Monday's trip out..

Monday saw me and my dad take a trip up to the Silverdale AONB. It was a warm day but the sun we wanted didn't quite show itself through the day, this however did not prove too much of a hinderence in seeing plenty of wildlife on the trip.

All in all we visited Gait barrows NNR, Haweswater nature reserve, Meathop moss and Foulshaw moss.


Gait barrows:

we arrived at gait barrows in the morning just as we thought the sun was rising, it was warming up but we didn't realise the sun would not show itself much for the rest of the day. This was a dampener as we had made the journey up here to look for some key species of butterfly out at this time of year at this very special national nature reserve, in particular Duke of Burgundy and Pearl bordered fritillary.

From the car park to the main spot (where we have seen both the key species before) we noticed only Green veined whites flying and this straight away pointed out to us that it wasn't going to be our day to see these special butterflies this year. In the end i think it was a mixture of the fact the sun wasn't out enough to entice them to fly but also and mainly, the fact that 2012 was such a bad year for butterflies with the weather there wasn't much hope of seeing many or any this year.

There was still plenty of Flora and Fauna to see with many flowering plants out, such as Early purple orchids, many Primula species and lots of nice newly shooting trees, particularly Elm and Hornbeam. We even managed to find the shoots of the newly planted Lady's slipper orchid plants on the reserve but we were too early to see them flowering. Lots of Birdlife about as well, for instance Warblers and Bullfinches and Green woodpeckers.

Orange tip

Early-purple orchid

Haweswater:

Carrying on the walk at Gait barrows we walked down to Haweswater. Haweswater is a small natural lake just south of Gait barrows which is home to a rare plant, Bird's eye primrose. I have seen this lovely, small, delicate flower before at Hale moss, also in the Silverdale AONB, a few years ago, but wanted to see it again for we were in the area near enough to it's flowering time.

We arrived at the lake shore, where the grassy, boggy margins were perfect habitat for the Primrose and after a short while we noticed some new plants growing. These were very small however and without flowers, so we thought we were too early, but then we noticed further down the path in the grass, some lovely, nearly fully grown plants with great full flowers on them. A real treat of a flower to see and a rare one at that.

Black bog rush

Dad photographing Bird's eye primrose

Bird's eye primrose

Bird's eye primrose

Bird's eye primrose

Bird's eye primrose

Bird's eye primrose

Bird's eye primrose

Meathop moss:

Next was Meathop moss where we were glad to, upon arrival, even in the overcast weather, find tens of butterflies flying. Firstly Orange tips and Green veined whites near the car park, then on the moss itself, quite a few Green hairstreak which was nice. Walking down through the center of the moss we came across several small Moths (no Emperors though) and many beetle species. We also, as planned, came across an Adder very briefly before it shuffled away into the grasses. Tree pipits were singing all over the reserve.

Meathop moss

Cotton grass

Bog rosemary

Beetle sp. (any help?)

Beetle sp. (any help?)

Green hairstreak

Adder (can you spot it!?)

Foulshaw moss:

Upon arrival at Foulshaw the sun had well and truly disappeared behind light clouds and it was cooler, but we persevered and through the fairly average weather we still managed to see plenty, all it takes is patience, persistence and perseverance! Birdlife was most notable on site. The usual Ospreys were visible at the nest in the distance. We had excellent views of 3 Birds here last year but this year it was just a distant view but still nice to know they're back. Not far from the Ospreys a distant Hobby perched on a Scots pine. A Cuckoo was heard calling throughout our visit, which was nice as this was our first of the year. There were many Redpoll about showing displays and a pair of Stonechat was a nice treat considering their recent demise in numbers UK throughout.

Insect life was still quite decent regardless of the lack in sunshine. Green hairstreaks showed well, on and off. Small tortoiseshells were flying everywhere. Also Common lizards were out in good numbers as is expected at Foulshaw but none of the usual Slow worms were showing themselves today. In the distance with a small flock of Red deer a striking Albino Red deer stag was seen.

Green hairstreak

Foulshaw moss boardwalk (having seen better days!)

Common lizard

Common lizard

Common lizard

A good all round trip with plenty of great things sighted even with the expected sun not showing.

Pictures to follow shortly....

Preston Docks

Quick mid-week visit to Docks on my usual round-town bike ride saw an Increase in the number of Common terns back on site, there was around c35 individuals on site (Great views of the terns at the minute however i am still using my compact camera therefore cannot achieve pictures good enough to really show just how good a view you can get on site).

A couple of Great crested grebes were displaying as well which was nice and a Common sandpiper was on the jetty too.

A day later an Adult Gannet appeared on site, presumeably blown in by the strong winds, however it was apparently showing signs of illness. Myself and my dad went to visit the Docks to see the Bird via the Shops and sure enough it was still there however just resting on the jetty doing nothing, very un-Gannet like. A day later it was reported dead. I did not manage any pictures unfortunately.

Pretty Pigeon

Some of the Terns

Pair of Great crested grebes

Pair of Common terns

Common tern in flight

It would be raining...

After the last couple days of glorious sunshine and extreme summer temperatures (for Preston!) me and my dad decided to take a trip a bit further out to do some spotting today. We visited Barbondale (nr Kirby Lonsdale) and Birk bank bog (nr Lancaster). But of course for us it would be the day it chucks it down..

First stop was Barbondale. Visited here last year for the first time in late summerand was not disappointed with the variety of Birdlife and the sheer amount upon arrival so we thought we ought to try our luck this year in Spring. We did the full walk this time, up and down the valley and saw an array of things, regardless of the weather, however not as much as last time, although still a great walk.

Highlights of Barbon included; a good number of Common Redstarts (best place for them by far), a single Pied flycatcher, Tree pipits, Meadow pipits (galore), Green woodpeckers and Wheatears. No Ring ouzels this time however. Flora on the walk was good, plenty to see out on the hills, in the woods and by the river's edge. Photographs below.

Rush sp.

Male Redstart

Female Redstart

Wood Sorrell

Bluebell

Bluebell carpet

Dog violet sp.

Wild primrose

Next up was Birk bank bog, which is a great place and this was our second time visiting. Main targets for here were Cuckoo (had them here last time), Green hairstreak and the ever elusive Emperor moth.

Weather was slowly improving at our second destination but it was still windy and cool, not particularly good weather for insects. Surprisingly after not much time of scanning the Heather and Bilberry i spotted my first Green hairstreak of the year (always a joy to see these annually) but this view was brief as the wind blew it away. A walk to the top of the hill proved a worthy trip up as at the top we were greeted with a good number of Red grouse, a Peregrine hunting and a pair of Raven displaying.

On the walk back down i spotted another Green hairstreak which sat up nicely on the Heather showing it's brilliant green sides in the minimal sunshine, lovely.

We didn't end up seeing any Emperor moths on our visit this time, however we've spent good time at various suitable sites in past years, in May and June to try and see them but we've always come up out without seeing any so we're starting to question their existence..

Arriving back at the car park Dad came across a Common lizard and i found a Slow worm slowly making its way across the path, which obviously it being a Slow worm and me being me, i just could not resist handling, such a beauty though.

Bilberry - one of Green hairstreak's larval foodplants

Gorse - another of Green hairstreaks larval foodplants

Gorse

standard Sheep shot

Meadow pipits on Heather

Rubbish shot of the 2nd Green hairstreak of the day, got much better shots on the computer from the past, must dig them out....

Slow worm

Slow worm

Slow worm

Woodland flora is great in Spring. It's all starting to come into bloom right now that the warmth of Summer has arrived. Carpets of various flowers fill the woodland floors. Look out for some of the commoner usual species this week, such as the following (these pictures are taken on my iphone hence the lack in quality): 

Lesser Celandine

Wood anemone

Lords and Ladies

Dog violet

Dog's mercury

Also what else was nice to find was a small collection of flowering Snakes-head fritillary plants in the middle of Preston. These particular plants are no doubt self-sown plants from a garden variety however in the setting i found them and not actually having any wild ones up in Lancs they still proved a nice treat to find on my bike ride in the busy centre of Preston.

Snakes-head fritillary - Preston - 03/05/13