Saturday 13 August 2011

Record Peregrines - updated

The Safari will be back later this arvo. Meanwhile have a butchers at this rather shakey vid of our record count of Peregrines on the tower. And if anyone knows the ID of the little micro...








Many thanks to DS for the ID on the moth earlier in the day...see comments below.


Immediately after lunch we set off for the North Blackpool Pond Trail Fun Day. After saying hello to all present we had a mooch around the pond there which is in the later stages of succession - some might say 'overgrown' but we don't believe that is a valid expression for an ecosystem. Frank went in the stinking mud...he always does.


A fallen log had a good population of Jew's Ear Fungus - is it still PC to call it that these days?



Several Speckled Woods were flitting about round the trees and we disturbed a Brown Hawker dragonfly. We followed it into a sunny glade where we hoped it might land and saw this Common Darter resting up instead. Very cautiously we crept as close as we dared...got this pic then tried for another few inches...'drat' as Dick Dastardly used to say!



As the event finished and we started packing up the local Swallows swooped low over the field after the insects that were being disturbed from the grass. They were joined briefly by a few House Martins and a single Swift, won't see many more of those this year.


At the very end this moth fluttered out of the grass by the track and landed on the van window. Which Crambid is it Dean? anyone else can have a stab if they so desire...




Chatting to fellow FARG member Alan he told us of a true bug we'd never heard of which is present in another pond not too far away from where we were and is listed as 'Local' on the British Bugs website - Aphelocheirus aestivalis aka the Saucer Bug - we'll have to investigate further...apparently it can give quite a sting from its predatory mouthparts.

A quick sin round Patch 1 with Frank and his football gave us just two Peregrines on the tower, a squealing Sparrowhawk somewhere near the nest site in the Park and another Swift overhead on the way back to Base Camp...won't see many more of those this year...famous last words!

Where to next?
Mothy will be on tonight...weather permitting of course.

In the meantime let us know what's got the predatory mouthparts in your outback

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

Good count of Peregrine`s there, Dave. I`d be happy with just one, at the moment.
And the micro looks like a (no longer) White-shouldered House-moth.

Warren Baker said...

3 Peregrines! Did your pair breed? Or is one an interloper :-)

Lancashire and Lakeland Outback Adventure Wildlife Safaris said...

Thanks Dean - thought it was that but then thought they were bigger than that - you know what thought did!!!
Saw you weren't feeling too chipper today...haang in there bud & take it easy.

Warren - they didn't breed on the tower but might have bred somewhere in town unseen - probably not a Bowland pair don't think there was much success and a lot of failures from over there this season - again!!!

Cheers

D

cliff said...

Nice shots of the fungi Dave, I note per my book an alternative common name is Judas' Ear, although I still more often than not see them referred to as Jew's Ear, so I wouldn't worry about it either way.

Nice one with the Common Darter, I've not seen a single one locally yet this year.