Pool, Canal, And Stonking Moth.

Aqueduct Pool.

Aqueduct Bridge. Copyright Johnathon Price.

As it was located below the Aqueduct Bridge, it seemed appropriate that I decided to christen the small body of water Aqueduct Pool. It was here that I observed my first Emerald Damselfly on 10 August 2023.

Aqueduct Pool 23 July. Pete Woodruff.

It's no surprise to find no Emerald Damselflies, the pool doesn't look to have had any recent management, and the fact that a huge fast food chain has an outlet a few hundred metres away up the path, this results with the site becoming one of 'human remains' not wildlife. Add this to the fact that the Emerald Damselfly is a strictly still water species, favouring shallow water with extensive emergent and marginal vegetation, it being shy to fly over open water.

I count myself lucky to have had the one encounter with the Emerald Damselfly in August 2023. Also on previous visits, I have recorded Southern Hawker and Brown Hawker, both species egg laying, and Four-spotted Chaser....I don't think the Emerald Damselfly or any of this  will ever happen here again!

Emerald Damselfly. Pete Woodruff.

When I visited Aqueduct Pool on Thursday there was little sign of anything here, though I noted 4 Common Blue Damselfly and 2 Common Darter male.

Dragonfly Exuvia. Pete Woodruff.

Being a novice in the world of odonata, I did manage to find my first exuvia, it was at the back of the pool, so difficult to get a half decent image. I doubt anyone could answer the question 'what's this then'. 

Lancaster Canal.

From here I walked the canal towpath back to Lancaster, being a little disappointed with the resulting 13 dragon sightings, 8 Brown Hawker, 3 Emperor Dragonfly, including a female egg laying, a Common Blue Damselfly and Common Darter both males. Butterflies were a mix of 18 Large/Small White, 6 Speckled Wood, a Comma and Red Admiral.

These records compare poorly with those on my last walk along this 2 mile stretch of the Lancaster Canal in August 2024 when I notched up 48 individuals, 23 Emperor Dragonfly, 12 Brown Hawker, 8 Common Darter, and 5 Common Blue Damselfly.

Hummingbird Hawk Moth.

Hummingbird Hawk Moth. Martin Jump.

The Hummingbird Hawk Moth is a daytime flying moth, and a migrant species from Southern Europe and North Africa, it is occasionally seen in good number, especially during long hot spells like the one we have experienced over the past weeks.

* I found 58 records of Hummingbird Hawk Moth in West Lancashire this year March 5 - June 22.

Martin Jump.

As far as the photographic evidence he has achieved, my take on Martin Jump's recent encounter with a Hummingbird Hawk-moth, is that he's the luckiest person in Lancashire, if not in Britain.

Hummingbird Hawk Moth Egg Laying. Martin Jump.

I reckon Martin Jump was a step ahead of everyone in the County of Lancashire and beyond with this one, not only did he find the moth, but he managed to see it egg laying, and not only egg laying, but captured it on camera. Taking a closer look, there are three eggs in the image....I mean c'mon!

I was lucky to find a Hummingbird Hawk Moth on 2 September 2025, it put on a good show for me while I got some footage as it collected nectar with its long proboscis from the Wild Sweet William in the garden. 

News From The Bog!

Excellent news from Birk Bank from a trusted and reliable source, is that the current record stands at a spectacular 22 Keeled Skimmer as at Tuesday 14 July.

Keeled Skimmer Birk Bank 16 July. Pete Woodruff.

On Thursday, I spent an enjoyable and rewarding 2 hours at Birk Bank, but based on the chances of my equalling the current record let alone beating it, I did find at least 14 Keeled Skimmer in the first 5 minutes there. Quite surprisingly all were male, though by the end of the session I had seen two females egg laying.

The next best thing, was the 2 Golden-ringed Dragonfly sightings, neither of which had stopped off for photographs!

Four-spotted Chaser Birk Bank 16 July. Pete Woodruff.

Four-spotted Chaser seen, this one an immature with wing spots not very apparent, and were mostly on the wing, and all were immediately seen off by the male Keeled Skimmers.

I hadn't noticed the insect at the time, only when I came to process the footage did I see it face to face with the chaser, and I wondered if it had escaped with its life, but I reckon it was living dangerously.

Being a novice in the game, I can only assume this female dragonfly is egg laying, you can see its abdomen under the leaf on the bog, in which case it is making heavy weather of the exercise.

I have no idea of the fate of this unidentified dragonfly. The behaviour added to the bleached appearance which is probably caused by the stark sunlight....All things considered, something of a mystery. 

Azure Damselfly Birk Bank 16 July. Pete Woodruff.

Three Azure Damselfly seen, and something of a surprise was a Blue-tailed Damselfly, it not being a common sight around acidic waters, I don't recall ever seeing one at Birk Bank before. It was good to see the Emperor Dragonfly again this year if only on a brief fly by.

Birds & Butterflies.

It was an icing on the cake moment when I found a pair of Stonechat as I came away from the bog, the male was seen with a grub in its bill....obvious breeders for me. Vocal interaction by a pair of Willow Warbler, and a Buzzard overhead.

Butterflies were a little thin, but one or two escaped ID as they whizzed by....no good for a learner like me! Three Ringlet, 2 Red Admiral and a Meadow Brown.  

Red Alert!

A wander along the Lancaster Canal about 10 miles south of Lancaster was one of the best decisions I've made this year, and if I'm honest I don't remember the last one to come anywhere near it in recent years.

For some reason I had Water Lilies on my mind, and as I soon came across large patches of them by the canal side, a feeling of excitement was beginning to build.

Blue-tailed Damselfly. Pete Woodruff.

It was just the one male Blue-tailed Damselfly, but it was a precursor to something much better. In just a few hundred metres along the towpath, I came across large areas of Water Lilies, and soon remembered why they had been on my mind....

Small Red-eyed Damselfly Lancaster Canal 11 July. Pete Woodruff.

Within the 30 minutes I spent here, I had noted at least 30 Small Red-eyed Damselfly...A Mega for the little black book! 

Mating by the Small Red-eyed Damselfly usually occurs on floating plants, and in the case of canals, on floating Water Lilies. 

The Small Red-eyed Damselfly was first found in Britain 27 years ago, on the Essex coast in July 1999, and had become locally abundant in south-east England 3 years later in 2002. There appears to be a range expansion taking place today, and the species is now present at Middleton NR in North Lancashire, were there is a feeling of colonisation expressed by some observers there.  

The Bees That Weren't!

In my last post Thursday 9 July, I featured a photograph of supposedly Common Carder Bees pairing....well isn't that what they are? Well actually no, in fact this was an error which left egg on my face, but who cares, I'm not some know-all who never gets it wrong!

Merodon equestris. Pete Woodruff.

It's an image of a pair of the best bumblebee mimics in the land, the hoverfly Merodon equestris....Well who'da thought!

The Garden Bees.

The bees in the garden have kept me entertained recently, one found on Tuesday was particularly entertaining, and developed into something quite interesting.

A Wool Carder Bee Anthidium manicatum was on the bee hotel, not very active, and when I returned a few minutes later it had gone.

Wool Carder Bee 7 July. Pete Woodruff.

This is a large cosmopolitan genus with several hundred described species, but only one in Britain. Their nests are often to be found in dead wood or walls, but can often be in bee-hotels which is where this bee was seen today. Not necessarily nesting there, but if it was, it is interesting that Yarrow was below our bee hotel, this is one of the flowers from which the female Wool Carder Bee collects from the furry leafed surface of the Yarrow to plug and close the nest hole.

Yarrow Achillea millefolium. Pete Woodruff.

An excellent record for our garden in N.Lancashire. The Wool Carder Bee has become more frequently recorded since the first was found 35 years ago at Hornby in 1992, but since 2000 it has expanded its range northwards, from being a species found more often in southern England, to being seen nearer my home town in Lancaster and being recorded about 6 miles west at Heysham.

Wool Carder Bee. Martin Jump.

Martin found this bee in his own garden in 2025, his quality image is of a far more attractive specimen than mine. Thanks for this Martin, much appreciated.

Common Carder Bees.

Common Carder Bees. Pete Woodruff.

The next entertainment by the bees, came in the form of a pair of Common Carder Bees I found paired in the garden. This was the first and most amazing experience I ever expected from a pair of insects.

This guy sounds like someone using a chainsaw at 3,000 revs a second and it is brilliant....Pump up the volume!

 

Mason Bees.

I'm not seeing much of the Mason Bees now, their fight season will have finished before the end of July.

Red Mason Bee. Pete Woodruff.

The Mason Bees have blocked off at least 20 holes in their hotel....

Blue Mason Bee. Pete Woodruff.

This Blue Mason Bee was taking a look out whilst deciding when to make a start to block of the hole. It's been a joy to watch these small bees this year, and the antics they get up to.

Thanks to Paul Ellis for his image of the Common Terns on Conder Pool 5 July, including two of the latest fledged birds ringed as 454 & 455....Couldn't resist this one!  

Conder Pool Wednesday 2 July.

This time my header image is that of the first Common Tern to fledge on Conder Pool this breeding season, it took to the wing on 2 July. I'm grateful to Howard Stockdale for the excellent image of this bird, and for some of the stats in the post that follows regarding the Common Terns on Conder Pool.

Common Tern With Young Conder Pool Raft 1 July. Pete Woodruff.

I can't pretend not to be disappointed that the juvenile Common Tern decided to wait until the following day of my visit to Conder Pool to fledge. I had seen four young Common Tern on the raft on Wednesday, one was wing exercising, no doubt this was the one that fledged the following day, hence my disappointment. 

On the morning of 28 July, there was 25 Common Tern nests, 22 pairs were incubating, with 3 nests and 6 chicks.

Up to 30 Common Tern were on the raft on Wednesday, adults and 4 young. I made no count of any terns that may have been off the raft, though I'm told birds breeding on the islands had failed due to predation and had relocated to the raft.

The outlook for the future of this years breeding Common Terns on Conder Pool is looking good and positive....Alleluia! 

I made no counts of adult Avocet, but noted 2 young and a well grown juvenile which was rewarding. There was a good count of 12 Mediterranean Gull, including two 1st summer, and three 2nd summer birds. A lone adult Little Ringed Plover gave good views, and at the back of the pool, 11 Black-tailed Godwit and 7 Bar-tailed Godwit were lined up along with 5 Greenshank. A Little Grebe and 9 Canada Geese were noted at the west end of the pool.

Over in the creeks and on return passage, 2 Common Sandpiper, and a Ruff seen high tide roosting with Redshank.

Saltcote Pond.

Blue-tailed Damselfly. Pete Woodruff.

Saltcote Pond was near deserted by the dragonflies, but a pair of Blue-tailed Damselfly in cop are being recorded as an immature male and a female of the rufescens-obseleta form, also 3 Common Blue Damselfly. A Swift was over, with 2 Chiffchaff and a singing Sedge Warbler. 

Canal Glasson - Conder Green. 

Lancaster Canal Looking East. Pete Woodruff.

In search of dragons on the canal, hardly July 1 weather. The view looking east towards the Forest of Bowland was grim, and pleased I hadn't decided to go on to Hawthornthwaite Fell today, it's under a cloud of drizzle in this view.

Common Blue Damselfly. Pete Woodruff.

There was no more luck with the dragons than at Saltcote Pond for a walk along the canal towpath, with just 8 Common Blue Damselfly seen, but I heard 4 Sedge Warbler. Butterflies on the day were, 6 Ringlet, 4 Red Admiral, and 2 Painted Lady. 

Garden Activity.

There was a first for me in the garden on Friday, when I found 6 Long Tailed Tit, four of which I had the chance to view before they moved on, they were young...A moment of birding magic for me.

Long tailed Tit. Pete Woodruff.

It is also good that the list of young in the garden continues to grow, with Dunnock, Blackbird, Great Tit, and good numbers of House Sparrow over the past weeks, all having had a good breeding season it seems. 

Dunnock. Pete Woodruff.

Blackbird. Pete Woodruff.

All About The Skimmers!

Well not really all about the skimmers, but that's where we start....

It was a pleasure to be accompanied by Steve Graham at Birk Bank on Tuesday when we discovered a record breaking number of an odonata species discovered here only 11 years ago in August 2015 by Steve. This record was second only to the one found at Grindleton Forest Pond in August 2013 by Allen Holmes, it being the first Keeled Skimmer for the County of Lancashire.

Keeled Skimmer Male Birk Bank 23 June. Pete Woodruff.

The result of a pleasant and interesting 2 hours around the bog at Birk Bank produced a record breaking 12 Keeled Skimmer, including two pairs in cop, and two egg laying females.

Keeled Skimmer Copulating Birk Bank 23 June. Pete Woodruff.

I counted myself fortunate to have achieved a half decent image of the copulating pair of Keeled Skimmer, as I couldn't see them for sunlight on my camera monitor....Point and shoot=success this time!

A close second to the Keeled Skimmers was an Emperor Dragonfly, viewed in the mid-distance from the footpath. Also from this viewpoint, a 'few' Four-spotted Chaser seen.

When Steve Graham found the first Keeled Skimmer at Birk Bank back in August 2015, he had said, quote....'perhaps colonisation is finally underway'....Well the evidence today proved you was spot on there Steve.

Azure Damselfly. Pete Woodruff.

Two Azure Damselfly were separated from Common Blue when they eventually settled, also Large Red Damselfly and Broad-bodied Chaser.

Large Skipper. Pete Woodruff.

Butterflies were at best a little thin, but 6 Small Pearl-bordered Fritillary seen but not photographed, 2 Ringlet, 2 Painted Lady, a Large Skipper, and Small Tortoiseshell.

Birds were represented by singing Garden Warbler, Blackcap, and Willow Warbler....Well where would we be without the Willow Warbler!

Bull Beck.

One positive and a negative for a wander along the footpath at Bull Beck earlier in the week.

Spotted Flycatcher. Paul Ellis.

The positive was a pleasant surprise to find Spotted Flycatcher, with a nest and two adult birds seen, one with food in it's bill.

Bull Beck River Lune Sandbank. Pete Woodruff.

I don't recall checking last year, but the one time thriving Sand Martin colony at Bull Beck is deserted, non-existent, and  todays negative.

Feature....Here's an issue which should have been featured on B2B many times over, but this one is up to date, 149 Hen Harriers have gone missing in the UK since 2018, most of them on or close to grouse moors.

Hen Harrier. Simon Hawtin.

For anyone who still wants to pretend that the grouse shooting industry isn’t responsible for the systematic extermination of Hen Harriers on grouse moors across the UK. The latest catalogue of crime that suggests otherwise is Here 

Thanks to Paul Ellis and Simon Hawtin for their images, and to Ian Mitchell for his header moth. The V-Pug is fairly common throughout England, but actually scarcer in Northern England.

Resurrection!

Well my birding has been very patchy of late, in fact it's been non existent to be honest, but I'm working on getting myself out of the hole I find myself in. Meanwhile, there's some resurrection on the horizon in some areas starting with a fledged c.6 week old juvenile Tawny Owl seen in Bowland.

This is the best image available, a phone shot for the record. I've decided to keep my mouth shut about details on this one....Schedule 1 birds and all that!

The Lancaster Orchids.

It was good to find the orchids again this year east of Lancaster.

Southern Marsh Orchid June 2026. Pete Woodruff.

This time I found at least 120 spikes of Southern Marsh Orchid, a slight improvement on last year, when I made a count of up to 100 spikes.

Common Spotted Orchid June 2026. Pete Woodruff.

My count this year, was of 48 Common Spotted Orchid, better than last year when it was 25 spikes.

Garden Birds.

Our birds have had a good breeding season so far this year.

I managed to get some footage of the Blue Tit feeding young, also Great Tit, Goldfinch and Dunnock all have young, and a Blackbird with a juvenile. The House Sparrow has done well with a total figure of at least 40 adult and young.

Who knows how many adult and young Starling have visited us over the past few weeks, it could have been a three figure number, and included this bully juvenile on the apple.

Garden Bees.

The garden bees were busy on Sunday with the weather warming.

Red Mason Bee. Pete Woodruff.

The Mason Bees were back and forth to the hotel....

The Blue Mason Bees were filling in the holes, with an upstairs neighbour having a nosey!

Blue Mason Bee. Pete Woodruff.

....this one was resting on the roof. I think these will leave later than their red cousins, but both will have gone by the end of July.

Common Carder Bee. Pete Woodruff.

A Common Carder Bee was nectaring on Viper Bugloss.

Conder Pool.

It's good to see the Common Terns have taken control of the platform, and even better to hear they have started to produce this years chicks. The news from Conder Pool gets better by the day, when two new Common Terns arrived yesterday.

The Avocets are also having a good season, and adults have already succeeded to guide chicks off Conder Pool, to cross the busy B5290 to the River Conder. I have no accurate figures, but I get the impression there are at least 20 Avocet chicks with 5 nests to hatch.

There seems to be no end to the good news from the pool this year, when a new Avocet arrived here to breed. This is a bird ringed at Boulais in France 20 June 2008, according to its history, a much traveled 18 year old Avocet.

I am grateful to Howard Stockdale for this update with news and images from Conder Pool. 

Other Peoples Birds To The Fore!

Invasion.

There has been an unprecedented invasion of some species into our area in recent days, and if I'm going to keep a website with local birding interests, then this certainly has to be documented on Birds2blog.

Ringed Plover Plover Scar 19 May. Howard Stockdale.

Howard Stockdale must have thought he was hallucinating when he found c.1,200 Ringed Plover on Plover Scar 19 May. I know of no previous records of RP in such number on Plover Scar. The record of 160 Ringed Plover on the River Lune at Glasson, is also unprecedented in my book. Many Thanks to Howard for the record and image. 

Sanderling Heysham 23 May. Malcolm Downham.

If I'd have been at Heysham on 23 May, I certainly would have thought I was hallucinating at the sight of at least 500 Sanderling on Heysham skeer. As far as I am concerned, a record of historical proportions. Many Thanks to Malcolm for the record and image.... Heysham Bird Obs

 

Curlew Sandpiper Rossall Point 24 May. Jonathan.

Brilliant find west of Rossall Coastguard Tower, a Curlew Sandpiper advancing into breeding plumage. For permitting the record and image of this stunning bird onto B2B, Many Thanks to Jonathan.... Fylde Bird Club

Spotted Flycatcher Fluke Hall 22 May. Paul Ellis.

There has also been a large influx of flycatcher into the area recently, with up to 33 Spotted Flycatcher on the morning of 22 May, and still coming through today FBC WhatsApp....Many Thanks to Paul for the image.

Foulshaw Moss.

In company with Ian Mitchell, we managed a pleasant couple of hours around Foulshaw Moss, with nothing seen to called unexpected, and on a date too early for dragonflies, though one or two damselflies were seen, being Large Red/Blue Tailed/Common Blue Damselfly.

Of course we were able to view the two Osprey nests through the haze, and other birds to note, Blackcap, Chiffchaff, Willow Warbler, and Reed Warbler, with just one moth seen, a Common Heath. The butterfly had to be the highlight of the visit, with at least 6 Brimstone seen.

Garden Magic.

It was our treat of the year when the Goldfinch family turned up in the garden for lunch yesterday.

Birds, Butterflies, Bees, And Wasps.

Birds And Butterflies.

I took advantage of visiting our daughter in the Caton area, to have a wander around Bull Beck and the banks of the River Lune at Caton. 

This video of the Sand Martins at Bull Beck, I made on a visit here on 15 April 2021, was a pleasant reminder of the day I saw an Osprey flying upstream, and also found the Little Ringed Plover on the shingle bank opposite the Sand Martins.

Little Ringed Plover Bull Beck 2021. Pete Woodruff.

The LRP bred here on the shingle bank in 2021, in the same year 12 pairs bred along the River Lune between Arkholme and downstream to Caton. I didn't get as far to see the sand bank today, but there was a good number of Sand Martin flying up and down the river. It was good to hear a Garden Warbler, with a Chiffchaff and Goldcrest seen.

Although I saw neither of the birds, 2 Blackcap were heard, the one in this bush was in competition with another singing male within 20 metres. Butterflies seen were a Green-veined White and Orange Tip, best was my second of the year Painted Lady.

Bees And Wasps.

It was something special when I found Mason Bees entering the nest holes in our bee hotel last year, and even more special when we saw them in and around the hotel this spring.

Red Mason Bee. Pete Woodruff.

The Red Mason Bee Osmia bicornis are a delight to watch as they arrive on the scene and fly around and enter the holes in the hotel.

Blue Mason Bee. Pete Woodruff.

They are joined by the Blue Mason Bee Osmia caerulescens....Smart little critters.

But recently things have taken a worrying turn as some parasitic wasps have shown up. 

Greater Pennant Wasp. Pete Woodruff.

First on the scene was the Greater Pennant Wasp with its extra long ovipositor....I initially thought the Martians had landed!

The GPW was showing an unhealthy interest around the bee hotel.

Sapyga quinquepunctata Pete Woodruff

But what came next developed into something very interesting, it was another parasitic wasp with an elaborate scientific name. I did a little research on this one and found it to be only one of two of the Sapygidae family to be found in the UK, of which there are just 80 species globally.

Sapyga quinquepunctata/Osmia caerulescens Pete Woodruff

Until 2016, there were only 4 records of Sapyga quinquepunctata in Lancashire, all in the west of the county. But on iRecords I found 6 records in West Lancashire over the 11 years 2013-2024, the first on 1 June 2013 at an unnamed location in West Lancashire, and the last on 23 June 2024, this one at Crook of Lune in North Lancashire....So a pretty good find in our Lancashire garden.

I'm indebted to Dave Bickerton and Ben Hargreaves for helping me on some issues regarding this wasp.

I'd Sooner Be Birding!