Lost In Cumbria!

Well I wasn't lost in Cumbria....but the day was.

BT and I had set off on Friday with the usual good intent, but the day never really took off. We headed out towards the now silent Dunald Mill Quarry at Over Kellet to check if a Sand Martin population - which we discovered a 'year or two' ago - was still active, to find the place as deserted by them as the quarry has been by humans since its closure. I've no idea whether or not this population was ever checked by anyone else, but enquiries were made at the time of discovery with the quarry management to establish if the birds were known to them, and also were the Sand Martins protected as breeding birds, a positive response was received in this regard.

Some info passed to me about Foulshaw Moss by someone closely connected with the area, was confirmed when up to four Osprey were seen through the heat haze, though six birds together briefly turned out to certainly include two 'corvids'. It was good to meet Harry and Arnold here and we put the birding world to right on one or two matters by which time half the day had already been lost. See you again soon H and A....hopefully.

Sand Leek. Pete Woodruff. 

Passing through Witherslack I noticed the Sand Leek by the roadside and quickly stepped out of the car to get a shot of it, I counted at least 30 spikes. John Leedal had shown me the Sand Leek here many years ago. Through Witherslack Woods the butterflies were certainly not playing ball during the two hours there, and several highly mobile individuals went unidentified, though we did manage the ID of one High Brown Fritillary, two Silver-washed Fritillary, and a single Ringlet....and the day had run away with us.

And finally, more butterflies we may not see in our area this summer....

 Cardinal Ana Minguez  

I'm pretty certain we won't be seeing the Cardinal, also known as the Mediterranean Fritillary, common in southern Europe, also N.Africa, eastern and central Asia. A very rare immigrant with only two records, the first in Cornwall August 1911, the second in Dorset  - also in August - 1969. Some suggestions are that this species is under-recorded, being mistaken for Silver-washed Fritillary. 

Clouded Yellow Ana Minguez 

The way things are heading, I'm not convinced we're going to see the Clouded Yellow....

Painted Lady Marc Heath  

....or the Painted Lady either this year up here in the north of England, though I hope I'm proved wrong on both counts.

Brilliant images from Ana and Marc....with my thanks.