Sunday 22 April 2012
Rixton Clay Pits
Today we visited Rixton Clay Pits, just south of Warrington. It's a SSSI largely on account of it's large population of Great Crested Newts, and this is one of the best sites in the North West (and possibly the UK) for the species. 
Great Crested Newts are an endangered and protected species, and it's illegal to disturb them in any way. This particular individual was in a pond quite close to a viewing platform, and though the water always makes them diffficult to photograph, you can at least get an idea of what it looks like. This is a large species, which can grow up to 18cm long. This individual was about 15cm. There were also Smooth Newts in the pond, and these reach about 10cm. 
This looks like a Chironomidae species emerging. Also known as non-biting midges, there were lots of empty cases floating on the surface of the water, and we watched as adults emerged from others.
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Broad-bodied Chaser and Four-spot Chaser in May. Large Red Damselfly is usually the first, perhaps in early May.
ReplyDeleteHard to say really, I find dragonflies to be quite unpredicatable when it come to photography. Sometimes you can't get anywhere near, other times they almost tame. I've had them land on me in the past.Sankey Valley at Havannah Flashes is not bad locally. Bold Moss used to be good but the habitat has been allowed to deteriate. Still ok though I think.
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