After The Sun...

...Comes the storm and that was very much the case two days after the hottest day of the year so far as the relentless sunshine gave way to dark clouds, strong gusts of wind and at times torrential showers. Nothing daunted I wanted to visit one of the local patches which had given me my natural boost during the early months of lockdown and which I had neglected a little in recent weeks, Bickershaw Country Park. Like most of my local area this was until relatively recent times coal mining heartland however since the closure of the pits nature has begun to reclaim the area, assisted here by the diligent work of Lancashire Wildlife Trust. A brisk walk through the fields brought me onto the site, which has been rich in insect life this year. Weather conditions meant that there was a lot less on the wing today although meadow brown and small skipper were flitting around in between the squalls whilst I also disturbed a silver Y moth. My first port of call was the footpath running past a couple of fishing lodges and on the main water I spotted a pair of very small moorhen chicks snoozing beside the shore. I haven't seen many young waterbirds on the site this year and perhaps the loitering lesser black-backed gulls out in the middle of the pool are partly responsible. As I watched one of the parent moorhens croaked a warning and the two little ones scurried into the reeds. 

  

Moorhen Chick                    Purple Loosestrife                Robin's Pincushion Galls

A footpath runs round the perimeter of the smaller fishing pond and with thick stands of alder, willow, white poplar and bramble surrounding it this has been a real hotspot for damsels and dragons. Unfortunately for me recent rains had flooded parts of the path whilst the wet and wild conditions weren't great for damsels, although a few common blue and azure damselflies sheltered in the vegetation whilst at the water's edge their red-eyed cousins battled energetically for territory. Red-eyed damselflies definitely appear to prefer the aquatic lifestyle and rarely seem to venture away from the pond margins compared to other members of the family, making them slightly trickier for me to photo. 

  

Red-eyed Damselflies

The path led away from the pools, where purple loosestrife was beginning to emerge, and up into what could best be described as a wasteland environment where rusting pieces of cars poked out from brightly-coloured patches of evening primrose, rosebay willowherb, biting stonecrop and ox-eye daisies. Maybe this landscape is a bit of an acquired taste but the wildlife doesn't appear bothered by the aesthetics with a couple of rabbits hopping in the undergrowth, a kestrel high overhead and willow warbler, long-tailed tit and bullfinch all heard. Robin's pincushion galls were also beginning to develop on the dog rose. 

 






Evening Primrose                        Bickershaw

The final stretch of the route leads through open scrubland tinged with rich purple of marsh thistle and yellows of ribbed melilot. A month or so ago and this area was resounding with the songs of warblers, skylark and linnet but today things are a lot quieter with just a grasshopper warbler - the opposite of all good children in being heard but not seen - reeling from the hawthorn scrub whilst a pheasant crowed away in the distance. A whitethroat flitted in the bushes and reed buntings were also spotted. The downpours had transformed the parched ditches into miniature canals and a grey heron was fishing in one of the dykes. 

I've been enjoying a glimpse into the local nocturnal world lately too and although the wet weather lately has seen the moth trap remain in the garage in the last few nights before it took a break there were some good finds including a couple of moths which slightly confusingly share their name with butterflies. The swallowtail is a delicate and spectacular moth and whilst its butterfly namesake is restricted to the East Anglian Broads the brimstone is found locally as both moth and butterfly. The trail camera has also been paying its way and after a few nights of capturing cats of varying sizes and colours it finally recorded a first hedgehog visit.

    

Brimstone                            Swallowtail                                Hedgehog