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. 

On And Around Conder Pool.

Conder Pool 5 April.

I refuse to make too many negative comments about the current state of play regarding the Black-headed Gulls vs Common Terns, but I was in the company of Howard Stockdale, he gave me his take on what the coming weeks holds for the terns and his predictions that it's a case of 'all's well that ends well'....Time will tell!

The Tern Raft Conder Pool 5 May. Pete Woodruff.

According to my observations on Monday, the Black-headed Gulls have taken over the tern raft on Conder Pool, and the two terns on the rails left in the picture above, are looking pretty much peed-off about it all. 

I would say there are at least 24 pairs of gulls are breeding there this year.

But the positives kicked in when I saw a pair of terns definitely looking like they were intent on moving in on the island behind the raft. One of these birds bears a ring on the left leg, and another tern on the pool was also ringed. Both these Common Terns were bred and ringed by Ian Hartley at Conder Pool.

Mediterranean Gull. Howard Stockdale.

Birds on Conder Pool on Monday, 2 Mediterranean Gull both 2nd winter, and in addition to my estimate of up to 200 Black-headed Gull, I noted 6 Common Tern, and 29 Avocet.

The Little Ringed Plover put in a brief appearance for a photo opportunity for me before disappearing out of the frame.

In the creeks, 2 Greenshank were with 2 Black-tailed Godwit - one of each in the video - and the Spotted Redshank which is now in full black and spotted breeding plumage.  

Cockersand.

Across The Bay. Pete Woodruff.

Looking to Black Combe on the western edge of Morecambe Bay, I was attracted to the cloud formation and view across the bay. I soon spotted a bird on the left side of the red buoy.

 

It was a Common Tern, it called as two other terns flew towards it and on into the estuary. A few minutes later and close by, I was treated to the spectacle of watching another Common Tern plunge diving.

Over a 500 metre stretch of roadside reeds along Moss Lane, I heard 5 Sedge Warbler. Butterflies seen, my first Painted Lady, a Small Tortoiseshell and Green-veined White.

More Decent Numbers!

There was at least a couple of decent counts again on my latest visit around the Lune Estuary, at least 2,000 Black-tailed Godwit were present and correct on Conder Pool, some acquiring their stunning breeding plumage.

Avocet Conder Pool Summer 2019. Ian Pinkerton....In Memory Of

There was a decent count of 17 Avocet and 14 Shoveler in view on the pool, also a Greenshank and Snipe noted, and a lone Little Grebe was advancing into breeding plumage. I don't see Little Grebe during the summer months, and they certainly do not breed on Conder Pool.

At Cockersand, between the time leaving the motor at Lighthouse Cottage and walking to Plover Scar, I had seen at least 1,250 Golden Plover, they were in wheeling flocks of 650/400/200, all eventually disappearing from view....Quite a spectacle. 

Despite a couple of hours around Cockersand, I failed to find my own first Wheatear, and with the exception of just 3 Meadow Pipit, saw no other early migrants, but probably passed other unseen MP's in fields on the circuit. The c.250 Whooper Swan here today, were distant and spread over three fields south of Moss lane towards Bank End Farm.

Bombus terrestris 11 March. Pete Woodruff.

Eight Linnet few off the shore, and the Skylark could be heard in its endless flight song. I saw 3 Small Tortoiseshell and a huge queen Buff-tailed Bumblebee.

On the Lune Estuary at Glasson, up to 2,000 Black-tailed Godwit were probably the same birds seen 4 hours earlier on Conder Pool, and to be honest, the same could be said about the 15 Avocet seen here, otherwise the record would have been 32 Avocet. On the canal basin at Glasson Dock, 2 Goosander and a Great-crested Grebe seen.

Another short list today, much enjoyed by me on a beautiful sunny and warm mid-March day.

Coal Tit.

There was a record of 84 Coal Tit heading south over the Fylde on Thursday morning, and 4 Coal Tit were in our garden later in the day. All this and more, is the result of an irruption of the species currently in place. 

The Coal Tit is regarded as sedentary in the south and west of its range, but eruptive over much of the remainder. During eruptions, birds from the continent regularly reach Britain during March, and on this occasion I'm seeing expressions like, 'amazing' and 'unprecedented spring numbers'.

Oak Beauty.

Ian's trap produced the goods again, with another stunning moth worth featuring....Clik the pix they're even better.

Oak Beauty. Ian Mitchell.

A large bodied and attractive moth, fairly common in England and Wales. Being referred to as common, belies its name as a beauty....Thanks Ian.

Hooded Crow/Stonechat.

Hooded Crow Walney. Howard Stockdale.

Howard Stockdale sent me some results of a trip to Walney, they included a splendid looking Hooded Crow....

Stonechat Walney. Howard Stockdale.

....and an even more splendid record of 22 Stonechat, seen as 11 pairs....Many thanks Howard.

Michael & Fiona.

Good to see you at Conder Pool in the week and hope you find my latest post a good and interesting read. Thank you for the kind words and your support for B2B, and see I did remember your names!

Kind Regards....Pete.

Decent Start....Decent End.

A decent start to the day yesterday, when a Goldcrest was in the plum tree in our garden, and a few minutes later, a Small Tortoiseshell was the first butterfly of the year.

Although 5 days later than the influx of 26 February 2024, when I arrived at Conder Pool, it was good to find up to 1,500 Black-tailed Godwit there again, 2 Dunlin were also in the mix, and maybe other stuff if I look through the video later.

Also to note on Conder Pool, I found 9 Shoveler there still, 2 Gadwall drake there too, and 2 Pink-footed Geese looked a little lost.

Kestrel. Pete Woodruff.

A Buzzard was over the fields along Jeremy Lane, and as I drove along Moss Lane, a female Kestrel was on a lookout post giving me an opportunity to grab a shot through the windscreen.

The Cockersand area swans where widely fragmented today, scattered over seven fields between the south end of Jeremy Lane, off both sides of Moss Lane, and through to distant fields behind the north side of Bank End Farm. I estimated a total of at least 400 Whooper Swan, probably being a peak count in the area this winter according to my records.

Plover Scar was pretty quiet, though two mutt minders were in the area, with 12 animals running riot. I noted about 20 Turnstone and 15 Knot. Three Cormorant were roosting on the railings on the lighthouse, and 6 Meadow Pipit seen. A male Stonechat was in the rough grasses again behind Bank Houses, as it has been through this winter.

When I called in to the Lune Estuary 4 hours after I had been to Conder Pool, the flock of 1,500 Black-tailed Godwit had returned here after the tide had receded. But a more interesting sight, was that of 17 Avocet along the shoreline to the Conder mouth, also a decent count of at least 450 Wigeon. 

Goldeneye Glasson Basin 3 March. Ian Mitchell.

Thanks to Ian Mitchell for the heads up and image of the Goldeneye drakes. These represent just three Goldeneye I've seen all winter. Much appreciated Ian, a nice end to a good day for me.

As drove back to Lancaster, 5 Buzzard were together over Ashton Nursery.

Tuesday 2 Sept - Friday 5 Sept.

Not as much action on Conder Pool as my last visit 28 August, but impressive all the same, and didn't loose any ratings in the Hot Spot League as far as I'm concerned. 

I had been at Conder Pool about an hour, and had got back to the motor to move on, when AC knocked on the windscreen to tell me the Spotted Redshank had flown in and joined the company of 10 Greenshank....Thanks Andrew.

Also to note on the pool, 8 Little Grebe and a lone Black-tailed Godwit. I'm convinced this is the same BTG as seen here in previous years, and always alone. A Common Sandpiper was in the creeks.

Within the space of about 15 minutes, a Marsh Harrier, Peregrine Falcon and Buzzard were overhead, along with a good number of hirundine, high like dots in the sky.

Thirty minutes on the canal towpath at Glasson produced 2 Migrant Hawker and 2 Brown Hawker, and along the coastal path 4 Migrant Hawker, with a 'blue butterfly' seen. This was a disappointing sighting in that it was too distant for ID to species, so I was left with a possible third brood Holly Blue, or second brood Common Blue which can last until early September. Other butterflies seen, Painted Lady, 5 Red Admiral, 5 Speckled Wood, and 3 Small Tortoiseshell.

Migrant Hawker.

Migrant Hawker 2 September. Pete Woodruff.

I find the Migrant Hawker one of the easier dragons to observe, their behaviour is often to be seen hovering frequently, hawking along hedgerows, and regularly basking low down on vegetation as mine was today.

Conder Pool Friday 5 September.

I paid my second visit of the week to Conder Pool where the scenery was much changed and reduced in numbers of birds, though I was delighted to find my highest all time count upgraded by the presence of 32 Greenshank on the pool. The only other records of note were, 10 Little Grebe and a lone Ruff.

Birk Bank Friday 5 September.

My visit the bog at Birk Bank was suitably rewarded by recording 14 dragons in the hour spent here. Pick of the bunch was 2 Emperor Dragonfly which were something of a surprise, though I did find two here last year 19 September 2024....Late! 

Black Darter Birk Bank 5 September. Pete Woodruff.

Also seen, 5 Black Darter were all males, and 7 Common Darter were seen as 5 male/2 female. I had two sightings of Buzzard, both of which were seen as two pairs 10 minutes apart, but to be honest I reckon it was just the one 'mewing' pair seen twice.  

Garden Moth.

Seeing what appeared to be a moth through the kitchen window, I dashed out to find it was the most obliging of its kind, giving good views as it lingered a few minutes nectaring on Soapwort.

Hummingbird Hawk-moth

In the header image, we can see the 'Keep Britain Tidy' man with the strimmer at Saltcote Pond has done the right thing this year, leaving the pond side vegetation to flourish, in which case it seems my conversation last year with Glasson Councilors has paid off. 

Dragons, Butterflies, Raptors And A Couple Of Caterpillars.

An enjoyable wander on a circuit of Fairfield NR Monday afternoon. A well designed and managed reserve with ponds and scrapes to explore, deserving of congratulations to all involved. 

One of the good points about the reserve, is that most of the ponds and scrapes are inaccessible. Obviously a good point, in that it's designed to keep Joe Blogs from trespassing in the area....Well it kept me away!

Emperor Dragonfly. Pete Woodruff.

Dragonflies.

But the first pond I found was called Alder Pool, appropriately named as there was a lone Alder to the north of it. Viewable over a fence through a gap in the hedge, and where I found an Emperor Dragonfly pair, with the male patrolling the pond, and the female eventually ovipositing.

Common Darter. Pete Woodruff.

Also seen were 6 Common Darter, seen as five male but included a female coming close to settle on a twig for a picture. Leaving the reserve, I walked along a short stretch of the canal to find 3 Brown Hawker including a female ovipositing, also a Blue-tailed Damselfly seen.

Common Darter. Pete Woodruff.

I soon rejoined the reserve at the east end, to find another 4 Brown Hawker and 8 Common Darter, these were all seen basking on the fence line.

Raptors.

As I was leaving the reserve, a Buzzard was overhead being mobbed by a Sparrowhawk, an excellent sighting for size comparison and a soaring Buzzard with the flap-flap-glide flight of the hawk.

Butterflies.

Give the perfect weather conditions today and in the near future, my butterfly records continue to be sparse, with just 4 Speckled Wood, a Red Admiral and Small Tortoiseshell seen in 3 hours here today.

Caterpillars.

I spotted two on the grit track just a couple of metres apart.

Red Admiral Butterfly. Pete Woodruff.

White Ermine Moth. Pete Woodruff.

Garden Butterflies.

Peacock. Pete Woodruff.

Two stunning Peacock were in our garden yesterday with a Red Admiral....

Comma. Pete Woodruff.

....and the Comma - also stunning - in our garden recently was memorable.

The Wrong Day!

It was the wrong day when I walked the stretch of the canal from Glasson-Galgate in the hope of a dragon or two, cloudy and an unwelcome breeze. After a 3 mile and 3 hour trek, I saw not a single dragonfly, with just two damselflies seen, and one bird of note, it was a walk all about the butterflies. The population of UK butterflies has now reached an 80% decline since the 1970's, but it's not the end of the world yet, and I've had some decent sightings recently regarding them as heartening.

Gatekeeper. Pete Woodruff.

On todays walk I encountered a nice 34 Gatekeeper, 4 Small Tortoiseshell, 4 Meadow Brown, 3 Painted Lady, 3 Red Admiral, and a Peacock. The only two damselflies seen were, a Blue-tailed Damselfly, and Common Blue Damselfly. The only bird of note was a Buzzard over the canal junction at Galgate.

Garden Butterflies.

Comma. Pete Woodruff.

A Comma spent a good 15 minutes nectaring on the Elecampane in our garden and was soon followed by a smart Red Admiral.

Picture Gallery.

I got more excellent finds and images in my inbox again, all best viewed enlarged.

Ruddy Darter. Martin Jump.

Martin has is second Ruddy Darter under his belt this week in Preston.

Buff Ermine. Ian Mitchell.

And with the help of a beautiful Buff Ermine, Ian continues to achieve excellent results of moths in flight.

The Odd Couple. Howard Stockdale.

Howards image shows the result of an Embden Goose which paired with a hybrid GreylagxCanada Goose. Having had a hatched chick out on the marsh this year, perhaps a cursory look might have some thinking Conder Pool now has its own Snow Goose!

And Finally....

Cuckoo Juvenile. Marc Heath.

Marc got an excellent image of a Cuckoo. In congratulating him, I confessed to never having previously recognised the juvenile Cuckoo had such brilliant markings on its tail feathers. 

Poor In Number Good In Quality.

Mediterranean Gulls Conder Pool. Pete Woodruff.

It gave me much pleasure to find 2 Mediterranean Gull on Conder Pool Monday morning. 

Adult Mediterranean Gulls Conder Pool 24 March

Also on Conder Pool, I finally caught up with the Little Ringed Plover having been found here a week ago, 14 Avocet were in view today too.

Not much reward for my efforts of a 2 hour circuit, but the infamous Cockersand Barn Owl was waiting for me just 3 minutes out of the motor, it was on a fence post at Bank Houses horse paddock, before taking off to soon disappear from view. Notes around the area, probably 6 Skylark heard in full never ending flight song, up to 600 Golden Plover still in the field south side of Abbey Farm. A Raven fooled me briefly into thinking I was watching a Buzzard flying away over fields, and a White Wagtail looked forlorn on a flood.

I also saw 2 Small Tortoiseshell as my 2nd/3rd butterflies of the year, and 2 Buff-tailed Bumblebee.

Right Place Right Time.

On a visit to the nest site was a million to one chance, when I observed the Nuthatch spring cleaning and disposing of the debris out of the hole in the tree. I was truly fascinated to have witnessed this behaviour by the Nuthatch, and with no apologies for the second consecutive Nuthatch header image.

Wheatears Depart....Whoopers Arrive.

A most rewarding sight on Conder Pool Thursday, was that of a Wheatear which behaved obligingly, feeding then preening giving opportunity for a pik, but unfortunately too far off for my digital camera. Also, 3 Meadow Pipit with presumably a few others flighting around the east corner of the pool. I managed to count 12 Little Grebe, with at east 8 Long-tailed Tit working their way through the hedgerow, and the Kingfisher put in an appearance on the purposely placed perch by the sluice.

Short on time, I didn't give justice the Lune Estuary deserved on the visit here at low tide, and despite a large gathering of gulls, I found just the one Mediterranean Gull, but it was good to see up to 450 Golden Plover, with 220 Black-tailed Godwit also to note. 

Two more Wheatear were seen at Cockersand, in a poor year for me. I have only 5 Wheatear records to my name in 2024, the first being 2 Wheatear at Cockersand on 29 March, and what will probably be my last on Thursday 10 October. 

Also at Cockersand, the first 13 Whooper Swan have returned to winter, they had settled in the field at the Moss Lane/Slack Lane junction. These swans arrived here 15 days earlier than the first 120 Whooper Swan I found last year on 25 October in the Thursland Hill area.

Mottled Grasshopper. Pete Woodruff.

I found another Mottled Grasshopper at Cockersand, perhaps not as uncommon in the north as I had thought. Butterflies seen, it was good to find another 2 Small Tortoiseshell here again, also a Red Admiral, and 8 Large White.

Better Late Than Never.

In a spell of decent dry but windy weather last week, I decided to put in a couple of brief appearances at Conder Pool and Cockersand to take a look at Plover Scar over a high tide.

Conder Pool.

Both sites were a little short of anything to inspire, the first visit to Conder Pool was a non-starter as it turned out to be a management day. A tractor of sorts was in the east end, with a robotic mower cutting the grass bank on the south side, the resulting birdless pool was no surprise, but calling back 2 hours later, 16 Greenshank were present, with 14 Little Grebe to note.

Cockersand.

Not particularly overjoyed with the Plover Scar experience, but good to see 125 Turnstone, 36 Dunlin, 21 Ringed Plover, 12 Oystercatcher, and a lone Grey Plover which took star prize in my book, 25 Eider were off Plover Scar. 

Fourteen of the twenty five male and female Eider in various dress, were on the choppy sea.

Insects.

There was some interest with insects, including the welcome sight of at least 6 Small Tortoiseshell at Cockersand. This sighting was very welcome as the Small Tortoiseshell has two expert opinions that I have been in touch with, both agree the species could have had a population crash.

Not one of the Cockersand butterflies, this one was on Verbena in our garden in August 2022.

A female Common Darter was on the footpath briefly before flying off over the fields, probably my last of the year. But this was my second sighting of a coastal dragonfly, a male Common Darter seen here at Cockersand on the shingle, by an amazing coincidence 11 years ago to the day on 4 November 2013.

Eristalis Tenax. Pete Woodruff.

I found a large number of hoverfly had emerged, presumably on account of some warm weather. I made up to a three figure count of Eristalis sp.

Mottled Grasshopper. Pete Woodruff.

I also found an interesting insect on the shingle in front of Bank Houses Farm. The best suggestion I have is that it is a Mottled Grasshopper....I'm not 100% on this ID and any other suggestions are welcome!

Conder Pool's Got Talent.

Good results at Conder Pool Tuesday, including my finally catching up with a count of 19 Avocet including a bird marked Yellow Flag 6V. Another excellent find was 5 Mediterranean Gull which were seen as 2xadult, 2x2nd summer, and one unaged out of view save a full black hood behind the island.

Distracted by the other excitement, I failed to get a count of the godwits which flew off before I could, but I made an estimate of up to 900 Black-tailed Godwit which were accompanied by the lone Bar-tailed Godwit which obviously thinks it is one of them, and up to 400 Knot, a number I've never seen on Conder Pool before.

Also present, a Greenshank, 6 Snipe, a pair of Shoveler, 4 Tufted Duck, and a Stock Dove. I also caught up with the Spotted Redshank away from the Lune Estuary this time it was on the River Conder at Conder Green.

At Cockersand, interestingly a Barn Owl was on a post as I arrived here, it was in the same area as I left 2 hours later. Up to 80 Meadow Pipit were in the stubble field off Slack Lane, mostly flighty and not easy to assess, also in the same area 22 Linnet. Off Plover Scar, 8 Eider, and 6 Small Tortoiseshell were within a few metres along the path behind the caravan park.

Avocet. 

Avocet Conder Pool. Howard Stockdale.

Yellow Flag 6V was ringed as a chick at Conder Green in Lancashire on 1 June 2021. This bird paid a visit to Alkborough Flats in Lincolnshire on 31 July 2021, to return to Eric Morecambe Pool Leighton Moss RSPB Reserve on 26 August. Another interesting sighting was that of 6V seen at Conder Green with two chicks on 12 June 2022. The bird was sighted multiple times in 2021/22/23 up until 26 March 2024 at Conder Green.

You can't fail to ponder and question, why would an Avocet ringed as a chick on 1 June, fly out of Lancashire to Lincolnshire, then fly back to Lancashire 26 days later on 26 August?

I am grateful to Ian Hartley for the info on Avocet 6V, and to Howard Stockdale for his record shot of 21 Avocet on Conder Pool 24 March....Clik the pik for a better view.

A Few More Estuarine Delights.

Conder Pool came good again on Monday, and with apologies for rabbiting on about the Ruff, and a promise to try and never mention it again, it/one has finally run the 12 month course for the first time ever around the Lune Estuary.

There was up to 20 Avocet on Conder Pool, and the impressive sight of up to 900 Icelandic Back-tailed Godwit, some in near stunning rufous summer plumage, they were accompanied by a 'few' Knot, also 3 Little Ringed Plover, and a Greenshank.

When I called in 4 hours later on the estuary at Glasson, presumably the Conder Pool near 1,000 Black-tailed Godwit were present with c.250 Knot, 4 Avocet seen, and a Great Crested Grebe was to note.

Despite the routine circuit at Cockersand, nothing riveting to note, but c.40 Linnet were accompanied by a lone Reed Bunting, flighty in and around the stubble field, with 2 Stock Dove, 13 Eider were off Plover Scar. Insects to note here, I saw my first 3 Small Tortoiseshell and a Buff-tailed Bumblebee.

You Can Help The Birds.

Don't worry about the birds, they can look after themselves, even if they can't rest and conserve energy when the tide is high, or feed and even breed on Plover Scar like the Ringed Plover on the notice board does.   

Just carry on and do your birding and taking piks....Enjoy!

Moths.

Ian Mitchell does the decent thing and sends me brilliant images of brilliant moths in his trap two days in a row.

Hebrew Character. Ian Mitchell.

Early Thorn. Ian Mitchell.

And Finally.

Red Kite. Martin Jump.

Martin calls this image 'a poor distant one' of the Red Kite yesterday in Bowland. I call it an excellent record of one....Thanks Martin.

And I can record 2 Ring Ouzel yesterday in Bowland.