Before The Break.

The title of this post should have been 'Good Afternoon Part 3', but I thought that would have been too boring and repetitive, and perhaps would have lost me some visitors to B2B....Just saying!

But before the break in the weather, it was in fact my third good afternoon session, and although Conder Pool was a little underwhelming, the day was no less rewarding than the first two.

Conder Pool.

First to note, was that the Common Terns have deserted Conder Pool. I understand the last sighting was Friday 21 August, void of checking my records, this sounds like an average date for their departure.

Just four species of birds noted today, a Spotted Redshank, 8 Ruff, 3 Black-tailed Godwit, and 13 Little Grebe.

Speckled Wood. Pete Woodruff.

A Speckled Wood seen through the viewing screen.

Saltcote Pond.

The or another Common Hawker seen again, also an Emperor Dragonfly, Brown Hawker, and 6 Common Darter. 

Painted Lady. Pete Woodruff.

Butterflies, a Painted Lady and Common Blue. 

Birk Bank.

Black Darter. Pete Woodruff.

On and over the bog,  a Common Hawker seen again, one here 7 August. Also 4 Black Darter and 4 Common Darter were all male. 

Roe Deer. Pete Woodruff.

As I came away from the bog I saw a Roe Deer, it was staring me in the face within 15 metres through the branches, but a pity it decided to move off as I fired the shutter. Also seen, was a male Stonechat in the same area I found a breeding pair on 15 July.

Garden First.

A little something of interest in the garden recently. 

Scorpionfly. Pete Woodruff.

When I first clapped eyes on this one I thought I'd found a dragonfly in the garden, it was a Scorpionfly.

 

The Header.

I was struggling again for a decent header image of my own, but Marc Heath came to the rescue with some stunning Red-veined Darters which have had a good season and bred for the first time on his local patch in Kent this year....Thanks Marc much appreciated.

Good Afternoon....The Sequel.

Not only did Paul West find 45+ Little Egret on Conder Pool 13 August, but he also achieved an excellent image of this all time highest record of the species for this amazing location....Paul West Photography

Conder Pool. 

Conder Pool 19 August. Pete Woodruff.

I think it's possible the water level at Conder Pool is lower than I have ever seen before, but it took nothing away from the enjoyment of seeing a decent number of eight species of birds.

Although they seem to have favoured the backside of one of the islands on my last two visits, I counted 18 Common Tern on view, seen as 14 adult and 4 juvenile. Up to 450 Redshank were present this visit, 6 Black-tailed Godwit, 3 Ruff and 4 Dunlin made a total of 463 waders today. Also 18 Little Grebe was my best count so far this period heading into winter, and 25 Greylag. Two female Wigeon were the vanguard of winter visitors I reckon. A Small Tortoiseshell put in an appearance.

Saltcote Pond.

Common Hawker. Pete Woodruff.

A Common Hawker was obliging and settled for pictures. Also an Emperor Dragonfly, a Brown Hawker, 5 Common Darter, and 2 Speckled Wood seen.

Glasson Canal Towpath.

A brief visit to the canal towpath was rewarded by a Clouded Yellow butterfly.

Clouded Yellow. Pete Woodruff.

Though the butterfly was in pristine condition, it wasn't at all obliging.

The minute I got close for pictures....we have lift off! 

Bank End.

A return to Bank End to meet AC and find 5 Yellow Wagtail was well worth the effort. Thanks for the Stonechat record at Cockers Dyke on Friday, I always love to find a Stonechat, and I know you do too Andrew.

Birk Bank.

Common Lizard Birk Bank Bog August 19. Pete Woodruff.

Best reward for the visit to the bog at Birk Bank was a Common Lizard. I have seen few reports from here since the new boardwalk was installed, and I've previously only had brief views of one. Only 4 Common Darter seen today was a bit disappointing.

Sundew Birk Bank 19 August. Pete Woodruff.

In seeing the tracks through the bog left by the heavy machinery during the erection of the new boardwalk, I had thought it was goodbye to the Sundew, so it was great to find several clusters of it today. 

Over the hour spent here, I saw 9 Buzzard, including a family of five soaring and mewing together, and a Peregrine Falcon picked up high and drifting, went into a stoop to disappear below Birk Bank ridge....A good afternoon Part 2

Lady In The Garden.

A stunning Painted Lady paid a visit to our garden yesterday, in pristine condition, it spent a long period on the Alium coming and going throughout the afternoon.

Painted Lady. Pete Woodruff.

Good Afternoon!

I spent a few hours at two of my favourite locations during our fifth heatwave of the summer, and not without rewards.

Grisedale Brook. 

Stonechat (honestly) Pete Woodruff.

Too far off for much detail in my image above, this one was the third Stonechat on the gatepost by the newly installed bridge over the brook. 

An excellent start to my afternoon, was a pair of Stonechat to welcome me as I got out of the motor at Grisedale Bridge.  Also seen, 6 Goldfinch were atop of the gorse bushes, a Willow Warbler and Meadow Pipit were the only other birds.

Golden-ringed Dragonfly male. Pete Woodruff.

I managed to find 5 Golden-ringed Dragonfly, an obliging species away from water, were they can often be found settled and posing for photographs.

A pair of Common Darter in tandem, seen egg laying on Grisedale Brook as it entered Holme Wood, 2 Common Darter male were also seen. As I moved to leave the area, a Brown Hawker flew by me.

Hawthornthwaite Fell.

I called at Catshaw Pond on my way, to find a lone Emperor Dragonfly. Void of a search in my records, I think this is the fourth year I found one present here in Bowland. 

In Lancashire today, the Emperor Dragonfly is recorded as established in the Fylde, and in parts of central and east Lancashire, Heysham and Silverdale. I can find the Emperor Dragonfly at all sections of the Lancaster Canal that I visit, but historically it was regarded as absent in the uplands of north Lancashire. Until recently it was noted on the record website as a species outside the known area, a comment that has now been removed.

Hawthornthwaite Fell. Pete Woodruff.

I have a passion for Hawthornthwaite, born from the fact that it's as good for the Stonechat as anywhere else in Bowland, though I did only find a pair here today, but that brought the total to five Stonechat on the day, almost certainly 3 breeding pairs. 

A Golden-ringed Dragonfly flew by me heading towards Catshaw Grieve, which I found to have a steady flow considering the lack of rain this summer.

The only other bird was a Buzzard soaring overhead, but I did hear the single 'screech' call of a hidden Snipe, with every sheep close by, frozen and staring at the area. Butterflies seen were, 5 Painted Lady, a Red Admiral and Small Tortoiseshell. Thereby ending....A Good Afternoon.

Garden Goodies.

The heat has played its part in having our garden having a good spell of summer insects.

We had our fifth Hummingbird Hawk Moth visit this week and in the past month up to 120 Large/Small White butterflies have visited, also an impressive c.60 Holly Blue have come through the garden over a similar period. My header is one of this number.

Common Darter. Pete Woodruff.

On Thursday, a female Common Darter put in an appearance, it kept disappearing, then returned to the same perch a few times for several minutes. An excellent record which was preceded by a male Common Darter a few days earlier. 

Pool, Pond, and Bog.

Conder Pool.

Conder Pool never fails on the interest front, and didn't fail me again on Friday. I'm never involved in survey work and todays counts are estimates, though never too far from accurate. 

At least 2,100 Redshank was by far the best count ever for Conder Pool. Other waders here today, a Spotted Redshank, 2 Greenshank, 2 Ruff, 12 Dunlin and 8 Black-tailed Godwit, and after six attempts, I arrived at a count of 10 Little Grebe.

The terns were busy and all over the place, but eventually my count was of 31 Common Tern, seen as 24 adult, and 7 young including one near fledging. Also a new one for the pool, was a colour marked Common Tern, with a dark bill and white forehead, it was a juvenile moulting to 1st winter plumage.

Butterflies seen, a Gatekeeper and Painted Lady. 

Saltcote Pond.

Common Darter. Pete Woodruff.

A great little pond but a bit quiet today, an Emperor Dragonfly persistently attacked 2 Brown Hawker every time they came close, also 3 Common Darter, 5 Common Blue Damselfly, and a Blue-tailed Damselfly. Quite busy with butterflies, 6 Painted Lady, 5 Common Blue, and a Meadow Brown.

Birk Bank.

Birk Bank Bog. Pete Woodruff.

When I arrived at the bog, the sight of it slowly drying out was a bit concerning.

Birk Bank Bog. Pete Woodruff.

Though the ditch were the old boardwalk was, and the haunt favoured by the Golden Ringed Dragonfly, is still looking good.

Keeled Skimmer. Pete Woodruff.

My visit here today was an all male day with two exceptions, and it was good to find 5 Keeled Skimmer, they were seeing off anything that came close.

Keeled Skimmer Female. Pete Woodruff. 

With the two exceptions, one of which was an old female Keeled Skimmer which was obliging and basking in the sun on the boardwalk.

Common Darter Female. Pete Woodruff.

The other exception was an old female Common Darter, which was also basking on the boardwalk.

An Emperor Dragonfly was patrolling the edges of the bog during all my time here, while a Common Hawker was behaving in the same manner, flying low over the water and investigating the edges of the acidic bog, but without showing the aggression of the Emperor.

Common/Black Darter. Pete Woodruff.

Also seen, 5 Common Darter and 3 Black Darter were all male. I saw just three butterfly, 2 Speckled Wood and a Painted Lady.

Erratum....Dictionary definition, done quickly with little attention to detail.

The Keeled Skimmer female featured above, is in fact a Black-tailed Skimmer of the same sex and age....Whoooops!

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.  

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.

Looking Back Through The Dragons.

I reviewed my top four dragon species found in 2025.

Banded Demoiselle.

13 May: 16 at Bull Beck in the Lune Valley by the River Lune. I didn't expect to find Banded Demoiselle before the beginning of May. This was my best and earliest ever count of the species anywhere.  

19 May: 4 on the Lancaster Canal east of Conder Green.

Golden-ringed Dragonfly.

Golden-ringed Dragonfly Grisedale Brook. Pete Woodruff.

23 June: One on Grisedale Brook. 

16 July: 2 Birk Bank around the bog.

26 June: 3 Birk Bank around the bog.

15 August: 3 Grisedale Brook.

Emperor Dragonfly.

Emperor Dragonfly Lancaster Canal. Pete Woodruff.

25 June: One Saltcote Pond Glasson.

9 July: One Saltcote Pond Glasson.

12 July: 6 Lancaster Canal Garstang area.

16 July: 2 Birk Bank around the bog.

21 July: One Lancaster Canal Glasson.

26 July 2 Lancaster Canal Garstang.

6 August: One Birk Bank around the bog.

11 August: 2 Fairfield NR including female ovipositing.

5 September: 2 Birk Bank around the bog.

9 September: One Birk Bank around the bog.

25 September; One Birk Bank around the bog.

Note. My September records of Emperor Dragonfly at Birk Bank, carries the comment on the iRecord website....'Date is outside the known flight period of Anax imperator'.

Keeled Skimmer.

Keeled Skimmer Birk Bank Bog. Pete Woodruff.

16 July: 4 Birk Bank around the bog.

6 August; One Birk Bank around the bog.

25 August: 5 Birk Bank around the bog.

Keeled Skimmer Birk Bank Bog. Pete Woodruff.

Not my best year for dragonflies, on the down side, the worst experience was finding the dead male Keeled Skimmer on Birk Bank bog. Presumably drowned, but if it was predated the culprit didn't finish the job! 

On the plus side, finding the Emperor Dragonfly again this year at Birk Bank was excellent, even more so, that it was still being seen there on 25 September, a late date in the year for the species. 

I'd sooner be birding......but still haven't done so this year yet, causing my mental condition to deteriorate rapidly 😠

Last Chance Saloon!

My last visit to the bog at Birk Bank on 5 September, brought me to remark that I reckoned it would be the last of the dragonflies to be seen there this year....Well what do you know, I was wrong about that, because my visit there on Thursday produced 4 species of 26 dragons.

Common Darter Birk Bank Bog. Pete Woodruff.

A total of 16 Common Darter were seen, including 5 pairs in tandem.

Black Darter Pairing Birk Bank Bog. Pete Woodruff.

Also 7 Black Darter which were seen as 2 pairs in tandem and 3 male. Two Migrant Hawker flew quite rapid through and over the bog, too rapid for me to be able to rule out Common Hawker being the habitat of an acidic bog in late September.

Common Hawker. Copy Permitted.

Best sighting of the day was the male Emperor Dragonfly still here. This record beats my last years sighting on 19 September by 6 days. 

Two notes to make here re the Emperor records....

1) 'Date is outside the known fight period of Anax imperator'....iRecords 

2) 'Emperors become scarce by early September'....The Dragonflies of Lancashire and North Merseyside. Published in 2015.....How things change in a decade. 

Crossbill.

After getting my fill of dragons, on a wander along the path to Ottergear Bridge and return, it wasn't long before I discovered what an excellent decision I had made.

I was no more than 400 metres from Ottergear Bridge, when I was met by the amazing sight of a male Crossbill. The bird was taking a drink from the run-off in stony area in the centre of this picture. 

But my excitement was short lived as the bird soon took to flight and I discovered it was accompanied by a second bird which I hadn't seen. An educated guess is, that it was an olive/grey female, camouflaged on the ground amongst the grass.

In 35 years when my association with the Forest of Bowland was taking off, I have never seen nor expected to find the Crossbill at Birk Bank/Clougha, and to be honest I know of no records from here either, so this surely has to be a first.

Thanks to Simon Hawtin for his excellent image of the stunning male Crossbill.

And Finally.

Even with just a remote interest in Odonata, I recommend you take a look at Marc Heath's Kent Dragonflies.

Scarce Blue-tailed Damselfly Marc Heath