Prees Heath Common Reserve - 29 Jul 19

Today I made a visit to the Prees Heath Common Reserve. This SSSI is just south of Warrington.

Thanks to the efforts of Butterfly Conservation and Cheshire and Shropshire Wildlife Trusts it is now being restored and managed as the last refuge of the Silver-studded Blue butterfly (Plebejus argus) in the West Midlands. My visit was probably rather late in the season for this species. Two flighty ‘blues’ could well have easily been Common Blues (Polyommatus icarus). Nevertheless there was an impressive array of butterflies to be found during a short visit.

The list was:

Essex Skipper (Thymelicus lineola) 

Small Skipper (Thymelicus sylvestris) 

Large Skipper (Ochlodes sylvanus) 

Large White (Pieris brassicae) 

Green-veined White (Pieris napi) 

Brimstone (Gonepteryx rhamni) 

*Small Heath (Coenonympha pamphilus) 

Meadow Brown (Maniola jurtina) 

Gatekeeper (Pyronia tithonus) 

Painted Lady (Vanessa cardui) 

Peacock (Aglais io) 

Small Tortoiseshell (Aglais urticae) 

*Small Copper (Lycaena phlaeas) 

**Purple Hairstreak (Neozephyrus quercus) 

* = new for me in 2019 

** = new for me in Shropshire 

Here are some images I took during the visit. 

Here I am looking more or less north. It is hard to credit that the junction of the A41 and A49 is less than a mile away.

Another view with a prominent Common Ragwort (Jacobaea vulgaris) plant in the foreground.

This Meadow Brown (Maniola jurtina) seems to have been in the wars with rather battered wings.

With two white spots in the forewing black circle this butterfly is a Gatekeeper (Pyronia tithonus). This is a male with a dark smudge extending up the middle of the wing.

Not always easy to get any scale to photographs. This butterfly was significantly smaller than the Meadow Brown and as it only has one white spot in the black circle it is not a Gatekeeper. It is a Small Heath (Coenonympha pamphilus) and we can confirm that from the very jagged black outline on the underside of the hind wing.

This is a Small Copper (Lycaena phlaeas).

Here the underside of an individual feeding on ragwort – a very important food plant for all manner of insects.

A closer view of the underside.

This one lurking on the ground.

There is a reported big influx of Painted Lady butterflies (Vanessa cardui) this year (though I am seeing many more Peacocks (Aglais io)). This Painted Lady is enjoying the Bell Heather (Erica cinerea).

Its tongue it hooked right back, deep in the heather flower.

Like many of the Vanessid butterflies when the wings are closed identification can be tricky. This specimen is holding its forewing partially raised allowing a glimpse of the true pattern.

For me this was the star sighting of the day. It is a male Purple Hairstreak (Neozephyrus quercus). The short ‘tail’ on the hind wing of hairstreak butterflies is not easy to see and often breaks off. We can just see the rather ragged-looking edge to the wing. There is a hint of purple in the centre of the forewing.

A closer view. This was a very lucky sighting. This species normally feeds on aphid dew in the very tops of oak trees – indeed there was a photographer present with a BIG lens on a mission to photo this species at the top of a relatively small oak sapling. He was somewhat miffed to see that I had found one taking a snack on ragwort.

Thistles are another popular nectar source. Not enough in the shot to identify which thistle species is getting attention from a Six-spot Burnet moth (Zygaena filipendulae).

This burnet is enjoying its meal.

While a lucky thistle has two burnets feeding.

Can’t get away from grass moths. They were not too well-behaved and I struggled to get any to pose at a good angle and in good light. The rather diffuse dark markings on this specimen point to it being Barred Grass-veneer (Agriphila inquinatella). The apparent angled mark on the wing-tip is a shadow. This species prefers dry areas – heath is perfect.

A different species with two diagonal lines across the wing – an Elbow-stripe Grass-veneer (Agriphila geniculea). Here temporarily tangled up in a web. It escaped.

And another – this shows rather weak markings but with a tell-tale line at the wing-edge. That makes it a Straw Grass-veneer (Agriphila straminella). It is quite usual for many species of grass-moth to occur together.

While this is an ‘old friend’ from the lake – a Garden Grass-veneer (Chrysoteuchia culmella).

Hoverflies were also enjoying the ragwort. This is a Common Drone-fly (Eristalis tenax).

With a rather elongated look to the body this is a Tapered Drone-fly (Eristalis pertinax) tucking in.

Not just hoverflies. This is likely a fly in the genus Phaonia. There are many to choose from, not easy to separate.

A White-tailed Bumblebees (Bombus lucorum) also on a thistle.

These two insects seem most likely to be Sand Tailed Digger Wasps (Cerceris arenaria). This species is a very common inhabitant of heathland.

Among the other things I found was this ‘beetle’. It was tiny – the background is a small part of my palm. I am inclined to think this is an instar of a shield bug. The markings on its wing-edge and more especially the short horizontal marks on the back all look similar to the marking on instar Common Green Shield Bug, though this is rather different in both ground-colour and shape.

Another tiny insect that I am more confident about even though I cannot recall seeing one before. It is a 16 Spot Ladybird (Tytthaspis sedecimpunctata)

This plant was abundant amongst the heathers. Not being a botanist it took me some while to track down it identity. It is Common Centaury (Centaurium erythraea). It likes well-drained soil.

(Ed Wilson)

Venus Pool - 18 Jul 19

Today I made another visit to the Shropshire Ornithological Society reserve at Venus Pool. Highlights included below were five different Green Sandpipers and a cooperative juvenile Green Woodpecker, both of which tempted the camera ....

As no Mute Swans breed here the non-breeders are safe and there was a small gathering. Here they go for a fly-about.

The upper-wing shows some brown so these are first-year birds .... 

 ... not evident from below. The dull colour of the bill tells us they are immature, but does not really age them.

A rather unexpected sighting in mid-July was this breeding plumage Wigeon. Most birds are breeding far to the N and E of the UK. Apparently in moult as the white forewing patch does not usually show so clearly except in flight.

A reflective Little Egret showing its yellow feet. 

Seems to be happy about something (there is an annoying out of focus blade of grass in the foreground!)

‘Got one!’

Another successful fishing expedition. It will need quite a few of these for a decent meal.

If you think gulls are white think again! An adult Black-headed Gull compared with a Little Egret.

And here is one in flight.

‘Shall we dance?’. The Paso Doble I think. The Lapwings look as if they might join in! In fact the two Little Egrets were have a small territorial dispute and it was not at all friendly.

A stately reflecting Grey Heron.

Two for the price of one – a Little Egret closes on the Grey Heron.

And here side-by-side. There did not seem to be any animosity between these even though they would be after the same prey.

This juvenile Grey Heron looks pleased with its catch. 

It seemed to have no problem catching small fish either. 

Time for a good shake to realign those feathers.

This Green Sandpiper is taking it easy. Why ‘green’. When adult bird are in fresh plumage on the breeding grounds there is a green gloss to the feathers – in the same way that Lapwings show green, only much less obvious. Note the supercilium in front of the eye only.

Two birds here. The bird in the foreground must be a juvenile to be this ‘spotty’ – on this species the spots are typically very small and not noticeable. When I first saw them I did a double-take as the spots suggested the smaller and less frequently encountered Wood Sandpiper.

Two more (there were five present)

And a trio here with the middle bird perhaps moulting out of spotty juvenile plumage.

This preening bird is exposing dark bars on the tail and the very white rump – usually all you notice as the bird flushes off calling is the white. The call is very distinctive.

We can get an appreciation of the size of a Green Sandpiper when we see it alongside a lumbering Wood Pigeon.

And again – what is the attraction between these species?

Here we realise how bulky a Lapwing is.

Talking of Wood Pigeons ... is this one about to land on water?

Flaps, air brakes, reverse thrust all in operation here.

Made it to dry land!

What is this lurking in the grass – a Green Woodpecker

A chin-up view. This is a stripy and spotty juvenile. Note the small red mark behind the bill. This suggests that it is a male – on an adult male this has a black border. The female lacks the red inside the same black area.

Note the pale blue eye.

Here no doubt tucking in to its favourite food – ant eggs. It has a very long tongue to reach deep in to ant nests and the tongue has barbs to hook out the eggs. (the yellow at the bird’s thigh is an out-of-focus buttercup in the foreground).

A massive bill for getting in to soft ground.

A species I don’t see well all that often – Yellow Wagtails nest in crops and can occasionally be seen on surrounding wires. Otherwise normally as fly-overs. This one popped in for a wash and brush up. Compare the colour with what is probably Meadow Vetchling (Lathyrus pratensis).

(Ed Wilson)

RSPB Burton Mere - 4 Jul 19

On a fine is rather breezy day I paid another visit to the excellent RSPB Reserve at Burton Mere. It is just beyond Chester, alongside the River Dee and at the base of the Wirral.

Not many young geese present. True migrant geese will be away until late October. This pair of non-migratory Canada Geese have four juveniles, well-grown and in what I call ‘fuzzy’ plumage.

A Shelduck having a bathe. Note the pale around the base of the bill and the general washed-out look. As it has a chestnut breast band it must be an adult starting its annual moult. All these birds go to the Heligoland Bight to moult during which time they are flightless. This was the only individual noted on this visit.

It is amazing to think that it is less than 30 years since birdwatchers were still ‘twitching’ Little Egrets in the extreme SW of England. Here are 18 ‘off-duty’ birds from the now regular nesting colony here.

Highlight of the visit for me was a small party of summer-plumaged Spotted Redshank – six of them here along with a lone Black-tailed Godwit. In winter plumage these birds look very different – pale grey – and that was how I saw them when I spent many years doing most of my bird-watching in Devon and Cornwall.

Zoomed in a bit with three of them no longer preening we see a rather longer bill than on Common Redshank with a distinctive pink base. This is a year-round feature. Again the lone Black-tailed Godwit gets in on the action.

Flying back after a panic are six Spotted Redshank and one Common Redshank. The Common Redshank is second from bottom on the left, showing its unique upperwing pattern with extensive white on the trailing edge. Note the difference in bill length compared with the Spotted Redshank above it. All the spot-shanks are canted the wrong way to see their upperwing pattern here: they would show pale rather than the white shown by Common Redshank. Note too their legs are longer and project more beyond the tail. I am surprised to see their legs are so red already – on the breeding grounds the legs are noted as ‘black’.

Here are three of them with a juvenile Black-headed Gull and a Black-tailed Godwit.

There were very many Black-tailed Godwits present and this was the result of a panic due to a passing Buzzard. They are very distinctive with jet black tails with bright white upper-tail coverts and a broad white wing-bar. There are two interlopers in this shot. There is an Avocet amongst the group at the top right. And in the bottom centre there is a juvenile Black-headed Gull.

The Avocet more centre-stage here.

From the underside the pattern is very similar. (Two juvenile Black-headed Gulls in the water).

A group of Black-tailed Godwits in various plumages. The back right bird is almost certainly an Icelandic race bird (ssp. icelandica) in breeding plumage – the rufous extends further on to the belly and the bill is slightly shorter than birds that breed elsewhere in Europe (ssp. limosa). The front bird shows very little rufous and is more the colour of winter-plumage birds. This species takes several years to mature and until then birds have a variety of plumages in summer.

A mixture of plumages here (as well as a gull).

Black-tailed Godwits have a very characteristic feeding action, standing belly-deep in the water with heads and bills underwater, probing the mud.

When they locate prey they lift their head out of the water to toss the prey-item along their bill and down their throat.

These really do not look much like gulls.

(Ed Wilson)