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Willow Warbler. Pete Woodruff.
A whizz around the Birk Bank area on Thursday produced another good number of 18 Willow Warbler, and the miserable count of a lone Meadow Pipit. Best of the rest, a Garden Warbler and Chiffchaff, with a male Stonechat, 3 Red Grouse and 3 Wren to note.
Butterflies.
A decent show of 10 Orange Tip including two seen as a pair with a couple of intruders trying to get in on the act
Also up to 30 Small/Large White seen, 6 Green Hairstreak, 2 Green-veined White and a Peacock, with a few White-tailed Bumblebee seen.
Mini-Beasts.
I can often come across the Green Tiger Beetle on the moors in Bowland, they lie in wait for an unsuspecting insect to come by and pounce on, and the little mobsters can fly too.
A member of the Pompilidae family, this is a formidable Spider-hunting Wasp.
Birk Bank Bog.
The Large Red Damselfly is always the first of the season and commonest species to be seen in our recording area, and should be found during the second half of April, but despite paying two visits to Birk Bank Bog today, one before my whizz-around and again after it, there wasn't a single Large Red Damselflies to be seen.
I took a series of photographs at the bog today, these two examples show this excellent location, which currently doesn't appear to be the best place for dragonflies in my opinion.
Although there is plenty of acidic water along the left hand side of the bog, and maybe I'm jumping the gun here, but worth noting, this is home to a scarce dragonfly, that of the Keeled Skimmer, first found here 10 years ago in August 2015 by Steve Graham, and seen here by myself every year since. It is also the site where I had sightings of 7 Golden-ringed Dragonfly on four dates last year, including a female observed ovipositing.....Only time will tell if any of this will happen again this year.
The Header.
Howard Stockdale has previously submitted to me, three of the same Spotted Redshank taken since 1 April. Paul Ellis took one 3 days ago on 24 April, it shows a near full moult into breeding plumage which will have been completed over 4 weeks.....Amazing stuff.
Thanks to Paul Ellis for the excellent Spotted Redshank header image.
Wilfred The Cuckoo.
Wilfred has arrived back in the UK. He is the first of the tagged Cuckoos to have done so, he is back on his breeding grounds within the Broads National Park near Worlingham Marshes where he was tagged in early June last year, clearly highlighting just how site-faithful these Cuckoos really are.
Welcome back Wilfred, I think you are one amazing bird!
Edit.
FIVE SWIFT OVER FAIRFIELD WEST OF LANCASTER CITY CENTRE THIS EVENING 8.56PM.
CUCKOO BIRK BANK 20 APRIL.
Good to hear that you are seeing a few butterflies about and here’s hoping this year is better than last.
ReplyDeleteLovely header and Willow Warbler pictures. I saw a couple of Large Red Damselflies at Foulshaw the other day but will be interesting to see how Birk Bank bog develops this year and see who the winners and losers are.
Ian Mitchell
Yes winners and losers. Thanks for keeping in touch Ian.
ReplyDeleteRegards....Pete.
Now there is an interesting looking bug. Green Tiger Beetle.
ReplyDeleteAs I have said, often seen on my visits here, nasty little critters.
DeleteRegards and thanks for your continued interest in B2B Sami....Pete.
Birk Bank certainly does seem to be popuar with the local willow warbler population! I also heard a garden warbler there last week, from just beyond where the boardwalk ends.
ReplyDeleteI heard a cuckoo calling at 7am this morning (28-Apr-2025) from one of the passing places along Rigg Lane; I managed to get the binoculars on it, and observed that it was being chased and mobbed from tree to tree by a group of perhaps five or six small streaky-looking birds - my identification skills weren't quite up to the job of positively ID-ing them though. The cuckoo was defiantly calling throughout the melee.
From the Little Crag car park at Littledale Road there were numerous lapwings displaying and calling; a pair of buzzards and a hovering kestrel also made an appearance, and a group of 5 swallows passed overhead heading west.
Best wishes,
Simon.
Thanks for this Simon, quite a bit of interest in your comprehensive 'report', including numerous Lapwings displaying, a species drastically in decline and which was featured on the BBC's Countryfile yesterday.
ReplyDeleteRegards....Pete.
Hello Pete,
ReplyDeleteI noticed the same thing yesterday: not a single dragonfly on the entire lake. I think the prolonged cold weather has delayed it for a few days, but they'll come.
Greetings, Frank
The cold weather has caused the delay, but as you say they'll come Frank.
DeleteRegards....Pete.
Due to its altitude I don't really expect to see LRD out at BB Bog before May even during a decent spring period like this one. Be interesting, after all the recent work on the site, if it is better or worse for Odonata this year. Here's hoping. Steve
ReplyDeleteFor better or worse, time will tell, and I echo your sentiment here's hoping.
ReplyDeleteYou can tell me about your travels when we meet Steve.
Regards....Pete.