillary (c.10 on grassland near Haweswater); Small Pearl-borded Fritillary (two Haweswater); Ringlet (c.10); Grayling (one); Meadow Brown; Small Skipper (two) and Painted Lady (four). A Brown Hawker dragonfly dashed across a small meadow full of Fragrant orchids next to Haweswater and finally birds of note were: Spotted Flycatcher (one singing near Haweswater); Common Chiffchaff and Eurasian Bullfinch (heard). We needed a permit to visit this reserve when I last came here in the early nineties but it is great to see how it has now been opened to the public for all to enjoy its surreal and amazing landscape.
4 July 2009. Arnside and Silverdale AONB with Mark Varley (0700-1430). The excellent Allen Pools of Leighton Moss from Eric Morecambe hide provided us with some great photographic opportunities, before the sun swung too far round to the south, with several waders very close to the hide. Highlights were: Little Egret (ten); Marsh Harrier (a male hunting over the grazing meadows); Common Buzzard (one); Spotted Redshank (two, in fading breeding plumage); Common Greenshank (four, including one colour ringed bird, maybe the same as last summer/lime green left but its right leg was not seen as it slept the whole time!); Black-tailed Godwit (430, islandica); Dunlin (12); Little Ringed Plover (one); Great Black-backed (pair) and Little Gull (seven); Common Whitethroat (two singing); Eurasian Reed and Sedge Warblers. I notice that the RSPB reserve centre is being refurbished at the moment, which strikes me as strange as it was pretty good anyway. I guess it might be an attempt to increase revenue from their shop and cafe? Heaven forbid they should refurbish their dreadful dilapidated hides! The Eric Morecambe hide now has some holes in the floor, the door doesn't open properly and the whole thing shakes when someone makes even the slightest movement, let alone when a train goes past on the nearby railway line.
Top two: Common Greenshank; next Spotted Redshank (and below with Common Greenshank); Black-tailed Godwits ( an amazing variety of plumages!); Common Snipe and bottom: Little Egret
As the glare grew stronger we made tracks for the shadows of Gait Barrows NNR, justifiably claimed to be 'one of England's finest wildlife sites'. The reserve includes some excellent carboniferous limestone pavement, shaped by glaciers some 15,000 years ago. It was declared a national nature reserve in 1977 saving its amazing geological features, not to mention its rich flora and fauna, from further destruction - since the 1960s a lot of limestone pavement had been removed, to be used in rockery gardens! The 'clints' (the large eroded slabs of limestone) are dissected by numerous fissures known as 'grykes', which provide a microclimate suitable for several rare plant species. Probably the most attractive of these is the Dark-red Helleborine (formerly known as 'Dark-flowered Helleborine') - a beautiful orchid that grows in a few scattered limestone sites from Derbyshire as far north as Cape Wrath (it is also the county flower of Banffshire). We managed to find about 20 plants without too much difficulty, some growing in very atmospheric situations, poking out of grykes on beautifully sculpted limestone surfaces. Most of the florets were slightly singed, owing to their exposure to the strong sunlight of the last week or so but there were still a couple of very nice flowering spikes and even one large plant that had not yet opened at all. Also here were: High Brown Fritillary (only two of c.10 large fritillaries bombing around were definitely identified as this species); Dark Green Fritillary (c.10 on grassland near Haweswater); Small Pearl-borded Fritillary (two Haweswater); Ringlet (c.10); Grayling (one); Meadow Brown; Small Skipper (two) and Painted Lady (four). A Brown Hawker dragonfly dashed across a small meadow full of Fragrant orchids next to Haweswater and finally birds of note were: Spotted Flycatcher (one singing near Haweswater); Common Chiffchaff and Eurasian Bullfinch (heard). We needed a permit to visit this reserve when I last came here in the early nineties but it is great to see how it has now been opened to the public for all to enjoy its surreal and amazing landscape.
Top four: Dark-red Helleborine; next: an arch in the limestone pavement and bottom: interpretive sign at Gait Barrows
Another quick look at the Allen Pool complex, this time from Crag Road followed but the reported spoonbills had departed, which is just as well because had we chosen to go for them first we would have missed the chippy as well - it closes at 1330! Just like last time, even though we arrived just after thir closing time, they stayed open to fry us some fish and put a new lot of chips on too, fantastic service! At Warton Crag Quarry a juvenile Peregrine Falcon was on view, apparently one of two reared here this year and a tatty Common Buzzard flew over.
North Road chippy, Carnforth - well worth a visit!
The last port of call of the day was Stocks Reservoir, where there were three broods of Mediterranean Gulls present - at least five youngsters but with only one adult in attendance. Margaret and Brian's observations of behaviour when the adults return to feed them indicate that despite four of these birds associating in two pairs, all of them probably have different parents! The Little Grebes are trying again and hopefully their new nest will not be left high and dry too quickly. Also here were: Great Crested Grebe (one); Great Cormorant (19, mostly asleep); Grey Heron (four); Greater Canada and Greylag Geese; Mallard; Red-breasted Merganser (one); Goosander (two); Common Oystercatcher; Common Sandpiper (seven); Little Ringed Plover (one); Common Moorhen (two); Black-headed and Lesser Black-backed Gulls; Common Kingfisher (one at the causeway pool); Sand Martin (five) and several Willow Warblers heard.
Another quick look at the Allen Pool complex, this time from Crag Road followed but the reported spoonbills had departed, which is just as well because had we chosen to go for them first we would have missed the chippy as well - it closes at 1330! Just like last time, even though we arrived just after thir closing time, they stayed open to fry us some fish and put a new lot of chips on too, fantastic service! At Warton Crag Quarry a juvenile Peregrine Falcon was on view, apparently one of two reared here this year and a tatty Common Buzzard flew over.
North Road chippy, Carnforth - well worth a visit!
The last port of call of the day was Stocks Reservoir, where there were three broods of Mediterranean Gulls present - at least five youngsters but with only one adult in attendance. Margaret and Brian's observations of behaviour when the adults return to feed them indicate that despite four of these birds associating in two pairs, all of them probably have different parents! The Little Grebes are trying again and hopefully their new nest will not be left high and dry too quickly. Also here were: Great Crested Grebe (one); Great Cormorant (19, mostly asleep); Grey Heron (four); Greater Canada and Greylag Geese; Mallard; Red-breasted Merganser (one); Goosander (two); Common Oystercatcher; Common Sandpiper (seven); Little Ringed Plover (one); Common Moorhen (two); Black-headed and Lesser Black-backed Gulls; Common Kingfisher (one at the causeway pool); Sand Martin (five) and several Willow Warblers heard.
Little Grebe, Stocks Reservoir
Above: Dark Green Fritillary and below: High Brown Fritillaries
On the wonderful open limestone grassland of Township Allotment Dark Green prevailed with hundreds flying, especially in bracken and stunted juniper-filled gullies between the succession of ridges, where it was joined by tens of Small Pearl-bordered as well as more Graylings, Small Heaths, a handful of tatty Painted Ladies and a single Small Tortoiseshell – the rarest butterfly of the day! Birds were unobtrusive in the midday heat but included: Tree Pipit (one singing on Township Allotment); Eurasian Skylark (several singing on Township Allotment); Garden Warbler (one singing) and Eurasian Bullfinch (two heard). Also here was a Southern Hawker dragonfly, my first of the year.
From top: Dark Green Fritillary; Small Pearl-bordered Fritillary and bottom: Township Allotment
En route home we called in at *****holes Quarry LWT reserve in the hope of seeing one of the Lesser Emperors reportedly present since yesterday, however, despite very kindly being allowed to park at the reserve centre (especially considering all the rotten things I have said about this place) all we could manage were three Emperor Dragonflies amongst the commoner species that included Black-tailed Skimmer and Banded Demoiselle. The reserve is starting to look very good and I am sure it will develop into something quite special but the roar of the adjacent M6 is still deafening!
2 July 2009. Determined to make the most of a day off work on my birthday I had checked both Stocks Reservoir and Lower Foulridge before breakfast. Highlights at Stocks were three adult Little Ringed Plovers and two pairs of Mediterranean Gulls at the water’s edge each with a well-grown chick. There was little else new since the weekend, except for seven Tufted Ducks in the Hodder inlet. Foulridge looks great at the moment, with a massive mudflat at the eastern end, as that it is in the process of being drained this summer. Although none of the 16 Black-tailed Godwits were present that had been seen yesterday, there were six Little Ringed Plovers (two juveniles) and four Common Redshanks (three juveniles). Nine in one day in East Lancs is still a pretty good total?
Lower Foulridge Reservoir
Our main outing today was a visit with Evi to one of my favourite butterflying sites anywhere, the imposing limestone outcrop of Whitbarrow in the South Lakes. It is an absolute joy to wander across its butterfly-filled grassland as well as to explore the secret woodland glades of the limestone pavement. We could not have picked a better day, with wall-to-wall sunshine and temperatures soaring to the late twenties. Walking up through the mixed woodland of Township Allotment a few Speckled Woods skipped along ahead of us and the first large fritillaries gave some tantalising fly bys through the canopy. Soon the woodland opened up into a series of small limestone pavement glades. The beautiful orchid Dark Red Helleborine still grows in the shadows here, however, its florets were about a week from opening at the time of our visit and, sadly, some of them had already been nipped off, maybe by deer. Graylings buzzed around the clearings, performing their ritual drill on landing, of tucking their forewings in after a second or two and then angling their closed wing surface exactly perpendicular to the sun. Cryptically marked they blend in against the grey limestone rock perfectly and can be tricky to re-find if you take your eye off them for a moment.
Grayling
Several minute Northern Brown Argus butterflies were also in this area, nectaring on Bird’s Foot Trefoil flowers, growing alongside their caterpillar’s food plant, Common Rock Rose, but they were very restless - males presumably in their constant search for a female. Immediately obviously tiny in comparison to the Common Blues further up on the grassland the males also lack a black spot in the lower white space of their diagnostic ‘colon’ mark, a characteristic of the northern English form salmacis. They also lack the white spot on the forewing of the Scottish form. This butterfly is at the southernmost edge of its range in South Cumbria and North Lancashire, with the colonies in the Peak District, Yorkshire Wolds and North Wales now considered Brown Argus Aricia agestis. Happily this species was also the one with the most new squares added between 1970-82 and 1995-9, mostly owing to more thorough surveying in Scotland. It is known as the Mountain Argus in Europe.
Northern Brown Argus
Eventually large patches of bracken punctuated by flowering brambles take over, the domain of the stunning stars of this site – High Brown and Dark Green Fritillaries. They can be tricky to separate without good views of the under hind wings, High Brown with its row of rusty halos and Dark Green with its lovely emerald green studded with silver cells. Another pointer is that the forewings of Dark Green are more rounded than High Brown. Interestingly High Brown was originally named ‘The greater silver-spotted Fritillary’, when it was described in 1699 and Dark Green was described soon afterwards as ‘The ground below greenish’. The carboniferous limestone of the Morecambe Bay area is one of the last UK strongholds of High Brown Fritillary but unfortunately the locals who monitor their numbers report that they are in decline, maybe owing to the last two miserable summers? Hopefully this hot one will redress this trend. Dark Green, however, remains abundant!
Lower Foulridge Reservoir
Our main outing today was a visit with Evi to one of my favourite butterflying sites anywhere, the imposing limestone outcrop of Whitbarrow in the South Lakes. It is an absolute joy to wander across its butterfly-filled grassland as well as to explore the secret woodland glades of the limestone pavement. We could not have picked a better day, with wall-to-wall sunshine and temperatures soaring to the late twenties. Walking up through the mixed woodland of Township Allotment a few Speckled Woods skipped along ahead of us and the first large fritillaries gave some tantalising fly bys through the canopy. Soon the woodland opened up into a series of small limestone pavement glades. The beautiful orchid Dark Red Helleborine still grows in the shadows here, however, its florets were about a week from opening at the time of our visit and, sadly, some of them had already been nipped off, maybe by deer. Graylings buzzed around the clearings, performing their ritual drill on landing, of tucking their forewings in after a second or two and then angling their closed wing surface exactly perpendicular to the sun. Cryptically marked they blend in against the grey limestone rock perfectly and can be tricky to re-find if you take your eye off them for a moment.
Grayling
Several minute Northern Brown Argus butterflies were also in this area, nectaring on Bird’s Foot Trefoil flowers, growing alongside their caterpillar’s food plant, Common Rock Rose, but they were very restless - males presumably in their constant search for a female. Immediately obviously tiny in comparison to the Common Blues further up on the grassland the males also lack a black spot in the lower white space of their diagnostic ‘colon’ mark, a characteristic of the northern English form salmacis. They also lack the white spot on the forewing of the Scottish form. This butterfly is at the southernmost edge of its range in South Cumbria and North Lancashire, with the colonies in the Peak District, Yorkshire Wolds and North Wales now considered Brown Argus Aricia agestis. Happily this species was also the one with the most new squares added between 1970-82 and 1995-9, mostly owing to more thorough surveying in Scotland. It is known as the Mountain Argus in Europe.
Northern Brown Argus
Eventually large patches of bracken punctuated by flowering brambles take over, the domain of the stunning stars of this site – High Brown and Dark Green Fritillaries. They can be tricky to separate without good views of the under hind wings, High Brown with its row of rusty halos and Dark Green with its lovely emerald green studded with silver cells. Another pointer is that the forewings of Dark Green are more rounded than High Brown. Interestingly High Brown was originally named ‘The greater silver-spotted Fritillary’, when it was described in 1699 and Dark Green was described soon afterwards as ‘The ground below greenish’. The carboniferous limestone of the Morecambe Bay area is one of the last UK strongholds of High Brown Fritillary but unfortunately the locals who monitor their numbers report that they are in decline, maybe owing to the last two miserable summers? Hopefully this hot one will redress this trend. Dark Green, however, remains abundant!
Above: Dark Green Fritillary and below: High Brown Fritillaries
On the wonderful open limestone grassland of Township Allotment Dark Green prevailed with hundreds flying, especially in bracken and stunted juniper-filled gullies between the succession of ridges, where it was joined by tens of Small Pearl-bordered as well as more Graylings, Small Heaths, a handful of tatty Painted Ladies and a single Small Tortoiseshell – the rarest butterfly of the day! Birds were unobtrusive in the midday heat but included: Tree Pipit (one singing on Township Allotment); Eurasian Skylark (several singing on Township Allotment); Garden Warbler (one singing) and Eurasian Bullfinch (two heard). Also here was a Southern Hawker dragonfly, my first of the year.
From top: Dark Green Fritillary; Small Pearl-bordered Fritillary and bottom: Township Allotment
En route home we called in at *****holes Quarry LWT reserve in the hope of seeing one of the Lesser Emperors reportedly present since yesterday, however, despite very kindly being allowed to park at the reserve centre (especially considering all the rotten things I have said about this place) all we could manage were three Emperor Dragonflies amongst the commoner species that included Black-tailed Skimmer and Banded Demoiselle. The reserve is starting to look very good and I am sure it will develop into something quite special but the roar of the adjacent M6 is still deafening!
