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A day of sunshine and showers with some of the latter being pretty heavy, just as well there were plenty of trees to provide cover. The large quarry lake is still home to a collection of the commoner wildfowl though the swans have done a bunk. Singles of Grey Heron and Little Egret were fishing in the margins while once again several species of wader were present. Both Little Ringed and Ringed were represented by a single bird while three Common Sandpipers were found. Two Green Sandpipers were new in this week, I'm hoping more species will show as migration picks up. After the excellent count of Yellow-legged Gulls seen during the week I managed to count none, in fact only half a dozen Black-headeds showed. A Sparrowhawk flapped rather ponderously past with prey that must have been from the uppermost reaches of the size scale judging by the way the bird seemed to labour.



A distant shot of one of 3 Common Sandpipers present.



 

Reed Warbler, one of many seen by the largest pond.

Conditions for insect watching were less than ideal and numbers of everything seemed low. It may well be that the wet weather of the last week has taken a toll, very few of the larger species were observed, it could be that they struggle to find adequate cover during sustained periods of heavy rain. Brown butterflies were again the commonest with a few of the toughest individuals even flying in light showers. Another brown though not one related to the others provided one of the highlights when a Brown Argus posed very nicely for some pictures. These resemble the females of their close relatives the blues but are usually noticeably smaller then Common and to my eyes at least they seem neater. A female Common Blue posed too and you can see the differences in the pictures. I was very pleased to get some of my best ever pictures of Large Skippers, three were feeding on a Teasel and did not seem remotely bothered by my close approach. A few whites showed as well but no other species were observed.

Large Skipper.


 

Brown Argus.



Several moths showed during the day with Six-spotted Burnets becoming common. They're a colourful species and probably unpalatable to predators as they often choose prominent places on which to sit. Another moth that showed quite well was a Silver-Y, a migrant that appears in variable numbers each year. This has not been a vintage year for them but then it does not seem to have been a great year for any of the migrant insects.


Female Common Blue.


 

Ruddy Darter.

None of the larger dragonflies were recorded and only the two darters were seen and even then all but one of those were Ruddies. Damsel numbers were low too and only four species could be found with no surprises amongst them.

Six-spotted Burnet having a bit of a spruce up.
 

Silver-Y Moth.