Venus Pool - 14 Oct 19

Today I made another visit to the SOS Reserve at Venus Pool and took more photos taken from the public hide. The weather was not good – heavy rain and low overcast – so the photos are not as ‘crisp’ as I would like. I have selected some that show salient features, some of which can only be seen at this time of year.

A fine duck (Common) Teal. Just showing the green speculum. Note the white side to the tail.

And a trio of these birds. Cannot explain why they look so different. It might be that some (or all) are first-winter birds still in moult to adult plumage. Then again ...

Here is a drake which certainly is moulting in to adult plumage. The yellow-outlined green area on the face is just visible and some of the flank feathers are those that will form the vermiculated side when moult is complete.

A pair of (Eurasian) Wigeon head on, the drake in the lead. The yellow crown stripe is just becoming apparent as both these birds moult in to adult plumage. It is quite normal for many ducks to pair-up as soon as they start to acquire breeding plumage.

To conform to “equality of the sexes” here they are again, the other way around – female nearest the camera.

A close-up of the drake looking again at that emergent yellow crown. The colour and pattern of the bill is very distinctive in all plumages. Note too the start of moult for the back feathers – they will all be like those already showing the wavy lines.

Compare and contrast time again. A duck (Common) Teal between a pair of (Eurasian) Wigeon – drake at the back.

A drake Shoveler in typical ‘shovelling’ pose, sifting the water through its flattened bill to filter out things to eat.

And another. The feathers seem waterproof-enough to keep out the pouring rain! Old feathers on the shoulder show dark fringes. These will be replaced with all-white feathers when in full breeding plumage.

Another view of him with his duck companion. It is less easy to see this species ‘paired up’ as they spend a lot of time in large groups spinning around to stir up food from the bottom of shallow areas, all the while with bills under water sifting the result.

A Little Grebe in winter plumage. The feathers looked rather soggy on this continually-diving bird though the raindrop falling on its back seems to be being repelled adequately.

A Grey Wagtails steps it out.

As does a male Pied Wagtail – at least I assume it does though we can only see one leg! Much the same angle as the Grey Wagtail and notice how much shorter is the tail of the Pied Wagtail.

Look: it does have two legs after all.

This is an immature Pied Wagtail, the face having a creamy / yellowish wash.

Spring is in the air. Well perhaps not. The Rabbit was just in a hurry. Note the rusty tones on the nape and upper back.

And another Rabbit running away.

(Ed Wilson)

RSPB Burton Mere - 23 Sep 19

Today I paid another visit to the RSPB Reserve of Burton Mere wetlands on the east side of the Dee Estuary at the base of the Wirral peninsular. Here are a few images.

A head-on duck Teal. In this close view we can see the dark line from the bill and through the eye; also the small pale area at the base of the bill. You do need a good view. The less frequently seen but very similar duck Garganey shows a more prominent dark stripe and larger and more obvious pale area.

A side-on view of a different duck Teal. The most obvious feature here, and one visible at long range, is the white mark on the side of the tail.

As readers know Gadwall ducks are a particular favourite of mine. Here a pair having completed their post-breeding moult. The drake shows the chestnut plumes on its back.

A drake in profile.

A talkative pair. Ducks pair up as soon as they complete their moult – sometimes earlier.

Say ‘ah!’

“Give is a kiss”

A good size comparison between a duck Teal in the foreground and the Gadwall in the background. The Gadwall is a rather instructive bird: the breast pattern is that of a drake but these normally show an all-black bill. The bill exactly matches a duck Gadwall. Must be a drake born this calendar year and moulting in to its first adult drake plumage.

The size comparison is less obvious here. A pair of Gadwall in the foreground and a duck Teal behind. Note the difference in bill colour of the ducks – orange edges to the Gadwall and rather dull yellow-green tone of the Teal (sometimes with some orange at the base only)

The start performer was this Marsh Harrier which came slightly closer than usual to the public access area. The white head and strength of the black mask through the eye point to an adult female though ...

... this very distant shot does not show any rufous in the tail and neither is there any white along the leading edge of the wing. So I conclude it is an immature, likely a female.

A pair of Ruff here. Once the males lose the prominent and colourful breeding-condition neck feathers these are rather non-descript birds. Clues are the rather short bill for the size of this wader: the usually very obvious pale fringes to the back feather: and the long primaries that are rather ‘loose’ and are often seen being blown around in any breeze.

Here is a trio of Ruff. The pale orange legs are better seen here. The rather small head is also noticeable.”

(Ed Wilson)

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)