Crossbills

Alan Shorrock and I headed over to Wakerley Wood this morning with the aim of catching up with some Crossbills at one of their favoured county sites. At least ten had been reported from there recently so we were quite optimistic and we were not let down.

Crossbill selection.

Soon after our arrival I heard at least one calling from larches near the picnic area and over the next half an hour or so we heard several more and caught the odd glimpse too. Siskins appeared to be moving through as well with a double figure count noted. Crossbill numbers were by now beginning to build up as we waited going from about ten to an eventual total of at least forty of which most appeared to be juveniles. The birds were not always vocal and were often hard to pick out in amongst the larches which still had their needles. Poor light hampered efforts at photography though we did manage to get some record shots. Some of the birds were popping down to a puddle to drink and it was this that was probably drawing the birds in. Sadly the puddle was next to a path and the birds were flushed by a couple of mountain bikers. Somewhat intriguingly one of the birds showed very prominent double wing bars and although it was likely to have been a Common I can't say with a hundred percent certainty that it was. Many of the birds were by now moving on and we decided to emulate them choosing to visit Spanhoe,

Meadow Brown and Gatekeeper.

No birds of interest were seen in the quarry though the eagle eyed Shozzer did pick out four Ravens at a nearby spot. Although the cloudy conditions seemed unpromising for insects we managed to find a few. My first burnet moths of the year in the shape of many Six-spotteds were observed. Quite a few Meadow Browns were on the wing and a fair number of Gatekeepers as well. Both Marbled Whites and Ringlets are coming to the end of their season but we still saw a couple of each. Other butterflies included Comma, Peacock and Small Skipper and I also observed a Yellow Shell moth.

Six-spotted Burnet Moths and Yellow Shell.

Only one of the ponds had any water in it so it was difficult to find any dragons except for Common Darters. It seems as if many had emerged this morning and it's perhaps just as well that they get out before this pond dries up too. Only one species of damsel was noted and that was Blue-tailed Damselfly with perhaps as many as ten on site.

Brown Argus and Common Darter.