Blue Sunday

An uneventful WeBS count at White Sands this afternoon produced very few birds, with a Ringed Plover and a Whimbrel the only items of any real interest.

On a positive note, with Denzil performing some labouring the painstaking arrangement of the local railway sleepers into some form of usable hide continued with now half a front and part of a side in situ!

With the sun starting to emerge from behind the clouds, some butterflies were encouraged to take to the wing and the walk to the end of rivetment was made more worthwhile as we enjoyed views of Common Blue, Small Copper (You’re right Andy, they are more common than I thought!), Small Heath and the day flying Burnet Companion moth.

Encouraging news from the Common Tern colony today, with approximately three hundred individuals present on the pools early doors before skidaddling off later on in mid morning. (News comes via Mersey Ringing Group).

Hopefully, they will soon settle down and start to breed soon and confirm that last year’s total wipe-out was just an anomalous blip in an otherwise successful colony.

With a total of five people on the reserve today, I would have thought that this constituted some sort of record. There can’t be many sites in the country where the yearly tally of species recorded in the area exceeds the total of individual birders that visit!

Shotton NR/White Sands 16.05.10

1 Whimbrel
1 Ringed Plover
4 Common Blue
2 Small Copper
1 Small Heath
1 Burnet Companion

Until later.

Fool's Skipper

A couple of hours at Shotton Steel Works over lunchtime produced a few gems, the best being six Burnet Companion moths along the banks of the Dee.

To be honest, I thought they were Skippers at first, with the closest fit being a Chequered Skipper. However, when I realised that they are about as likely south of the border as a deep-fried pizza I had a rethink.

Thanks to an excellent moth website, I was eventually able to nail the identity – a Burnet Companion. Wonderful name and called so because they often appear in the same habitat as the Burnet moths.

This section of footpath along the river bank really is superb habitat – and being a public footpath, open for everybody to enjoy. It is only a slither of land, but the abundance of many species of wild flowers means it is a magnet for butterflies and now, moths!

Also the river was a pair of Common Sandpipers and numerous warblers singing from the scrub and phragmites.

The pools around the ringing hut contained the regular summer inhabitants of Tufted Duck, Coot, Canada Goose, Gadwall and Mallard, with a pair of the geese the proud parents of three young goslings.

A strange noise emanating from the sky drew my attention to a Crow and an adult male Peregrine engaged in an aerial ding-dong. It lasted for a good ten minutes, and by the time the dispute was over I was still no the wiser whom was mobbing whom…

Until later.

Under-watched, Under-rated and Under my nose!

A good couple of hours this morning at Shotton NR was extended into an excellent full day’s exploration of the site after I finally bumped into Mr Nicklin!

I am guilty of criminally overlooking this area in the past after driving past the pools on countless occasions when heading to do my WeBS count over at White Sands.

Credit to Denzil, whom after surviving interrogation by Corus Security staff similar to techniques used by the CIA to break Al-Qaida suspects was eventually granted permission to use the reserve as has been birding it regularly this year.

As per usual, there were plenty of warblers singing around the ringing hut including Reed and Sedge Warbler, Common Whitethroat, Blackcap, Willow Warbler and Chiffchaff.

Fancying a stroll, I headed up the river to White Sands area where to my delight I found two Small Coppers on the rivetment (only my second and third ever), plus a hunting female Sparrowhawk.

There was just time to do a little more construction on Flintshire’s next bird hide, before I returned back to the pools that had gained another visitor!

With a new guide, a stroll along another area of the steelworks next to the River Dee was yet another new area for me and yet another stretch of excellent habitat.

If there was any confirmation needed of the quality of the environment here, then the appearance of my first ever Dingy Skipper basking on the ground was it – a superb afternoon.

Perhaps the only negative aspect of the day was the complete absence of any Common Terns. I picked-up six a few days ago and half expected more of the colony to have returned. Not a sausage all day today and after the total failure last year, it is a little worrying…

Shotton NR/White Sands 03.05.10

Sparrowhawk 1
Whimbrel 1+
Wheatear 1 (Greenland race)
Plus six species of warbler.

Butterflies

Dingy Skipper 1
Small Copper 2
Green-veined White
Peacock
Small White

Until later.