The dreaded slurp of suction

The safari was very kindly taken up to our favourite reserve in south Cumbria where we teamed up with IH again. After a quick look at the Ospreys on the nest, word on the street was that the youngster was on the cusp of leaving to go on its adventure across the big wide world, we started to head for the trail across the moos butc were sidetracked by the sight of a lone Red Deer in the field along the valley. four excessively loud fighter jets out on a high speed jolly made her look up from her grazing.

She soon went back to grazing and then ambled up the  hill a little ways where, despite the distance, heard and was more alarmed by  our camera shutters' clicking than she was by the horrendously loud planes.

Down at the gate to the moss a couple of National Park Rangers were replacing the gate, digging holes for the gate posts - this disturbance didn't bode well for seeing any snakes nearby. Once through the gate we saw that they'd already resurfaced the boggy footpath, removed the rotting boardwalk and replaced the old bridge over the stream. On a pile of ex-boardwalk timbers we found our first Common Lizard of the day, maybe there would be some snakes out after all.

And there was, the usual female Adder was basking on her usual mossy rock near the bridge but today was a camera-shy and slunk into one of her boltholes before we could lift our cameras. 

Across the bridge was a very welcome sight, the very narrow crumbling boardwalk had been replaced by a much wider and more solid indestructable recycled plastic one winding its way through the woods over the boggy ground - why didn't we take a pic??? The woods, as expected at this time of year were quite with just the odd 'hweet' of Willow Warblers and/or Chiffchaffs. Some insects to have a look at wouldn't have gone amiss but there just weren't any. Rounding a bend on the board walk we saw that it came to an abrupt end right before the wettest part off the footpath - nightmare - - we were later to find out from the Rangers that they'd run out of money to go any further - double nightmare. What followed can only be described as a comedy of errors by three grown men acting like schoolboys on a summer holiday adventure. Any thoughts of looking for/watching wildlife were gone when we heard that ominous squelching sound that signals a wellington boot becoming firmly stuck in the mud and you're about walk out of it putting your now unprotected foot into deeper cold slimy goo. The next thirty yards or so to slightly drier ground took not an inconsiderable amount of time and plenty of teetering on the brink of extinction but we got there without losing a welly and only a (fortunately) minor wet boots/dirty knees incident...it could all have been a lot lot worse!

Back on terra-firma we started looking for Adders in the undergrowth again to no avail but the older large wooden boardwalk randomly positioned in the middle of nowhere soon ran out and we were back on (or should that be in) the bog. The log piles didn't give us any Longhorn Beetles or basking Common Lizards but the very wet ground was full of the marvelous little predatory Round Leaved Sundew plants with their sticky blobs of glue ready to trap any unsuspecting insect - they might be going hungry this summer! We'd love to show you a nice close up pic but we didn't even contemplate getting down on all fours on that sodden ground for you. 

An Osprey passed by and a Tree Pipit with a beakful of food for its nestlings was perched on the wires that cross the moss. But where were all the dragonflies along the ditch and over the pools? We only saw a couple of distant either 4-Spotted Chasers or Broad bodied Chasers and a very brief view of what was probably a Black Darter. The path across the moss wasn't as bad as we'd just endured through the woods but we did need to carefully watch where we put our feet in places, one wrong move here and you'd disappear into the peat not to be seen again until some future archaelogist finds you with their trowel. At the bridge we saw no Banded Demoiselles in the stream, not even and more 'normal' damselflies. beyond the bridge the vegetation was shall we say dense. The first obstacle only  five yards on was a leaning tree to limbo dance under, followed by a stretch of tall reeds and Bracken where a machete would have been useful, at least it was drier underfoot. The path opens out onto a higher drier area overlooking a large swathe of Bilberries with woods on the far side. It's always worth scanning the edge of this woodland for Red Deer and today was no exception, with a good sized herd of hinds with a few young bucks with their new velvet covered antlers and some young fawns too.

 

Carrying on to the stream there was little to peek our interest until we heard a Reed Bunting singing but couldn't see it through all the leaves. The boardwalk along the stream was like an assualt course with several storm blown trees and bushes to negotiate a way round, under or through without stepping off the boardwalk and into the mire. At the path junction we hit new territory following another recently replaced section of boardwalk - we've never dared go that way before but with a new path the chance of falling through or off was minimised. We followed it to its conclusion at Rusland Beck where the path rose to higher ground. not a lot was seen but it was an adventure to visit an unknown area. Retracing our steps we hit the rickety old boardwalk for the circular route back to the bridge not knowing if it was going to collapse under our weight at any moment, there's some very dodgy planks down that way. Again not a lot about, not even many Horse Flies - after the previous day's rain we were expecting to be eaten alive by the pesky horrors so we're not sure if not seeing many of them was a good thing or a bad thing. The best thing about them is their scientific name which translates as Blood Drinker of the Rains, very appropriate! Another brief glimpse of a Black Darter and a small handful of Green Veined White butterflies completed the invertebrate list while the bird list got stuck on one Buzzard and cronking Ravens. After more limbo dancing under fallen trees and successfully negaotiating all the muddy shenanigans we made it back  to the bridge, across the mosswhere hawkeyed IH spotted a cold Large Skipper huddled in the grass, not that often you see the underside of their wings.

Even the stretch through the very boggy woods was completed with (almost) consumate ease - maybe because we were already wet and dirty. Better still the Adder was out and although facing away gave some photo opportunities.

Time for lunch so up to the  viewing terrace we went passing a huge Black Slug on the way. before you shout "that's not black you dipstick" it's the fairly common orange form.

At the viewing area the big Buddleia bushes were almost devoid of life apart from our first Small Tortoiseshell butterfly of the year, yes you read that right - our first of the year for this (should be) very common species! A Red Admiral was also about and a handful of bumble bees and hoverflies, it should have been buzzing with life, the cold wet spring has really had a bad effect on the insects.

CR's pie crumbs enticed a Bank Vole out from the dry stone wall but it was too quick for the camera, good to see though. 

After demolishing an mountain of butties we went to put our bags back in the car and saw the tail end of the tail of a Grass Snake disappear over the wall on the way to the car park. 

The 'Hill of Doom' should probably be tackled on arrival not straight after a hefty lunch but once at the vrest you're rewarded with a nice easy downhill walk all the way to the tarn at by the reserve entrance so can take your time. A brown butterfly flitting past was initially called out as a Meadow Brown but when it settled as closer look revealed it to be a Ringlet.

We got good views of another one a little further down the lane.

As well as a couple or three 'proper' Meadow Browns too. Down at the tarn which was looking lovely there were NO dragonflies on the wing whcih was a disappointing surprise.

It took a few minutes to find any damselflies too. A few Emerald Damselfies were discovered in the surrounding vegetation. However IH did find a juvenile Pied Flycatcher and there was a family party of Goldcrests, a Chiffchaff and a Garden Warbler which we need for our Challenge but couldn't get the  camera on as it flitted through the densest part of a Silver Birch tree's foliage.

As were a few Azure Damselflies.

It was a warm humid day with some sunshine so the tarn really should have been hooching with dragons and damsels instead we struggled to find many at all. Ther ewas some insect life about, flitting around the bankside were a pale micro moth we think is Celypha lacunana but could well be wrong

and the very pretty Brown China Mark.

In the water we could see a lot of Backswimming Waterboatman clinging to the underside of the surface tension and a few small water beetles darting about but for the most part the water suface was covered with White Water Lilies and Potomogeton sp leaves making open water to view into a scarce commodity. We did catch sight of an Emerald Damselfly over the water and when it settled on a bit of reed poking out of the water we fired a few shots off, when we downloaded the photos back at Base Camp we realised we'd focused on its reflection rather than the insect itself...a 'should have gone to Specsavers' error making for an 'arty' shot!

With time passing we made our way back up the lane and now there were some more butterflies on the wing with several Green Veined Whites seen

More Ringlets including this one that showed its underside over head height in some overhanging Bracken growing up a steep bank making reaching for a pic tricky, it was partially obscured when being blown about by the breeze too - well that's our excuse for the blurry pic.

More Meadow Browns were on the wing and CR found our first Gatekeeper of the year. A female Scorpion Fly was another good find by CR.

At the warden's cottage a Grass Snake, probably the same one who's tail we'd seen earlier, slithered along the bottom of the garden wall but most of it had vanished before we managed to lift the camera. We had another look for the Adder too but it wasn't for showing itself this time

In the Adder 'zone' we had a Common Lizard taking advantage of the warmth absorbed by the plastic wood.

and a Ground Beetle Carabus arvensis doing the same.

After another brief view of the whole of the Grass Snake, and its a whopper must be well over three feet long, on the mossy wall which again we failed to get a pic of and then we had a bit of a wait for it to reappear, its head did out of a small hole in the wall after a few minutes but nothing more than that, IH decided to up sticks and head off to another site on the hunt for the rare Dark Red Helleborine orchids leaving us and CR to have a last look for the Adder and along the new dry bit of boardwalk before hitting the road. No Adder again but we did get several Common Lizards basking on the dragged out remains of the old boardwalk.

And that ended an odd day out on safari, a disappointing and worrying lack of insects but any day with double snakes has got to be a good day!

Where to next? We might take you back in time a week and blog up a safari we haven't told you about yet

In the meantime let us know if you're having insect woes in your outback too.

We'll glossy over that one!

The Safari met up with JG at the private reserve in south Cumbria last week and had a great day which started somewhat umpromisingly with some heavy drizzle. We set off along the trail passing the 'Adder' wall' but no Adders today , the rain keeping them well down in their burrows, a nice male Redstart which did a little bit of singing described by J as 'like a wonky Chaffinch' and when it sang again we could hear why she would think that...great description!

The ditch was disappointingly devoid of any insects, or anything else for that matter and apart from a family of Tree Pipits the moss area was quiet too.

At the bridge there were no Beautiful Demoiselles to be seen and the trail became 'interesting' to say the least

If we weren't on the raised boardwalk that vegetation would look even taller! We completed the curcuit of the second moss area again seeing not a lot but at least the rain had stopped and it was trying to brighten up.

Back at 'Adder wall' there were still no Adders but on a dead stump a little further back J spotted athis pair of 4-Banded Longhorn Beetles.

A sleepy Comma was nearby showing its underwing and how it came by its name.

We'd also managed to get a half decent pic of some Sundew which we failed to do on our previous visit, better still it's in flower now.

By now it was getting towards lunchtime so we headed back to the butties and took up position on the visitor centre's patio overlooking the reserve and in particular the Osprey's nest. We'd only just gone through the gate when we noticed a stick in the middle of the path that wasn't there earlier...and then it moved - "Stop" we shouted to J, it was our first Grass Snake of the day but had seen us coming and was speeding towards cover

During our lunch break we enjoyed a small herd of four Red Deer grazing the woodland edge below us and watched the antics of the Ospreys, they have a chick and it looked like a male was bringing in a fish - how we missed a getting a pic of him carrying his 'torpedo' we don't know but we did. But it seems like this male was from a different nest as it was seen off by the resident birds and disappeared into the woods on the far side of the valley.

Ravens cronked and a Sparrowhawk soared but Buzzards were notably absent and that meant there was no sign of the local Honey Buzzards either.

The weather was brightening up nicely now so we had another look for the Adders - again without success but we did find a Grass Snake very much hidden from view in the long grass beyond the wall that gave just about the worst views of Grass Snake, or even any snake anywhere in the world, we've ever had so with the sun coming out we decided to go and have a look at the pond. it maybe wasn't quite as lively as we'd hoped but there was plenty to keep us occupied like these Black-and-Yellow Longhorn Beetles.

Most of the blue damselflies we could see closely enough to identify turned out to be Azure Damselflies and there were still a good number of Large Red Damselflies on the wing. Last time out the Common Darters hadn't emerged but today there were several patrolling the pond and basking around its edges when the sun broke through.

A Golden Ringed Dragonfly kept doing circuits of the wooded island in the middle of the pond and eventually sat up on a reed

There were also at least a couple of Black Darters over the water (and we'd seen one earlier on the moss) and we saw another dragonfly briefly that we're fairly certain was a Downy Emerald but it disappeared round the back of the island and we never saw it again.

Having spent an hour at the pond we headed back towards the visitor centre for yet another look for the Adders. We passed a basking Small Tortoiseshell but there were no Grass Snakes out on this stretch of wall

It flew off and went over the gate beating us to the Adder zone where it sat up on a leaf for another bask, shame the Adders didn't feel like basking out in the open too!

We took another wander across the moss where by now there were Common Lizards aplenty getting their share of the sunshine and soaking up warmth absorbed by the dark timbers of the boardwalk.

Another visiting naturalist told us he'd seen several Adders earlier - that would have been while we were having lunch probably) but by now there were very warm and very active so much less likely to be spotted.

With time no longer on our side we headed back towards the visitor centre when J called out "snake", she'd disturbed on the wall by the warden's house. It had disappeared into a gap in the stonework so we sat on the low garden wall opposite and waited. Sure enough after a few minutes a little face appeared.

We were able to cautiously move round to get a bit better light on it from a better angle and a little bit closer too.

And that ended our visit - or so we thought. As J rounded the corner to the car park she called "snake" again! Another Grass Snake. It saw us and tried to sneak off and that was when we realised it was going nowhere and stretching itself out so much and was actually stuck fast in the crack in the path.

Without further ado we gently teased it to the right where the crack was a little wider and after a couple of minutes it was free and shot off to the left and the dark corner it was trying to reach when we rudely sprang out upon it. We suppose we could have lifted it up once it was free and got the 'selfie' but with all the struggling and hissing it had been doing it was obviously very stressed and probably would have played and  'stunk' us and that's not what we wanted two minutes before getting in the car so we left it find somewhere dark and quiet to chill out.

Yet another great day at this great reserve, can't wait to get back there.

A warm evening found us walking on the beach with Wifey and Monty when we spotted several jellyfish. Looking around we came across a couple of Blue Jellyfish, a species we've not seen before despite many years of regular beachcombing all along this coast. It can give a sting like a bag full of  Nettles but you can't deny it's a beautiful thing.

There were several Lion's Mane Jellyfish too, now they will make you go OWWW if they sting you, apparently it can be very painful and they are best given a wide berth on the beach as the tentacles can be long and invisible on the sand.

Later in the week we were told of a small mammal trapping survey organised by the Royal Society of Biology, well we just had to book place.

We arrived and had a little walk around the site with Monty before meeting DW who took us to the first tranch of traps down by the saltmarsh which had caught several Wood Mice.

It's not a tick but something from the food or bedding placed in the trap

The second tranch had been placed in a more wooded area and here Bank Voles were order of the day. We evn got the opportunity to wrangle on from the trap, first time we'd done that since we were small mammal trapping in Israel in 1978, thankfully we didn't embarrass ourself. And the third tranch was again close to the saltmarsh and here a Common Shrew was captured. unfortunately it was getting rather hot and Monty was beginning to get uncomfortable so we had to leave the group to it with about 50 more traps to inspect.

With the recent good weather the moth trap has been out at Base Camp on a regular, almost nightly, basis but catches have been worryingly poor, mostly small numbers of Heart & Darts and Dark Arches with little else and hardly a micromoth seen apart from a few Chrysoteuchia culmellas.

Excitement hit unpercedented levels when we found this Pebble Hooktip in the trap - a species we've not recorded at Base Camp before.

The same trap held a corking Poplar Hawkmoth too - always a joy to see these gentle giants.

More excitement followed the next morning when we saw a small micro sat on the top of the egg boxes. Carefully we potted it up to discover after some searching through the field guide it was a Eucosoma campoliliana, another new species for Base Camp.

And the excitement didn't stop with the moths! While watching our bee hotel we saw a small skinny wasp that appeared to watching when the bees were coming and going and sure enough when it had seen a bee go in to a tube backwards to lay its egg and then leave it would sneak in to lay its own egg! This watching behaviour gaver us the chance to get a few decent pics and identify it as a Five-Spotted Club-Horned Wasp - no we'd never heard of it either but it transpired that according to the NBN Atlas this is the most northerly confirmed record in the country, beating the previous by a couple of miles!!! No doubt someone from a few miles up the road is going to say ah yes we get them in the garden all the time but hey-ho it's quite an accolade until such a thing happens!

A more or less empty moth trap the other morning had this rather beautiful but somewhat unwelcome visitor, a Candy Striped Spider. Needless to say it was evicted!

A family visit to the Southside at the weekend took us past Marshside RSPB reserve where a Glossy Ibis had been in residence for a couple of weeks or so. We had just five minutes to 'tick n run' and luckily it was out in the open and not too far away. It had its beak out but as soon as we put the camera to the screen window it tucked it away and promptly went to sleep. the chap next to us said "well that's that for an hour or so" so we had to make do with pic of it snoozing for our Photo Year List Challenge which now stands at 156.

Interesting that we've seen one here in three of the last four years, is it the same one? I don't think they breed in Britain yet but could be wrong, if they do it'll still only be in very small numbers or just a single pair in any one year. 

Recently we worked with our favourite school group, from the Midlands, on the beach and they had some super finds

A lump of pyroclasic flow, a Curved Razor and a Barnacle encrusted Mussel

Mermaid's Purse from a Thornback Ray

Striped Venus, Pod Razor, Common Otter Shell

Iceland Cyrpine, Pod Razor, Bean Razor, Tellins, Mussels, Banded Wedge Shells

But we hit the jackpot when we found this Limpet. Nothing special about Limpets you might say and you'd be right they can be as common as muck but not on Blackpool's coastline they're not. We'd had a quick look to check the lie of the land before the children arrived and been lucky enough to find Blackpool's only Limpet in it's usual place close to and now just south of where the old storm water pipe used to go out to sea. It's bee na while since we last found it and today it was in more or less the same place so we're assuming it is the same one and we couldn't find any just to the north of the storm water overflow where we've seen it before so we think it probably is the same one. 

But the one in the pic is a new one - a second individual and it was found 100 yards or more north of the other on the north side of the slipway, never seen one that side before...and that begs the question how many more are there???

With this pic we've just doubled the local Limpet population

Great days on safari and as often as not you don't have to go too far to see some awesome wildlife.

Where to next? The Big Butterfly Count has started and National Whale and Dolphin Watch starts next weekend so we're going to be busy - Watch this space - Better still Get Involved

In the meantime let us know who's watching who in your outback