A blog and photo journal about the natural history of north-west England and beyond
Meadow Grasshoppers at Higher Hyde Heath. Can’t recall seeing a bright pink grasshopper before. Apparently the vivid pink is due to a genetic mutation known as erythrism. Perhaps unsurprisingly few pink grasshoppers survive to become adults. Female Sand Lizard Basking on one of the discarded Read More …
The Gatekeeper, Mersey valley close to Chorlton Water Park. Following local pressure the Env Agency have listened and reduced the maintenance of several sections of the river bank to one late summer cut per year. In summer the most obvious result is the huge increase in the number of butterflies. Read More …
Great to see the Whitethroats beginning to return from Africa. With the recent warm weather leading to a plentiful supply of insects it looks like this year they’ve timed it to perfection…….. Read More …
After a slow start this spring is looking very promising for our local Butterflies. An ideal opportunity to enjoy a bit of exercise and weight training with a heavy camera and 300mm lens for an hour …… 🙂 Read More …
A few highlights from a visit to Arnside Knott Pearl bordered Fritillary. The earliest of the fritillaries to emerge and typically found in woodland clearings and at Arnside Knott – rough, south facing hillsides. Highly threatened it’s unlikely to be confused with any of Read More …
Originally I was hoping to post this update a few weeks ago but 15 days wandering around Dorset and Oxfordshire without a reliable internet connection put paid to that idea. Better late than never. Several years ago the sound of the Grasshopper Warbler reeling away Read More …
A Small Copper on some late flowering Hemp Agrimony. On the back of a disastrous summer for Butterflies on reflection I think we must have been lucky. Certainly plenty around Durlston Country Park in mid September. Great to see the sun really bringing out the iridescence of the Small Read More …
Peacock Butterfly on the freshly opened Cherry blossom at the edge of the Orchard in Kenworthy Wood. Also several Small Tortoiseshells and a Brimstone. Great to see the warm sunshine has brought out many of the local butterflies. A male Orange Tip on a fresh Read More …
Nuthatch at Leighton Moss. Blue Tit taking advantage of the remaining blackberries. At first I assumed it was after the grubs that tend to live within the berries however after watching it more closely it became clear it was plucking the individual drupelets off each Read More …