South of the border

The forecast looked good for today , and when I opened my eyes first thing the sun was already streaming through the window. So it was out of bed as soon as, breakfasted, took the Westies for a quick walk, threw all the gear in the car and set off South of the border, Lancashire to be exact.
           I made my way to Leighton Moss and after parking the car in the lay-by near the causeway I strolled along the causeway at a leisurely pace enjoying the warmth of the sun. From the Public hide there was approx 16 Greenshank on the rocky island with a few mallard, and the usual mixture milling around the rest of the mere. A Marsh Harrier took to the air at one point and floated lazily above the reed bed.
           Next I made my way over to the Eric Morecambe hide, and for most of the time had the place to myself. there was a good number of Lapwings on, possibly over 500. 1 Greenshank. 1 Spotted Redshank amongst the many Redshank. And 5 Little Egrets putting on a good show. Again a Marsh Harrier could be seen at a distance quartering the marsh.

A set of three Little Egret pics.

Two Grey Heron pics, it was stalking the Allen pool.

Just as I left Leighton Moss the sun went in, not good, as I was heading for Arnside knot in the hope of finding some butterflies. luckily by the time I got there it came out again so all was good with the world.
              After  a bit of a stroll around, I finally caught up with Scotch Argus, but as can be seen from the pic it was getting past its sell-by date.

Scotch Argus

Left, Yellow Dung fly, and right, Male  Common Darter.                   All in all an enjoyable day.

Part of Thacka Beck  Nature reserve, Which again had been taken over by Gulls, mainly Juvenile Lesser Black-Backed Gulls.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Had a walk round the new reserve this morning, but as can be seen just gulls occupying most of the reserve. There was three juvenile Moorhens but that was about it, apart from  the Swallows and Martins touching the water for drinks or insects.
           Up at the Flash a few Mallard and approx. 200 Lapwing. The sun was out and it was a beautiful morning, and yet there was a dearth of butterflies.

There was plenty of insects about and these hover flies were putting on a good show.

I know I have got pics of 2 different species here but I won't attempt to name them, as there are so many different kinds and my knowledge of them is limited.

Poor weather

The weather has taken a bit of a dive at the moment, a bit cooler of late and yesterday was pretty soggy, today a slight improvement but not enough to tempt me out other than taking the Westies for a walk.

The Westies enjoying a brief spell of  sun.

 Nothing happening on the flash apart from a good build up of Lapwings and a few Mallard. On Thacka Beck reserve its very similar, but with gulls and crows the dominant birds,

2 Lapwings being sociable with a Redshank on the Flash.

Sometimes I walk the Beacon but there is usually not a lot about, but on my last visit there was 2 juvenile Buzzards flying from tree to tree, while above them what could have been the parents trying to persuade them out of the wood for some soring practice.

Common Buzzard

Hopefully the rain will clear out again and give us a chance to get out.

In and out of the gulls

On the patch the House Martins are hawking insects , and weaving in and out of the Gulls

As I said in an earlier post the patch is pretty quiet , apart from a few Swifts , Swallows and House Martins, Most people are keeping away from the Flash as the place is heaving with gypos.

Ringlet

         Went over to Keswick yesterday and spent the day on the Isthmus with Les. The day was overcast, so not a lot moving about.

A pair of Blue Damselfly doing their bit in the continuity of their species.

 I was surprised there was anything about, because as well as being overcast, there was a stiff breeze blowing off the lake. At one point there was a good flyby of Greylags, but at that point I had already put the camera in the car and was preparing to leave.

Drone-fly on Ragwort

The Marauders

Lesser Black-backed Gull 

Quiet times on the patch at the moment, with one exception, Lesser Black-backed Gulls and their numerous juveniles. They are marauding all over the new reserve and making a hell of a racket, they are disturbing everything else around, but the problems could be ahead of us. If they are still around when the Autumn passage starts then nothing will settle.

Moels beach

Had a ride down to The Wirral on Tuesday to visit my cousin, unfortunately didn't have time to do any birding. She is in her 80's so it was a quick trip out for lunch, then a ride along Moels prom. and the only thing spoiling the view was man's encroachment on nature, and I  maybe wouldn't mind so much if it was bringing in millions of megawatts of power but it ain't.

Rook, not a marauder this time, an M6 motorway service scavenger.

Rowan berries , Alright you Scandinavian crested guys, we are already preparing for your arrival, any time after November will do.

The Patch before and after

As promised the before and after shots of the new Thacka Beck reserve, all the photos are taken from different angles and not necessarily from the same spot, but hopefully it will give you some idea of the work that went into transforming the area. 

The work took just over 12 months, and it was interesting listening to the various comments from people as they looked on. and believe me there was a lot of pessimists about, people couldn't see the potential, what a wast of money was one of the main opinions.

Once the earth had been rearranged and the water started to flood in, then the birds soon started to visit, but the problem soon became clear disturbance from dog walkers, some even to this day couldn't care less, and also kids who thought this was there new play ground. So the next priority was to get the area fenced, and now thankfully even that has been done.

So now more or less 12 months on and it looks  a totally different place.

All the bunds have green up nicely, water plants and vegetation has come on a treat.

Birds have bred here already.

And the list of birds visiting the area continues to grow, with some rare ones already on the list.

Later in the year the Long-horned Cattle are suppose to be arriving, to naturally graze the area, and the whole patch has been fenced in such a way, that the cattle can be rotated in different areas. So in the breeding season they will be moved away from the water area to a less sensitive area. So this area consists of one large meandering pond, and about 5 smaller ponds with Thacka beck flowing through the middle.
          Adjacent to this area is the settling pond, then about a quarter of a mile away is the Flash. Generally the Flash has more going on as it is too far away from any footpaths to be disturbed.
           All in all not a bad area, and as patchers we are all optimists, waiting for that something special to turn up, and hoping it will be on our patch.

One of three Swallow nests at my old work place

I went up to the flash first thing with the Westies, wasn't a great deal on apart from a few Oystercatchers, they seem to be coming back again now that they have reared their young. Its a similar story with the Lapwings, although not so many at the moment.

Sneezewort Achillea  ptarmica

           I took Mrs W into work for 8-30 then made my way over to the Isthmus and spent the morning with Les and Carl. Derwentwater is teaming with Greylags at the moment, I saw one Merganser and not much else.

CatBells and Maiden moor

The weather was much improved on yesterday, although the wind felt cool when the sun went behind a cloud.

The north crag on Robinson

 Hope the weather is as good tomorrow, then I may have another trip out.