Light Emerald campaea margaritata

Ingrailed Clay Diarsia mendica

Ingrailed Clay Diarsia mendica

2 Light Emerald and 1 Ingrailed Clay in the garden last night.

Sidings Lane CP,
I had a great night out last night getting stung by millions of midges and moquitos. It was my first moth trapping night and it was really brilliant. Dave Owen from Sankey valley C.P. and Ray Banks were the excellent hosts aswell as our moth experts. It opens your eyes to the so many different moths we have flying at night. From I D ing the really dull browny grey jobs to the multi coloured moths it was a very interesting night. My favourite moth of the night was the Scorchwing which looks just as its name suggests. I just might be getting a moth trap soon so watch this space.

Moore Nature reserve,
I thought I might try here today for a bit of birdwatching. Lots of lesser black backs on the tip and on birch pool. Oystercatchers with 2 chicks, little grebe with 2 chicks, 1 pochard, and 1 juvenile black headed gull.

3 brimstones
small white
large white
peacock
spleckled wood

brown silver-line moth

In my garden today a hummingbird hawkmoth

Prescot Reservoirs,
Very quiet on the birding front again today.2 buzzards, 2 kestrel, 20 tufted duck, 2 shellduck with 12 shellducklings, 20 canada with 5 goslings 2 great crested grebe and a pair of ruddy duck.

Odonata today included,
1 Black tailed skimmer m
5 broad bodied chasers 3f 2m
1 emperor m
3 newly emerged common darters
Common blue damselfly
azure damselfly

2 painted lady
lots common blues
small white

silver y moth
cinnabar moth

Sutton Manor, St Helens

Yellowhammer
reed warbler
whitethroat
reedbuntings
Linnet

Large red damselfly,
Azure damselfly
Common blue damsel
Emperor male
3 broad bodied chasers
6 four spotted chasers

Large skipper
Small skipper
painted lady
meadow brown

Latticed heath moth
five spotted burnet
Silver y

Lots of Bee Orchids.

Sutton Manor,St Helens

3 four spotted chasers
2 braod bodied chasers
2 azure damselfly

3 meadow browns
4 large skippers
3 narrow- bordered five- spot burnet

Prescot reservoirs,
RED-VEINED DARTER today on the new pond which was only created last year after some building work at the reservoirs. I found it on sunday morning but misidentified it on brief views as a common darter. After talking to Colin Davies and Ray Banks and the recent influx of red- veined darters across the country I thought I had better go and see if I could get a better view and some decent photos. This morning was cloudy and breezy and not good for dragonfly watching but again I had brief views of it and when it did appear the broad bodied chasers chased it off! About 4.00pm this afternoon it brightened up considerably and I decided to go back and have another look. After an hour or so it appeared again and convieniently perched on a small stalk at the muddy edge to the pond and I managed to confirm the ID and get some decent photos. Job done and a first for St helens in the bag.

Also today
Emperor dragonfly
3 Broad bodied Chasers
3 Common blue damselfly
Black tailed Skimmer seen by Colin Davies

2 Red Admirals
Lots of Painted lady

Prescot Reservoirs,
2 common terns again today. 3 shellduck,12 shellducklings, 27 tufted duck,1 great crested grebe,1 buzzard, 1 kestrel.

Butterflies and dragonflies

4 male 2 female broad bodied chasers.1 pair seen mating in flight.
1 common darter
1 blue tailed damselfly
2 common blue damselfly
All dragonflies and damselflies seen on new pond.

2 painted lady
lots of common blues
1 specled wood
4 large white

Sankey valley,
Banded Demoiselle is a damselfly that I have never seen before, not that I have seen many different damselflies before. Colin Davies reported seeing some at mucky mountains in the sankey valley during the week so off I went today to have a look. The wind was quite strong today and I did not see any damselflies here but Colin had mentioned that some where showing at Havana flashes. They were showing brilliantly here just below the bridge and what beautiful creatures they are. In the strong sunshine thier metalic greenyblue colour glistened as they fluttered about. I had 5 of them here but I met Ray Banks who said he had a least 30 along the stream further up. This is a rare damselfly in St Helens with only a handful of previous records. I also had blue tailed damselfly from the bridge.

Prescot Reservoirs,

A quick visit Early morning produced a couple of common terns. The shellducklings are down to 11 now.

Prescot reservoirs,
The common tern colony has now increased to 3 today. They were landing on beagle 2 in the middle of no4 reservoir and did attempt to mate on there. They stayed for a couple of hours then flew off N E. probably going to Eccleston mere.
The 14 shellduck ducklings are still doing well as are the 6 canada and 2 greylag gooslings.
There must have been a hatch of flys as 16 black headed gulls were doing there best to imatate marsh terns picking them off the surface.
After yesterdays encounter with the sparrowhawk, a house martin landed on the perimeter fence no more than 6 yards away. After taking its picture I then walked passed it to within 2 yards and it stayed where it was totally unperturbed. Nice.

Lacewing CanonA95

House martin Canon A95

Rainford mosslands,
I visited Dairyfarm Road today. A blue headed wagtail was in a ploughed field with a female and obviously a pair. A cuckoo was seen near the coach road. A corn bunting was singing in the distance.
I then moved to Berringtons lane. You just can't not be impressed by a cock yellowhammer singing his heart out in his bright yellow suit on a glorious sunny day. In the space of five minutes I had four raptors. A peregrine and a buzzard drifted over the fields. A male kestrel was hovering over some scrub. I had just finished taking some images of the cock yellowhammer. I was sitting in the van when a cock sparrowhawk landed on a post only a couple of metres away . It looked at me and I looked at him just for a second or two and then he was away. One of those nice little moments.
Prescot Reservoirs
2 common terns and 4 shellduck with 14 ducklings between them. Another house sparrow was nice.100 lesser black backs and 5 herring gull.

Delightful Dorset,
I have just got back from a short family holiday at Weymouth in Dorset. I managed to do some birding whilst there, mostly on Portland.
May 29th
I dropped the cases off at the B+B and it was straight over to Portland. A hobby flew over at ferrybridge. I was just in time for the woodchat shrike that had been at Coombefield quarry for a couple of weeks. It was showing well on the fence posts and low bushes but this was to be its last day. A report of a hoopoe nearby at another quarry and half an hour later I was watching a hoopoe flying around the rocks and bushes. Was I in Portland or Spain.
May 30th
I was back on Portland early next morning and first I did a bit of seawatching. Nothing special but plenty of Gannets, Fulmars, Guillemots, Razorbills, Shags and cormorants. There was no sign of the Stormies that had been displaced into the Channel the previous few days. A cold northerly was blowing today.
May 31st
A serin today at the obs was seen in flight and calling. A pair of peregrines flew close over.Reed warbler in the obs garden. Later today a marsh warbler was trapped at the obs but I had long gone. We went to Studland point later today and Dartford warbler,Tree pipit, Green woodpecker were seen.
June 1st
A common rosefinch had just been calling in the obs garden when I arrived but was not seen. It was seen briefly later that day and was found to be a first summer male. 2 wheatears. The Cetti's warbers were showing well at Radipole lake today. At Chesil beach later today the little terns and sandwich terns were showing well. 2 Little Egrets also.
June 2nd
The little owl was peering out of a crack in the quarry by the obs. A bee eater was reported calling at Southwell but was not seen. The serin flew over the obs again this morning. A striped hawkmoth and a pine hawk moth had been trapped .

Blue-tailed Damselfly (Ischnura elegans

Female holly blue

Pine hawk moth

Striped hawk moth