Martin Mere

There were a few dragonflies on the wing today, including a couple of Emerald Damselflies, which were my first on the reserve.

Eglwyseg, World's End, Llangollen

We had a great walk from World's End to Lllangollen today, going we followed the Offa's Dyke path along the base of Creigiau Eglwyseg, and on the return journey we went over the top of Eglwyseg Mountain.

The cliffs were full of wildlflowers, including the very rare Welsh Hawkweed which is endemic and known from only three sites in Wales. Butterflies included Dark Green Fritillary and Grayling. There were lots of birds, including a pair of Peregrines with two juveniles, and we watched as an adult passed prey to one of the youngsters on the wing. There were lots of Whinchats and Stonechats about, and we saw a juvenile Cuckoo being attended by a Meadow Pipit.

Welsh Hawkweed (left) and Pale St. John's Wort. The purple blotches in the leaves of the hawkweed make this a straight forward identification (or so I'm told!).

Creigiau Eglwyseg and Goldenrod

Field Scabious and Carline Thistle

Meadow Cranesbill and Cuckoo with Meadow Pipit. We all know about Cuckoos and Meadow Pipits, but in 40 years birding, this is the first time I have ever seen it in action! As you can see in the photo, the pipit has food in it's mouth, and is about to feed the Cuckoo.

Lake District, Ullswater

Another glorious day in the Lake District!

Looking towards Kirkstone Pass and Brotherswater (left) and Ullswater and Helvelyn (right). Both photos were taken from exactly the same spot, on the side of Place Fell.


We saw several magnificent Golden-ringed Dragonflies, and Boardale (left) in Martindale, was a particularly good location for them. Ok, confession time, the photo on the right is of Golden-ringed Dragonfly, but was taken last year at Silver Howe. I've not been able to get close to one yet this year.

More moths

A couple of good moths from last night, the Shark (left) and Buff Arches (right). It's only taken me 10 years to work out why it's called the shark, but it's quite obvious on this photo. You an see the sharks fin on top of its head!

Some recent moths

There have been some decent nights for moth trapping recently, so here are a few photos of some of the more spectacular species.


Elephant Hawk-moth and Swallow-tail moth.


Old Lady (from above) and Old Lady (from below).


Bordered White

Berringtons Lane, Rainford

Grasshopper Warbler reeling

Silver Howe and Blea Rigg

We had a great walk in the Lake District today, looking for sedges and dragonflies, but also taking in the wonderful scenery and enjoying the beautiful weather! We started from Grasmere, walked up to Silver Howe, along Blea Rigg and then back down to Grasmere via Easedale Tarn. We found a good selection of sedges, and saw at least three Golden-ringed Dragonflies, as well as Large Red Damselflies and Four-spot Chasers.


Fairfield (left) from Silver Howe and Helvelyn and Easdale Tarn (right) from Blea Rigg.

Fir Clubmoss (left) and Slow Worm (right).

Common Cotton Sedge on Blea Rigg