Linacre Ringing and a new Moth!

 This morning I was down at Linacre, with 3 other members of Sorby Breck Ringing Group, for our first mist netting session since 2nd May 2026. Although it was quite quiet, with just 10 birds of 5 species, ringed, it was great to be back, and also resulted in the first juveniles of the year, 3 retraps of birds ringed previously and a new moth species for the site!

First up, the ringed birds (new/retrap): Blackcap 2/1 - the two new birds were this year's juveniles, whilst the retrap was a male bird ringed, at Linacre, as a juvenile, on 23rd August 2025, and presumably back, as a nesting bird this year (!) I wonder where it spent its first winter - Spain, Northern Africa?, Chiffchaff 2/0 - both new birds were juvenile birds, Blue Tit 1/2 - a new adult bird and two retraps, both ringed at Linacre, on 26th April and 13th July 2025 respectively, Wren 1/0 - a juvenile bird and Robin 1/0 - a 1 year old bird (age 5). Other birds seen/heard on site were Swift (5 overhead), Willow Warbler (1 singing), Garden Warbler (1 singing), Woodpigeon (dozens in the fields), Nuthatch (heard) and Lesser Black-backed Gull (heard).

Away from the birds, we also spotted a few insects: Common Blue Damselfly (1 male), Latticed Heath (1), Red Admiral (1), Cinnabar Moth (1), Painted Lady (1), Ringlet (1), Meadow Brown (1), Small White (1) and, best of all, a new moth species; Clouded Border! Details of this moth can be found on Butterfly Conservation's website  here and its status in Derbyshire here.

Clouded Border

Fledgling Blackcap

 It isn't often that I do a post for one species, but last night, whilst out  looking for a Lesser Emperor dragonfly at Pebley Pond (no luck!!), Jayne and I came upon this fledgling Blackcap.

Blackcap

I say we found it, rather it found us! It appeared out of the bushes, as we were walking along, and perched 1m away, looking rather confused. We were, obviously, the first humans it had ever seen, and it just didn't know what to. It was only the calling adult, that eventually had it hopping back into the undergrowth. Good luck little one.

Whilst there, we also saw a single Emperor dragonfly, 1 Blue-tailed Damselfly, 10s of Common Blue Damselflies, c4 Ringlet butterflies, 10 Meadow Browns and c4 Large Skippers.

Linacre Lifer!

 I didn't really think that this weekend could get any better, after yesterday's lifer. But, this afternoon, after having spent time celebrating Father's Day, I went down to Linacre for just over an hour (3pm - 4.15pm) and discovered a new species of dragonfly for the site!

The dragonfly in question was a male Black-tailed Skimmer. It isn't an uncommon species, being widespread across Derbyshire, but, as I mentioned, this was my first record for the site. The individual was a "mature" male, as seen by the yellow markings down its thorax, and was found, basking in the 24 degree heat, on the stones of the bottom reservoir. Now I just need to find a female and prove breeding!!

Black-tailed Skimmer

Other insects seen were: Common Blue Damselfly (20+, including pairs in tandem), Blue-tailed Damselfly (1 male), 1 Comma, 1 Red Admiral, Meadow Browns (10+), Ringlets (2), 1 Great Pied Hoverfly, a Eupeodus sp Hoverfly (identified as E. corrallae by ObsIdentify), 1 Silver Y moth and several species of bumblebee (Red-tailed, Common Carder and White/Buff-tailed).

I only checked the birds on the bottom reservoir, and recorded: Mallard (1 female with 7 new ducklings, plus several moulting adults), Mandarin Duck (3 birds, all moulting), Moorhen (2 adults), Tufted Duck (9 males and 1 female - no ducklings), Great-crested Grebe (2 adults) and 1 Stock Dove (drinking from the reservoir). A single Garden Warbler was heard singing (and identified via Merlin app) in the ringing site.

Linacre 5th July 2025- A new Hoverfly!

 I had 2 hours down at Linacre yesterday morning. It was 18 degrees and overcast, but a few sunny spells enticed some butterflies out. I also had a new species of hoverfly and a bird species not recorded here since 2018!

The butterflies seen were: Ringlet (2), Meadow Brown (3), Gatekeeper (3, my first Linacre record of 2025), Comma (1) and, best of all, a single, pristine Painted Lady (my first of the year). 2 Common Blue Damselflies were also seen.

Painted Lady

The new hoverfly was a very distinctive one, called Chrysotoxum bicinctum. See here for details. There were at least 2 on the vegetation by the overflow of the top reservoir. This is the second species of Chrysotoxum hoverfly I've seen at Linacre, the first being Chrysotoxum festivum, seen back in August 2016.

Chrysotoxum bicinctum

Chrysotoxum festivum

Birds seen were: Mallard (58), Tufted Duck (13), Mandarin (21; 20 adults and 1 duckling), Coot (18; 5 adults and 13 juveniles), Moorhen (0!!), Grey Heron (1), Grey Wagtail (3; 2 juveniles), Great-crested Grebe (12; 6 adults and 6 juveniles), Herring Gull (1 adult) and Lesser Black-backed Gull (3; 2 adults and a sub adult). 1 of the Lesser Black-backs was actively hunting the Mandarin duckling. 3 Chiffchaffs and 1 Blackcap were heard singing.

The most exciting species of bird was Crossbill, which, as I said, were the first record since 2018. Initially 3 birds were heard, and then seen briefly, landing in the Larch trees by the top reservoir. A further 8 (or most likely the some birds, plus 5 more) were seen flying over the ringing site. A great record, and hopefully the first of an "irruption year".

Large Blue - Lifer!

 At the weekend, Jayne and I were down in Bristol, so, on the way back, we decided to pop into the Gloucestershire Wildlife Trust's Daneway Banks nature reserve, to see some butterflies.

We arrived at about 11am, to  a mixture of clouds and sunshine. Our first species were Ringlet and Meadow Brown that were both present in good numbers. We carried on, adding Marbled White and Large Skipper 6-spot Burnet moth, Small Heath and Small Blue to the list. 

Our target species, Large Blue, was however, a little harder to find! Eventually, after about an hour on site, Jayne spotted a "blue" butterfly, which I managed to get onto as well. I grabbed a few photos, and was able to confirm a female Large Blue!! Unfortunately, in my rush to get a photo, I didn't pay attention to the settings, and the few shots I got weren't very well focused! 

Large Blue

Linacre Butterflies - 14th September 2024

 At this time of the year, whenever the sun comes out, I like to get down to Linacre to see if there are any insects about, just in case it's the last sightings I get this year! Yesterday was such a time, with lots of sun and temperatures of 20 degrees. I wasn't disappointed, with 8 species of butterfly seen, along with two dragonflies, a few bees, craneflies, hoverflies and a wasps' nest!

The butterfly species were: Red Admiral (5), Comma (2), Peacock (2), Speckled Wood (7), Large White (2), Green-veined White (3, including a pair attempting to mate) and, best of all, a Small Copper (my first record of the year!).

Small Copper

Small Copper (and friend)

Other species seen were: Migrant Hawker (2), Brown Hawker (1), Red-tailed and Common Carder Bumblebees, Eristalis hoverflies and 1 Marmalade Hoverfly. 

Whilst walking along the bank below the top reservoir, I came across a hole, approximately 1/2m deep, with several hundred wasps flying around it! I peeped in, very carefully (!) and could see the remains of a wasps' nest. I couldn't get a great photo, so I'm not sure if they were Common or German Wasps, but, whatever species, it was great to see. Presumably, the nest had been discovered and dug out by a Badger, or a Honey Buzzard (only joking!!).

Wasps' nest

Linacre - 31st August 2024

 Based on the year so far, this afternoon's walk around Linacre, was by far the best one for insects this summer. In total, I saw 7 different species of butterfly, along with 3 dragonfly species, 4 hoverfly species and a few other insects. In addition, I go my first Linacre Hobby since 2013!!

The butterflies seen were: Peacock (9), Red Admiral (5), Speckled Wood (5), Large White (1), Small White (4), Comma (2) and Meadow Brown (2).

The dragonfly species were: Migrant Hawker (2), Brown Hawker (2) and Common Darter (1).

Migrant Hawker

 

The hoverfly species were: Eristalis sp, Helophilus pendulus (1), Volucella pellucens a.k.a Great Pied Hoverfly and (1)Volucella inanis (1). Other insects seen included a Scorpion Fly, a 7-spot Ladybird and a Large Yellow Underwing. 

Volucella inanis

Birdwise, it was quite quiet, but the obvious highlight was a Hobby that was chasing a couple of Swallows! My last Linacre record of this species was way back in September 2013!! Other birds seen were: Canada Goose (20 on the top reservoir), Great-crested Grebe (4; 2 adults and 2 juveniles), Little Grebe (1), Swallow ( 4 in total), wheeting Chiffchaffs, Grey Heron (1), Tufted Duck,  Mallard and Mandarin Duck.

Linacre - 30th June 2024

 It hasn't been a great summer for butterflies so far, but a walk around Linacre this morning got me two new species for the year, along with a new moth and a record count of Common Sandpipers.

The two new butterflies were: Meadow Brown and Ringlet, with 2 of each species seen, on the dam banks and the ringing site respectively.

Meadow Brown

Ringlet

Two moth species were identified: Latticed Heath (2nd record of the year) and a Shaded Broad-bar (1st record of the year).

Shaded Broad-bar

Birdwise, it was a decent morning too, with some very good post breeding counts, a new (for the year) breeding record and, as already mentioned, a new high record of Common Sandpipers. Birds seen were: Mallard (114 adults and 4 broods of 1, 3, 5 and 1;124 birds in total), Mandarin Duck (62 adults and 3 broods of 5,1 and 1; 69 birds in total), Tufted Duck (26 adults), Grey Wagtail ( 7 birds; 2 adults and 5 juveniles), Grey Heron (1),  Moorhen (3 adults - no young!), Coot (1 adult and 3 juveniles), Common Sandpiper (3 flew from the wall on the middle reservoir - my first ever record of more than 1 bird - possible breeding?), Lesser Black-backed Gull (1), Kingfisher (1), Swift ( a nice record of 7 birds over the middle reservoir), Swallow (1 bird!), Common Buzzard (1), Skylark (1 singing), Chiffchaff ( 5 singing), Blackcap (6 singing), Garden Warbler (1 singing),  Great-crested Grebe ( 12 birds; 6 adults and 2 broods of 2 and 4) and Little Grebe (1 juvenile on the middle reservoir - first young of the year).

Little Grebe

Lindrick Dale- 29th June 2024

 This afternoon, I had a drive across to Lindrick Dale, near Worksop, to try my luck with the butterflies. It was 20 degrees, and pretty overcast when I arrived, but I got lucky and saw 5 new species for the year. 

The first species, and the most common (c.20), was the Marbled White. Also present were: Ringlet (c.10), Meadow Brown (c15), Large Skipper (1) and Dark Green Fritillary (c.5). Unfortunately, no Silver-studded Blues were seen (too early, too overcast?)

Marbled White

Ringlet

Dark Green Fritillary

Large Skipper

Linacre - 31st August 2023

 It was the last day of meteorological summer yesterday, and I had 3 hours down at Linacre. There were several species of butterfly and dragonfly around, a new record count of Lesser Black-backed Gulls and amazing views of a Common Lizard.

Butterflies seen were: Speckled Wood (7), Large White (1), Green-veined White (2), Red Admiral (1), and Small Copper (1). There were dozens of hoverflies, including a sing Myathropa florea ("Batman" hoverfly), Eristalis sp and Syrphus sp. Other insects seen were: Bronze Shieldbug (1, my first Linacre record), 3 Hornets (my highest ever count), a single male Common Blue Damselfly, Migrant Hawker (5; including a pair in tandem) and Brown Hawker (2).

Bronze Shieldbug

Holly Blue

Birdwise, it was quite quiet, but I did hear a single Chiffchaff and Willow Warbler (both singing), two Ravens, over the top reservoir, two Buzzards, again over the top reservoir, Moorhens, Coots, Mallards, Tufted Ducks, Mandarin Ducks, a juvenile Robin and Dunnock and, as previously mentioned, a record count of Lesser Black-backed Gulls (36, made up of 31 adults and 5 juveniles.)

Robin (juvenile)

The final sighting of the visit was a super Common Lizard that was basking on the wall by the boardwalk around the top reservoir. This is a species that is recorded annually at Linacre, and is my second record of 2023. The views that this individual, however, are my best ever! One of the defence mechanisms of this species, is to drop its tail if a predator attacks. As you can see from the picture, this individual has regrown its tail after such an encounter.

Common Lizard

Linacre Insects - 22nd July 2023

 It stopped raining for an hour this afternoon (!), so I popped down to Linacre to see what was about. I only walked around the bottom reservoir, before the rain started again, but I did manage to spot a few insects and birds.

Insects seen were: Meadow Brown (3), Green-veined White (1), Marmalade Hoverfly, Volucella pellucens (3), Cinnabar Moth caterpillars,  Silver Y moth (2), Soldier Beetles , White-tailed, Common Carder and Red-tailed Bumblebees, and Common Blue Damselfly (1m).

Silver Y Moth

Cinnabar Moth caterpillar

Birds seen were: House Martin (c20 - 30 feeding over the middle reservoir), Swift (2), Grey Wagtail (1 juvenile), Cormorant (1), Mandarin Duck (8; 1 female with 7 good-sized ducklings) and Little Grebe (2; 1 adult and 1 juvenile, on the middle reservoir).

Little Grebe (chick)

Linacre 8th July 2023 - a new species!!

I had news yesterday that the first Silver-washed Fritillaries and White-letter Hairstreaks of the year had been reported at Linacre (thanks  Pete). I set out this morning (6.15am - 9.15am) to see if I could spot either species. Unfortunately, the weather wasn't quite as good today (20 degrees, instead of 26 degrees yesterday), and the cloud cover was much higher, so I "dipped" on both species.

Luckily for me, however, I did manage to spot a new species of butterfly for Linacre - a female Dark Green Fritillary!! This species does seem to be on the increase in Derbyshire, and today's individual was spotted feeding on thistles in the hay meadow by the top reservoir.

Dark Green Fritillary

Whilst there, I also spent some time in the field just beyond the top reservoir, where I spotted: Meadow Brown (c.10), Ringlet (c.5), Red Admiral (1), Large White (1), Small Skipper (3), Large Skipper (1), 2 Volucella pellucens (hoverfly) and a couple of 7-spot Ladybirds. 

Small Skipper

Large Skipper (patterned wings and hooked antennae)

Back on the top reservoir, the sun had come out again, and the number of damselflies had increased. Only two species were seen: Common Blue and Blue-tailed (first Linacre record of 2023), but both species were seen "in tandem", proving breeding. A Common Lizard was also seen by the top reservoir, but it was disturbed by 3 joggers (!!) before I could get a photo.

Blue-tailed Damselflies

Common Blue Damselfly

Hoverfly numbers were better today, with Volucella pellucens (2), a Sphaerophoria sp, Marmalade Hoverflies, and a Syrphus sp seen.

Last, and by no means least (!), were the birds. Waterbirds were: Mallard (147), Moorhen (19), Coot (24), Mandarin Duck (43), Tufted Duck (26), Grey Heron (1), Cormorant (1), Great-crested Grebe (13; 6 adults and 7 juveniles), Grey Wagtail (2; 1 adult and 1 juvenile), Lesser Black-backed Gull (1), Black-headed Gull (1 heard - an unusual July record), Little Grebe (1 adult heard), Buzzard (1), Chiffchaff (4 singing), Blackcap (3 birds seen and 3 heard),  Swallow (3), House Martin (3) and Swift (1 - my first Linacre record of 2023!!!).

Lindrick Dale - 2nd July 2023

 On Sunday, I went across to Lindrick Dale to see if there were any butterflies. It was 18 degrees, overcast and quite windy, but I did still mange to see a few of the regulars.

The first butterflies seen were Marbled Whites, with c.20 in total. Dark Green Fritillaries were also about, but only 4 were flying. Other species seen were: Small Heath (1), Ringlets (4), 6-spot Burnet (1) and Meadow Browns (c.10). Unfortunately, no Silver-studded Blues were seen.

Marbled White

Dark Green Fritillary

Two species of orchid were also seen: Pyramidal and Common Spotted.

Return to Whixall Moss

Today I made a return trip to Whixall Moss to try and catch up with the two species I missed on my last visit, at the start of the month: Large Heath and Raft Spider (Dolomedes fimbriatus). This time, I joined a guided walk, with a couple of experts - good move!!!

Within a few minutes of being back on the moss we had spotted a Raft Spider on the water. This first sider was a male, and just 10ft away was a female carrying an egg sac. Fantastic!!

Raft Spider

Raft Spider (female with egg sac)

The second species, Large Heath, was spotted about 15 minutes later. In total, we saw about 5, most of which didn't hang around to be photographed. Thankfully, a couple did, and I managed to get a few decent shots.

Large Heath (lifer!!)

Other sightings included: Willow Warbler, Chiffchaff, Blackcap, Garden Warbler (all singing), Large Skipper, Ringlet, Brimstone, Meadow Brown, Common Heath, Azure Damselfly, Emerald Damselfly, Emperor Dragonfly, Common Hawker, Four-spotted Chaser and, of course, White-faced Darter.

White-faced Darter (mating pair)

Our guide also pointed out some of the special plants that can be seen on site, including Bog Asphodel, Lesser Bladderwort, Cranberry, Sundew and Royal Fen.

Silver-washed Fritillaries at Linacre!

 Last year, I saw a photograph of a Silver-washed Fritillary that had been taken "near Linacre". Unfortunately, I wasn't able to get any more details, so the record didn't go any further. Earlier this week (13th) I received a video of this species from one of the regular volunteers, taken on a field just beyond the boundary of the site. This morning, Jayne and I popped up to see if we could find the butterflies, and we did, with two males being seen.

Silver-washed Fritillary

The area where the Fritillaries were seen also had 10+ Meadow Browns, 3 Commas and  1 Gatekeeper.

Gatekeeper

After looking at these butterflies, we walked around the top and middle reservoirs, where we found 4 Tufted Duck ducklings and 2 juvenile Little Grebes (middle reservoir), along with 29 Lesser Black-backed Gulls (site record) and 2 Herring Gulls. Other insects seen include Blue-tailed and Common Blue Damselflies and 3 Brown Hawker dragonflies (first of the year).We then walked down to the bottom reservoir to look for Purple and White-letter Hairstreaks. Although it was very warm (23 degrees), the area where we were looking wasn't quite in the sun enough, and we only managed to spot one White-letter high up in the trees.

Lindrick Dale - 2nd July 2022

On Saturday, Jayne and I had our annual trip to Lindrick Dale, near Worksop. It was about 20 degrees, with quite a lot of  cloud cover and also quite windy, but, we still managed to spot the butterflies we'd gone to see, and two species for us there as well!!

First up, the "usual suspects", namely Dark Green Fritillary (c.10), Marbled White (c.5), Silver-studded Blue (just 2, one male and one female), Meadow Brown (c.5), Ringlet (3) and Gatekeeper (1).

Dark Green Fritillary

The two new species were a single 6-spot Burnet, and, most surprising, a pair of mating Silver-washed Fritillaries!!

Silver-washed Fritillaries

In addition to the butterflies, Jayne also noticed this gall on a rose plant, that turns out to be a Robin's Pincushion, also known as a bedeguar gall. This is created by the gall wasp, Diplolepis rosae, that lays an egg in the rose's bud in spring. The larvae then develop inside the gall, before emerging as adults, next spring to begin the cycle again.

Robin's Pincushion

Linacre Insects - 3rd June 2022

 The sun came out on Friday afternoon, so I popped down to Linacre in the hope of seeing some insects.

The first ones I saw were Common Blue, Azure and Blue-tailed Damselflies. 

Common Blue Damselfly

Butterflies seen were: Small Copper (1), Meadow Brown (1), Common Blue (1), Comma (1), Green-veined White (1), Holly Blue (1), Large White (3) and Brimstone (1 male). 1 Nemophora degeerella was also seen.

Hoverflies were far and few between, but one Helophilus pendulus and 1 Volucella bombylans were seen.

Helophilus pendulus (and friend!)

Birds seen were: Mallard (83; 52 adults and 31 ducklings), Moorhen (18; 5 adults and 13 young), Coot (20; 6 adults and 9 young), Tufted Duck (17 adults), Mandarin Duck (29; 13 adults and16 ducklings), Grey Wagtail (3), Great-crested Grebe (7; 4 adults and 3 juveniles), Little Grebe (1 adult), Herring Gull (1 adult) and Lesser Black-backed Gull (9; 6 adults and 3 younger birds (not this year's juveniles). 

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?