Did the dunes north of Sands Lake today, primarily for orchids and helleborines, but there were a few birds about...
This Mute Swan family at the Sands Lake are quite good value - the male barred the path and stopped tourists walking round, and by the time I had headed into the dunes had already chased two families and bitten a pensioner - that's entertainment!
The dunes held Stonechat (carrying food) - two males and a female, a few pairs of Meadow Pipits, Linnets, Reed Bunting, Skylark, Kestrel and Willow Warbler.
More Whitethroats on the inland side of the Coast Road, but pretty poor for dragonflies and damsels - just one Emperor and a few Common Blue Damselflies was all - but it was a bit cloudy.
Orchidwise, Pyramidal, Common Spotted, Early Marsh, Southern Marsh, Northern Marsh, Bee, Marsh Helleborine and, in the traditional site, 3 Pendulous Flowered Helleborine made it worth my while scouring the ground rather than the skies.
Small gull roost on Ainsdale beach, but kite flyers, boating and general summer stuff meant there was a fair bit of disturbance.
Right that's enough bugs and blooms - I knew the "summer lull" was here when I started photographing White Tailed Bumblebees in my back garden, but this is getting ridiculous - roll on Autumn.
Simon Glinn e-mailed in the week with the following ringing return from an Icelandic Black Tailed Godwit at Marshside - cheers Simon....
WO LO was ringed as a female in N Iceland. Top line is the day of ringing.
Details below.
15.06.02
Langhús, Fljót, N Iceland
N Ice
25.09.05
Medway Estuary, Kent, SE England
SE Eng
At circa 20.00 on 10 June 2006
in front of Nel's Hide, RSPB Marshside, Merseyside. Part of a group of 148
Blackwits feeding.
The bird had four 15mm rings, two on each leg, all above the knee. Left -
white upper, orange lower. Right - light green upper, orange lower.
Eyes to the skies everyone, eyes to the skies.....
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Now we know about the Black-tailed Godwit, when are you going to give us the low-down on your Sands Lake ringed swan? White on blue is the NW Swan Study Group I think so it wont have travelled too far - but how old is it?
Fair point Bob, the "white on blue" birds are ringed up at the boating lake at Rossall, but as for the number of the ring, er, I was too busy running away to get it...
I will return to get details, and hold you responsible for any injury which may befall me!
Regards,
John