Bakewell Gulls

 I had my first trip to Bakewell today to see if there were any returning Black-headed Gulls. There were!

In total, there were about 30/40 birds, including a good number of juveniles. There were also lots of people (!), so it took me over two hours before I found my first ringed bird, a metal-ringed adult bird from Finland. Unfortunately, I only managed to get 4 digits of its ring, T321, so I won't be able to find out where or when it was ringed.

_ T321 _ _?

The second bird I saw was a British-ringed bird, EW97345, a familiar face! It had been ringed in Boston, Lincolnshire, on 9th January 2010, and was first seen in Bakewell, by me, on 1st September 2018. It was then seen here in July and September 2019 and August 2020.

EW97345

RSPB South Stack - 26th July 20221

 After yesterday's visit to Cemlyn Lagoon, I drove across to RSPB South Stack. The target species was Chough, and I was not disappointed!!

I parked in the first car park, and the first bid I saw and heard was.... Chough!! In total I saw a minimum of 16 birds, which flew over my head calling, before landing on the cliffs about 10m away. Wow!! Many of the birds were darvic-ringed, and I managed to get 6 numbers, so I'll update with details as soon as I get them back. Here are a few photos.

Choughs!!

Whilst walking along the cliffs in the sunshine and 20 degree heat, I also spotted a Hooded Crow, a pair of Ravens, Jackdaws, Great Black-backed and Herring Gulls, Linnet, Meadow Pipit and Stonechat, including this juvenile bird.

Stonechat

There were lots of insects buzzing about too(!), the highlights being a Wall Brown and several Grayling.

Grayling

Year List update:

159 - Chough

160 - Hooded Crow

Elegant Tern - Cemlyn Lagoon, 26th July 2021

I was out "twitching" again yesterday! This time, I went to Cemlyn Lagoon, a North Wales Wildlife Trust site, to see an Elegant Tern. This North American species appeared in t tern colony earlier in the year, and has spent the last few months attempting to find a mate. It hasn't been successful, and was still presenting fish to the Sandwich Terns there when I saw it.

Elegant Tern

Whilst waiting for the tern to appear, I watched (and listened to!!) the Sandwich, Arctic and Common Terns flying backwards and forwards with food for their chicks. Also seen were: Black Guillemot (2 on the sea), Whimbrel (2), Red-breasted Merganser (1 on the sea), Oystercatcher, Grey Heron and Little Egret.

One of the Sandwich Terns was wearing a darvic ring, KJC (black lettering on yellow). It was ringed on the island of Inish, which is on Lady's Island Lake in County Wexford, Ireland (182km) presumably as a chick, on 21st June 2017. It was seen a couple of times in North Wales in August 2018, and then 6 times at Cemlyn this year. Amazingly, the darvic-ringed Sandwich Tern I had at St Mary's Island last week, KAL, (see here), had also been ringed on his island, just four days earlier (17th June 2017)! This bird seems to like the east coast of England, as it has been reported 8 times at Coquet Island in July and August 2019 and 2020, before my sighting on 22nd July 2021. It has also been reported in Namibia, in a place called Walvis Bay, on 16th October 2019. A well travelled bird!!

Year List update:

156 - Elegant Tern

157 - Black Guillemot

158 - Red-breasted Merganser

White-letter and Purple Hairstreaks!!

It was 22 degrees again today, so Jayne ad I had a walk around Linacre this afternoon. The top reservoir was closed off as the boardwalk is being repaired, so we just walked around the bottom and the middle reservoirs.

At first it was overcast, but then the sun came out, and we managed to record some insects, including the butterflies in the title! Both these species were seen at about 3pm on the pathway leading down from the toilet block to the bottom reservoir. There were at least two White-letter Hairstreaks - a lifer for me, and one Purple Hairstreak. 

White-letter Hairstreak

Purple Hairstreak

Other insects seen were: Meadow Brown (6), Gatekeeper (6), Comma (5), Speckled Wood (3), Ringlet (3), Large White (1), Green-veined White (1), Common Blue Butterfly (1), Brown Hawker (3), Common Blue Damselfly (20+, including several pairs in tandem, Blue-tailed Damselfly (2 males), Cinnabar Moth (caterpillar), Mayfly sp (1), Great Pied Hoverfly - Volucella pellucens (2) and Yellow and Black Longhorn Beetle (3). 

It was quite quiet birdwise, but the highlight was the first Tufted Duck ducklings of the year. There were three broods of 2, 2 and 7. 

Tufted Duck

There were also 15 Lesser Black-backed Gulls on the middle reservoir (13 adults, 1 juvenile - this year's bird, and 1 immature bird) and a juvenile Black-headed Gull.

The last sighting of note was a rodent - a Bank Vole I think, that was seen coming out of a hole under an oak tree by the main path - my first sighting here.

Bank Vole?

Hardwick Ponds - 24th July 2021

 Jayne and I had a walk around the ponds at Hardwick Hall yesterday. It was 20 degrees, with a lot of cloud cover and a few sunny spells.

Whilst there we saw 6 species of odanata, the highlight being my first record of Small Red-eyed Damselfly for this site. Other species seen were: Red-eyed Damselfly, Common Blue Damselfly, Emperor, Brown Hawker and Black-tailed Skimmer.

Red-eyed Damselfly

Small Red-eyed Damselfly

Butterfly species seen were: Meadow Brown, Ringlet, Gatekeeper and Large White. We also saw this caterpillar, which I think is a Large White. and a single Volucella pellucens (Great Pied Hoverfly).

Birdwise, it was pretty quiet, but there were Mallard and Tufted Duck ducklings as well as young Coots, Moorhens , Canada Geese and 2 adult Black-headed Gulls.

Black-headed Gull X25K

 I had my first visit to Rufford CP on Friday, to see if there were any returning Black-headed Gulls. There were 40 birds when I arrived, including a new bird for me, X25K.

Black-headed Gull X25K

This bird was ringed on a small island, called Riether Werder in the Neuwerper See on the German/Poland border, as an adult breeding bird, in May 2017. Since then it has been reported twice in Derbyshire! The first sighting was at Sinfin Moor in January 2020, and then in Staveley in December 2020.

BLACK_BROWED ALBATROSS!!!!!!!!!!!

 On Monday I drove up to RSPB Bempton Cliffs to see the long-staying Black-browed Albatross "Albert"!

I arrived on site at 5.50am, and saw the bird straight away, perched on the cliffs below Staple Newark, with the Gannets. It was well tucked in, but did keep stretching, and had a brief fly around, before disappearing into the heavy sea fret! A fantastic sighting, and a "lifer" to boot.

Afterwards, I drove further up the coast to Newbiggin-by-the-Sea, a regular spot for Mediterranean Gulls. I saw a minimum of  9 on the beach, along with Black-headed Gulls, a fishing Shag and Arctic and Sandwich Terns.

Mediterranean Gull

My final stop of the day was St Mary's Island, where another 20+ Sandwich Terns were roosting. In amongst them were 3 darviced birds, UBB, UVN and KAL. UBB was originally ringed on Coquet Island, on 5th May 2015. It was seen here again in 2018. My sighting is the first since then, and the first away from the island. UVN was also ringed in 2015, on Inner Farne. It has nested on Coquet Island since, but has also been reported in Namibia, in October 2018. I haven't heard back from KAL yet. 

UBB

UVN

KAL

A ringed Black-headed Gull, T73, was also at St Mary's. No details of where and when it was ringed yet, but a local birder said it was a returning German bird.

T73

Year List update:

151 - Black-browed Albatross

152 - Mediterranean Gull

153 - Shag

154 - Sandwich Tern

155 - Arctic Tern 

Butterfly and Dragonfly Update - July 2021

I've been out and about quite alot recently, and have managed to see some lovely butterflies. 

First up, is my annual trip to Lindrick Common. I went here on 1st July. The flowers weren't very far on, but I still managed to see Dark Green Fritillary, Marbled White and Silver-studded Blue.

Dark Green Fritillary

Marbled White

Silver-studded Blue

On 10th July, Jayne and I visited the Yorkshire Sculpture Park, where we had great views of Large Skipper and Black-tailed Skimmer. 

Last Saturday (17th) we travelled down to Cotgrave Forest in Nottinghamshire, where we had fantastic views of Purple Emperor butterflies. We also saw Small Skipper, Ringlets and a single Silver-washed Fritillary. 

Purple Emperor

Silver-washed Fritillary

On our last trip, to the Wellington Monument on 20th, we saw a male Golden-ringed Dragonfly, and a minimum of 4 Purple Hairstreaks!

Golden-ringed Dragonfly

Purple Hairstreak

Linacre Ringing - 18th July 2021

Last Sunday I was down at Linacre for a mist netting session with Sorby Breck Ringing Group. It was our first session since May, and we managed to catch  a good number of birds, including our first juvenile warblers of the year.

Totals were (new/retraps): Blue Tit 0/1, Goldcrest 1/0, Great Tit 7/0 - all juveniles, Willow Warbler 2/0 - both juveniles, Chiffchaff 2/0 - both juveniles, Blackcap 6/0 - 5 juveniles, Blackbird 2/1 - 2 juveniles and an adult female, first ringed in 2019, Dunnock 1/0 - 1 juvenile and Wren 1/0 - juvenile.

Willow Warbler (juvenile)

Other birds seen whilst there were a Swift (the last record of 2021?), a Jay and a Sparrowhawk. 

The temperature was 20 degrees whilst we were there, so there were lots of insects about, including 2 Gatekeepers, 1 Brown Hawker, 2 Small Skippers, 2 Meadow Browns, 20+ Ringlets, 2 Great Pied Hoverflies and, nest of all, a single Purple Hairstreak!!!

Shaded Broad-bar and Tawny Owl

 I popped down to Linacre this afternoon to fill the feeders for a ringing session. It was 24 degrees when I arrived at 3.45pm and very sunny. As I walked down to the feeders, I spotted my first Cinnabar moth caterpillars, along with two Shaded Broad-bar moths, Soldier beetles, Swollen-thighed beetles, a male Blue-tailed Damselfly, several Common Blue Damselflies and a single Black and Yellow Longhorn Beetle.

Shaded Broad-bar

When I got to the feeding station I  spotted something perched low on one of the trees. I couldn't quite tell what it was, as it was preening and had its face down. Luckily, it hadn't seen me, so, as it looked up, I managed to get this photo and saw that it was a juvenile Tawny Owl - lovely and a great breeding record!

Tawny Owl

Yorkshire Sculpture Park - 10th July 2021

 Jayne and I were at Yorkshire Sculpture Park today. After a misty start, the sun came out and we ended up with a few insect species. By far the most numerous butterfly seen was the Ringlet butterfly, with 20+ present, including one breeding pair. The other butterfly species species seen were Large Skipper and  Meadow Brown. Common Blue and Blue-tailed Damselflies were also seen as was a male Black-tailed Skimmer.

Common Blue Damselflies

Large Skipper

Black-tailed Skipper

As well as the insects, we also saw a Little Egret, a Kingfisher and a darvic-ringed Mute Swan (Y736). The swan was paired and appeared to have at least 4 cygnets. Unfortunately, I wasn't able to see see the legs of the other swan to see if it was ringed. I know that the bird was ringed by Sorby Breck ringing Group, and I'll update when I get details of where and when it was ringed.

Mute Swan Y736