Wednesday 6 June 2007

Carbon footprint time

.....subtitled 'the ghost of 1975 laid to rest'. The White-tailed Plover leaves just three to go on the British wader list (Caspian & Mongolian Plovers, Cream-coloured Courser........assuming Eskimo Curlew is extinct)

Heysham Obs
No known coverage of the outfalls or wooden jetty area. Any day now should see the start of a build up of returning Black-headed Gulls and the early returnees always contain a good sprinkling of Med Gulls with several double-figure counts in the last two years by July

Insects
Female BROAD-BODIED CHASER Nature reserve marsh this lunchtime - this is the rarest of the resident dragonflies in this area with no well-established site as yet

Painted Lady on reserve - influx at present - please report all sightings

Yet another Shaded Pug in the moth trap

Elsewhere
Spoonbill and two 1st S Little Gulls at Leighton Moss. Male Broad-bodied Chaser at Woodwell

Disappointing dragonflies

Heysham Obs
The only bird records of note today were: a Reed Warbler singing for a short period in Middleton IE central marsh and the continued presence of 3 Jackdaw around the model boat pond. NNEW from the outfalls and area

Insects
Moths
Lime-speck Pug new for the year

Dragonflies
Four-spotted Chaser: c35 in Middleton IE new scrape with c20 on the remaider of the site. At least 5 on the Nature reserve/dog pond.
Emperor: 8 male and a single ovipositing female on Middleton IE and two males on the dog pond along with a single in the NR marsh
Black-tailed Skimmer: 4-5 male and one female in 'cop' on the model boat pond Middleton IE

No sign of any red darter spp or Broad-bodied Chaser

Plants
Several hundred Southern Marsh Orchid and several Bee Orchid at Middleton IE, a few Bee Orchid along the Landscape Strip dog-walk along with Yellow-wort

Elsewhere
Ad Med Gull feeding in pasture with BH Gull near Cross of Greet bridge at 2200 (!) hrs. Note that TWO highly unseasonal Long-tailed Duck were seen heading into Morecambe Bay from Walney early this morning