Saturday, 8 July 2017

Terns, Sandpipers, Skimmers, & Butterflies.

Yesterday was one of those....'just had time to nip out and take stock at Conder Green'....days, and it was good to see all three young Common Tern now out of 'the box' with one presented with a large fish on Tern Island by an adult which needed some effort to down, one of these young birds was able to take off with ease from middle of the pool, don't take long to learn do they. 

The 26 Common Sandpiper I found at Conder Green yesterday, is by far the best ever autumn count here, 15 were in the creeks, with the other 11 in the channel downstream from the iron bridge. A few Swift were noted over, and a Kestrel was hovering over the marsh.

Come in No 4 your times up!

The first record of a Comma in our garden this morning, also a Red Admiral was good.

Keeled Skimmer.

Excellent news that the Keeled Skimmer has been found again on Birk Bank Bog in 2017. 


Keeled Skimmer. Birk Bank Bog 6 July. Steve Graham.

I've had a couple of e-mails over the past week to tell me of the Keeled Skimmer being found on the bog at Birk Bank again this year, and I am grateful to Steve Graham for his image of the male he saw here on Thursday. I'm not sure yet of numbers involved in all of these sightings, but one was of four individuals with ovipositing observed. 

Lancashire's first Keeled Skimmer was found by Allen Holmes on Grindleton Forest Pond in August 2013, the second record of the species was when Steve Graham found two possibly three on Birk Bank Bog in August 2015, and the following year on 22 July 2016 I found a male here as the third Lancashire record. 

Thanks to Antonio for the Stone Curlew header image....Chances of seeing one of these anywhere in the area are at best remote.  

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