It was my intention over the long weekend to plunge headfirst into the wildlife of Doorstepshire and generally immerse myself in my favourite creatures.I was on a mission, and thankfully I haven't been disappointed ! On the Birding front I managed to add 7 species to my year list.Starting on my own patch,
Common Whitethroats suddenly seem to be back in numbers. At Upton a superb
Black Tern showed well , as well as a
Little Gull and
Whimbrel . It was all good Saturday.
I had started the morning in The Wyre and while birding I decided to check out one of the small pools. Despite the cold weather, I was desperate to see some Odonata, I was fed up of waiting ! Whilst mooching around I flushed a singe
Large Red Damselfly ..Result ( a lifer ! ) It obliged by posing for a pic.
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| Large Red Damselfly |
I completed the mooch with a cheeky
Slow Worm at last, they never seem to be around when I visit but Saturday I happened upon a snoozy pair. Also, a pair of the Micro moths like I had seen on my patch earlier in the week also showed well,
Adela reamurella.
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| Adela reamurella (male and female) |
The Damselfly luck continued on Sunday when I saw 2 fresh male
Beautiful Damoiselles at Upton. I was delighted with this find, I don't think there had been many seen at all yet.
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| Male Beautiful Demoiselle |
Whilst wandering the wooded area the same morning I also spotted what at first I thought was a Small White butterfly, but then realised it was a moth. That got me excited, and fortunately I was able to get a photographic record to help me ID it as
A Common White Wave ( a lifer !) After hearing several I also finally got a good look at a
Lesser Whitethroat, but Garden Warbler escaped me for now.
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| Common White Wave Moth |
By Monday lunchtime I had to come up for air, and after a largely uninspiring morning out and about in miserable weather, I was returning home when I spotted a Male and Female
Wheatear in the cattle field on my patch. They were quite close to the road, but I managed to get the camera out without disturbing them, concentrating on the female.
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| A nice find to end the long weekend in the field |
Nice work for a Bank Holiday weekend, good to see damselflies making an appearance, the Demoiselle is beatiful. I enjoyed a number of Banded Demoiselle sightings last year on the River Aire in Leeds and only a very very distant Beautiful Demoiselle so here's hoping for a view as good as yours this year.
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