Angry Birds

With midweek bringing the hottest days of the year so far we decided to head away from the usual warm-weather hotspots and instead seek out some quieter sites for afternoon and evening wildlife watching. First port of call was Freshfield Dune Heath and a world away from the bustling beach. On the edge of RAF Woodvale base the site is a mix of grassland, heath and woodland and as we walked round the perimeter a group of horses were serving as greenkeepers. In the baking heat grasshoppers were grating out their call from the heather and gorse whilst a number of solitary wasps were on the prowl, most impressively a sizeable red banded sand wasp. It was possibly too hot for butterflies out on the open heath and we crossed the golf course and headed inland parallel to the railway tracks into the pine woodlands. 

Freshfield Dune Heath                                 Common Green Grasshopper

Under the atmospheric shade of the Corsican and Scots pines there was some evidence of the resident red squirrel population in the shape of well-nibbled pine cones but sadly no sighting of the animal itself. A family group of chaffinches and the chorus of chiffchaff, willow warbler and blackcap were enjoyed and overhead a soaring buzzard followed us for some distance, doubtless hoping we would start flagging in the heat. Where the woodland opened out wildflowers carpeted the sandy rides and in turn attracted butterflies. Pink carpets of centaury, rosebay willowherb and foxglove were joined by creeping tormentil and unobtrusive spikes of toadflax. Large skipper, meadow brown and red admiral were amongst the butterflies whilst it was good to find my first small coppers of the year, feistily defending their patch against interlopers. Ragwort was also abundant with the attendant cinnabar moth caterpillars.

    

 

 

Centaury                            Small Copper        Large Skipper and Cinnabar Caterpillar

A stretch of boardwalk leaves the main track just before reaching Coastal Road and runs under the shade of some oak and sycamore and round a large pond. We briefly checked the oak canopy for purple hairstreak but to no avail, although further overhead groups of house martin and swift were sweeping the skies for food. A family group of carrion crow were in warily watching us from a sycamore whilst a small common toad took shelter in the trackside grasses. We paused at the pond for a refreshment break and enjoyed watching         two male emperor dragonflies battling over the water, at times their tussling breaking the       surface and attracting the attention of the shoals of rudd. A mallard with six well-grown           ducklings gave us the once-over hoping we'd brought some food and a young moorhen           dextrously made its way across the lilypads. 

    

 

Feather Mystery        Marshside                                The Angry Avocet                                                                                                                                                                                      As evening drew we parted ways and I made my way northwards to RSPB Marshside. Even as the sun was dipping into the kind of smoky haze over the sea which Turner would have given his eyeteeth for, butterflies and other insects remained on the wing - red admiral, small skipper and an unidentified hawker-type dragonfly all spotted along the path. Out on the pools it was quieter with most of the birds having fledged their young. A single great black-backed gull was still an ominous presence and given a wide berth by the redshank and oystercatcher. In front of Sandgrounders Hide a smart pair of tufted duck bobbed for     food and a female scaup provided a nice identification lesson with her distinctive white band at the base of her bill. Four little egret and three grey heron fished the margins, with one of the herons taking exception to its smaller cousins and chasing them away. At the back of the pool a large flock of bar-tailed godwit provided a bizarre soundtrack of grunts and bleats but their gossiping was to be disturbed, firstly by the arrival of a convoy of Canada geese returning from the marshy fields and then by the eruption of an avocet, evidently guarding its young and protesting against the neighbours. Despite their delicate appearance avocets are the original angry bird and this individual chivvied the geese, godwits and black-headed gulls until finally directing its ire at a fellow avocet who dared to interlope. As I left the site I spotted the mystery feather - cattle egret? Bar-tailed godwit? Shelduck? Opinion favours godwit but the jury is still out. 

    

 

Mere Sands Wood                    Mute Swan Family                    Departing Brown Hare

Passing 9pm but still light I made a final port of call at Mere Sands Wood. As I walked onto the site along the footpath through the fields a brown hare crossed the path and ran along the gap between the crops, offering an opportunity to add to my collection of terrible wildlife photos. Under the gloom of the canopy I was surprised to find red admiral still feeding from the bramble flowers. Looking out from Rufford Hide over the lake and the purple tinges of sunset provided a beautiful and peaceful picture on the water, with mallard, coot and two separate families of mute swan completing the spectacle. As I retraced my steps red-legged partridge were calling from the fields and the star find was saved til the very end. As I stopped to watch a bat - presumed pipistrelle - circling in a clearing some wheezy calls from the trees alerted me to a tawny owl family with an adult and at least two fledged owlets.