Doesn't feel like summer yet

The Safari had a bit of a quiet day in the garden at Base Camp yesterday. It was warmish but there was a chilly and rather brisk northerly wind blowing too many clouds scudding across the blue.

The few successes we had were our first juvenile Greenfinch of the year being fed by dad. He was a stunner in the morning sun, shone like an emerald he did and also fluttered like a youngster when feeding his little one, surely it's supposed to be the other way round. They didn't stay long enough for us to get the new Tamron out and he wasn't the ringed male we'd like to get a read off either.

The pair of Jackdaws out in a brief early morning visit and weren't sen again all day. Nothing much happened until the irregular male House Sparrow came in mid-afternoon for his two or three seeds - he doesn't stay long enough to scoff any more than this!

The intermittent sunshine and strong gusty wind meant the invertebrates weren't so active although we did see the Ruby Tailed Wasp inspecting the same hole it got tangled up in  the day before so it must have been able to extract itself from the tangle of web. Either that or it's another one doing thee same circuit and inspecting the very same holes. The 'two wasp theory'?

There weren't many opportunities for pics, these are the best we could come up with.

Arty Aqueligia flower - did you spot the aphid?

Blue Tailed Damselfly on a leaf

Blue Tailed Damselfly on a twig

Zebra Spider with prey - still can't get ?him to face the light, this pic he's facing down at a steep angle and we've rotated him to horizontal

The other evening Wifey took us out for a drive over the nearby farmland.

Barley field at dusk

Why did she take us there you might well ask. Well ask away - just beyond the bare patch at the entrance to the field and off a little way to the right a Quail was reported as calling. We stepped out of the car to the jangling keys song of Corn Buntings (162) and walked the few yards to the other birders already in position listening for the distinctive Wet-my-lips call. It wasn't long before we heard it infuriatingly close, infuriatingly because we just knew we weren't going to be able to see it in the depths of the crop. Never mind, Quail (163) is now on the list and what a cracking sound they make too, they must have been so common just 50 or 60 years ago before the mega-mechanisation of farming and all the sprays that go with it, now they are a full blown twitch. A couple of passing cars stopped on the lane to ask what we were looking for. After the last one had driven off we heard the Quail calling from the other side of the road, was it a different one (the two bird theory) or did we miss the original one scarper across the lane while we were distracted - maybe it tunneled its way across! We never did hear it call from the Barley field again so we guess the two bird theory is out of the window.

One of the other birders, another BD, put us on to a covey of at least three Grey Partridges (164) feeding across the far side of next field along. These too are getting harder and harder to come across locally, what a shame they were so common as to be almost ignored in the farmland close to where we grew up as a young naturalist.

Wifey dipped these but did add Corn Bunting, of which she got great views despite the gathering dusk, and she really liked the "Smack-my-lips" of the Quail taking her to 104 for the year.

Today was another warm but very windy day and again nothing much was happening at Base Camp until we got a late afternoon surprise, a Coal Tit came to the feeders, possibly our first ever June record - will have to check. 

1st pic with the Tamron 150-600mm lens - in gloom of the shrubbery but backlit by strong sunshine

It then returned and fed a juvenile tiny bits of suet from the feeder. My word they are cute!

Where to next? We've got LCV and family over to stay for a couple of days - wonder if he can be tempted into a bit of Quailing? And his young lad has an impotant job to do - set the moth trap up.

In the meantime let us know who's hiding in the Barley in your outback.

Bank holiday bees

The Safari didn't have a lot of wildlifey joy yesterday for some reason the garden was very quiet. Not sure why it was good and warm, barely a cloud in the sky with little in the way of a breeze - the weather was so good our shorts found their way out of the draw for the first time in at least 18 months!

We found the exuvium of a Blue Tailed Damselfly in the pond, we saw two adults or the same one twice during the afternoon. Other than those/it the only other entries into the notebook where a few species of bumblebees and the first Ruby Tailed Wasp of the year.

We spent an hour or so with Wifey at the garden centre choosing bedding plants. In a quiet corner where the staff stashed hosepipes, wheelbarrows etc one of the assistants found a fledging Dunnock while overhead a pair of Buzzards took advantage of a thermal.

This morning we went out and straight away heard lots of splashing coming from the pond. Our Goldfish were getting very frisky - the ring leader seemed to be the red one we 'rescued' from the pond at work a few weeks ago.

Even the smaller ones were having a go.

Early on there were a few more birds, the pair of Jackdaws putting in a quick smash and grab raid on the suet blocks, the Blackcap was singing from the nearest its been so far and a well grown juvenile Blackbird were pick of the bunch until a mating flight of three Swifts went over screaming very high up, brilliant to watch them scythe at breakneck speed through the azure sky, shame we see them so infrequently here now. Does make us wonder what we've done to the planet when there are no Swifts to be seen on warm summer days.

We watched a solitary bee go in to the be hotel and decided to try to get some pics. It came and went several times but unpredictably. While we waited other insects caught our eye like these Flesh Flies.

Greenbottles (Lucilla sp) are regulars in the garden during the summer and often allow quite a close approach if you're patient and careful.

The trellis against the sunny garage wall is the favoured place for the Ruby Tailed Wasp to hang out. We saw it many times but it wouldn't stay still in a convenient place. Eventually it investigated a hole for a potential bee victim but out rushed a spider. The wasp was struck at but the spider backed off and left alone but when the wasp tried to fly off it was badly tangled in the web. We tried to rescue it but it dropped to the ground still tangled and we haven't sen it since so we don't know if it managed to free itself or not.

A much small spider was seen while we were waiting for the Ruby Tailed Wasp to reappear, a tiny jumping Zebra Spider. Unfortunately it was running down the trellis so its face is a bit too shadowed. These little chaos are great characters and quite feisty, rearing up at you even though your 'only' a billion times bigger than they are.

Eventually we did get our bee pics.

We hadn't realised that the holes don't go all the way back; we'd assumed (once again never assume anything unless told to in Maths/Physics exam paper) that the drilled woodblock and Bamboo tubes were hard up against the back of the box but they're not, there is a gap so the bee could go down one and come out of another making best guessing it tricky to say the least.

Given the huge number of 'duds' we're pleased we managed this one good shot

Once the sun had gone off the garage wall we turned our attentions to the bumble bees and had a little bit of success with this worker Early Bumblebee.

Isn't digital photography a marvel. We must have taken well over 100 shots to get that last one, how much would that have cost in slide film and all that waiting to get them back from the developers to find 99.9% were total tosh! We'll try again perhaps with the plants in pot where we can set up angles and lighting to best effect rather than try getting the bees at plants in situ.

Where to next? There's an interesting year bird turned up not far away if we can persuade Wifey in to giving us a lift after tea, would be a lifer for her too.

In the meantime let us know who's 'bee'n buzzing around your outback today.

Orchid time on the dunes

The Safari had built up a big surplus of extra hours and even after booking some flexi-time for a long weekend we still had a a few to play with. Yesterday mornig we got a txt from Young Un AB saying he'd just been on the dunes and counted a very accurate 841 Pyramidal Orchids and seen a Grayling butterfly - that was excuse enough for a very long lunch break. 

As soon as we arrived on site we saw there were lots of Burnet moths everywhere, almost every Creeping Thistle flowerhead had at least one supping away at the nectar within.

All the ones we looked at closely, without our specs we might add, were Narrow Bordered 5-spot Burnets.

Walking a few yards further into the dunes we disturbed a Meadow Pipit that wasn't at all happy with our presence

 It kept a rather watchful eye on us.

But where were all those orchids? Another couple of steps and we crested a small rise and there amid the Creeping Willow were several pink flower spikes, about 20of them, not the mother lode but a good start.

They were growing in an area from which much invasive Sea Buckthorn had been removed during the winter, the management certainly appeared to suit them.

AB was kind enough to tell us the whereabouts of other orchids nearby too which included Common Twayblade which we didn't know grew on the site, surely we'd been told at some stage over the last 25 years or so and forgotten if that was the case the information certainly wasn't for being retrieved from our memory banks!

Only a few yards away near a large hole that is being dug for an as yet unknown reason, probably to provide some form of dune slack (aka seasonally wet area), he said there were some Marsh Helleborines.

From there he directed us across the road to look into the garden of the rest-home which has been left uncut and is a wondrous array of colours from the multitude of wildflowers growing in the short sand turf, it is a sight to behold! The target here was probably the most dull and insignificant looking plant in the 'meadow' but one of the rarest in the country/world being an endemic to a handful of scattered sites around the coast and not overly numerous at any of them, the rather wishy-washy nondescript looking Dune Helleborine.

We didn't have permission to enter the garden but saw one of the five specimens not too far away from the wall.

 Exciting isn't it! Well it's not a looker but it is pretty special.

Walking back to the Land Rover (we keep threatening to replace it, but can we part with it?) a small orangy butterfly flew across the track in front of our knees, a Gatekeeper - one of the species we looked for unsuccessfully at the White Letter Hairstreak site at the weekend. They'll probably be out in force there this coming weekend if the warm(ish) sunny weather holds.

Not a bad way to spend a lunch hour and a bit.

Back in the office walking along the corridor we spotted a tiny bee that hadn't been able to find an open window and succumbed to the heat - yes we look at all manner of strange things! The thing that grabbed our attention was the red underside to its abdomen, not seen one like that before so in a pot it went, but what exactly was it? Why a pot for a dead bee - habit we suppose!

A plea on Twitter was made and the very knowledgeable and very modest @RyanClarkNature cme back with a name Megachile centuncularis, a quick look on the national database showed it to be, unsurprisingly, the first record for town and only the second for the whole of the Fylde (with the proviso that the NBN maps can be a little behind the times)/

Our last late finish of the season was helping an enthusiastic gang of Rainbows do some mini-beast hunting and pond dipping. Our best find for them was a Zebra Spider just before the action kicked off.

A quick little devil that didn't like being in the light in the middle of the lid of the pot

Better but stiller in the bright sunshine

Today we had a pretty intense time at work but were able to finish early and meet up with AB on the dunes and he showed us some of the other specialities he'd learned about from the old master MJ.

There's some nice moths on the dunes, we saw Latticed Heath but it was too quick for the lens unlike this Blackneck which did its best to hide from us.

It's larvae feed on Tufted Vetch of which there is plenty on the reserve. Nowhere near as common locally is Cotton Grass, a species more normally thought of as upland bog plant but was probably very common on the lowland mosses before they were extensively drained. A nearby field which had a sizeable colony was drained for a sports field not too many years ago.

Another orchid species here is Early Marsh Orchid, its earliness now meaning it's coming to the end of its season and most of them were going well over.

Harebells were everywhere, don't think we've ever seen so many here. the floral display this summer is really fine and well worth a visit.

 Like the Cotton Grass they were blowing around a bit

AB shifted up a gear after spotting another speciality moth, seconds later his bag was off his bag and a pot removed and de-lidded. in a jiffy a Silver Hook was inside. A new one for us and what a little beauty.

This one's a sedge feeder.

He released it but it wouldn't settle in the right place for a pic. While trying to get the pic we saw a shield bug. It's a still a nymph and we're not sure which species.

There are areas of the dunes that are losing their spectacular wildflowers to longer denser grassland. Some management has been begun to address this but really what's needed is more Rabbits to graze it down. There are some but not enough and they're widely scattered across the reserve and not able to 'control' large areas of dense vegetation. One thing is for sure they don't like Thyme!

On the final way back to the Land Rover we got the pic we wanted, OK very nearly the pic we wanted

We'd have preferred a more contrary Small Skipper but you can't have everything and it was a brilliant hour out all thanks to AB.

Where to next? Anything could happen tomorrow.
In the meantime let us know what unknowns who's keeled over in your outback.

More from yesterday

The Safari hasn't been out with the camera today so here are the remainder from yesterday.
Pottering around in the garden we found a Dandelion clock

The Aquilegias are looking good.

Our Spanish (hybrid?) Bluebells are just about finished although a few plants, like this one, are a little tardy.

Many people regard Herb Robert as a weed but the insect just love it!

This is the same jumping spider as yesterday.

This Zebra Spider inhabits the side of next door's garage wall. He's a bit too quick in the sunshine to get a pic of him like we did off the other one.

Several Blue Tailed Damselflies have now coloured up and are flitting around the garden.

Who's watching who?

On uor safari shaded rocks were also turned and we found several of these 'Hissing' Beetles.

We knew we were close to our quarry when we found this sloughed Slow Worm skin.

And here's the best of the rest...

 And once gently wrangled they were returned to their hidey-holes none the worse for their experience.

Our Extreme Photographer has a bucket load more pics from the Safari which we'll no doubt be able to share with you in due course.

Where to next? Might be able to have a butcher's at Patch 2 tomorrow all being well with the builders who are demolishing the large parts of the garden here at Base Camp today.
In the meantime let us know if you find it hard to get out in to your outback on Mondays.