Local July Round-up.

Another quiet month for birds locally (although male Whinchat at HOM yesterday was a surprise) but a few good evenings for moth-ing with Poplar and Elephant Hawk Moths, Ruby Tiger, Grey / Dark Dagger, Marbled Beauty, Common Carpet, Common Rivulet, Riband wave, Common Rustic, Dark Arches, Dot Moth, Scalloped Oak and Large Yellow Underwings caught in Longton.

Poplar Hawk Moth, Longton 31 July 2011.

Longton Marsh / River Douglas 22 July 2011.

1 Continental Cormorant, 175 Canada Geese, 75 Greylag Geese, 1 Peregrine, 1 Greenshank, 115 Redshank, 71 Dunlin, 1 Yellow Wagtail.

Hesketh Out Marsh RSPB 23 July 2011.

Juv' Marsh Harrier, 1 Peregrine, 1 Little Egret, 1 Common Sand', 1 Green Sand'.

Ribble Estuary: Hesketh Out Marsh - Warton Marsh, 24 July 2011.

Juv' Great crested Grebe (on Ribble), 6 Little Egret, 1 Peregrine, 6 Avocet (Warton Marsh), 205 Lapwing, 1 Golden Plover, 110 Black-tailed Godwit, 175 Dunlin, 1 Greenshank, 103 Redshank, 1 Common sand', 1 Common tern, 2 Yellow Wagtail.

Hesketh Out Marsh - River Douglas (viewing Longton Marsh), 29 July 2011.

13 Greylag Geese, 10 Teal, 8 Little Egret, juv' Marsh Harrier, 2 Sparrowhawk, 2 Peregrine, juv' Little Ringed Plover, 4 Golden Plover, 1 Green Sand', 7 Common Sand' (R. Douglas), 2 Greenshank, 1 Little Owl (HOM east), 3-4 Yellow Wagtails, 2 Corn Bunting, 1 Stoat and plenty of butterflies including Gatekeepers, 2 Common Blue, 2 Red Admirals and 5+ Peacocks.

Hesketh Out Marsh RSPB, 31 July 2011.

8 Little Egret, 12 Teal, Peregrine, Sparrowhawk, 2 Buzzard, 18 Avocet, 3 Greenshank, Common Sand', male Whinchat.

Ribble Notebook.

Bird of the month so far: distant perched Hobby at Hesketh Out Marsh RSPB, 19 July 2011.

It's been a pretty uneventful summer with few birds of note. It's started to pick up a bit with some non-breeding waders turning up locally on the Ribble Estuary and the usual late summer run of Yellow Wagtail records. My second Hobby of the year yesterday at Hesketh Out Marsh is the pick of the bunch though, even if photo opportunities remain slim (as the above image testifies).

Hesketh Out Marsh RSPB, Ribble Estuary 11 July 2011.

1 Peregrine, 1 Sparrowhawk, 1 Buzzard, 4 Little Egret, 2 Grey Heron, 22 Greylag Geese, 18 Shelduck, 1 Gadwall, 1 Greenshank, 25 Curlew, 3 Avocet, 60+ Lapwing, 3 Arctic Terns, 2 Grey Partridge, 37 Stock Dove, 20+ Swift, 50+ Sand Martin, 1 Raven, 1 Sedge Warbler, 1 Willow Warbler, 4 Whitethroat, 7 Tree Sparrow, 1 Painted Lady, 5 Gatekeeper, 15+ Meadow Brown, 4 Small Whites, 10+ Small Tortoiseshells.

Warton Marsh, Ribble Estuary 11 July 2011.

3 Avocet, 170+ Black-tailed Godwit, 3+ Bar-tailed Godwit, 17 Dunlin, 200+ Lapwing, 45+ Oystercatcher, 2 Common Tern, 5 Arctic Terns.

Longton Brickcroft LNR 11 July 2011.

1 Little Grebe, 4 Great Crested Grebe (2 juvs), 1 Gadwall, 10 Tufted Duck,1 Grey Heron, 1 Brown Hawker, 4 Blue-tailed Damselfly, 10+ Common Blue Damselfly, 5+ Gatekeeper, 1 Speckled Wood, 5+ Small Tortoiseshell, 1 Common Blue.

Longton Brickcroft LNR 12 July 2011.

2 Little Grebe, 13 Tufted Duck, 232 Mallard, 1 Gadwall, male Sparrowhawk.

Marshside RSPB (Rainford's Lagoon, Sandgrounder's) 13 July 2011.

1 Little Grebe, drake Scaup, 8 Tufted Duck, 4 Teal, 182 Black-tailed Godwit, 40 Redshank, 50 Dunlin, 1 Yellow Wagtail.

Longton Marsh - River Douglas 14 July 2011.
1 Great Crested Grebe, 48 Greylag Geese, 80 Dunlin, 3 Avocet, 10 Common Sandpipers, 76 Curlew, 24 Oystercatcher, 20 Arctic Tern (1 juv'), 4 Common Tern, 3 Yellow Wagtail, 1 Corn Bunting.

Hesketh Out Marsh RSPB, Ribble Estuary 16 July 2011.
21 Greylag Geese, 6 Canada Geese, 4 Teal, 50 Shelduck, 4 Little Egret, 1 Snipe, 1 Common Sandpiper, 7 Greenshank, 2 Green Sandpiper, 12 Dunlin, 16 Black-tailed Godwits, 2 Arctic Tern, 35 Swift, 2 Yellow Wagtail, 2 Corn Bunting.

Hesketh Out Marsh RSPB, Ribble Estuary 19 July 2011.
32 Greylag Geese, 10 Canada Geese, 10 Teal, 6 Little Egret, 1 Hobby (2CY?), 18 Avocet, 5 Common Sandpiper, 2 Green Sandpiper, 6 Greenshank, 1 Yellow Wagtail.

Ribble patch birding.

Adult and juvenile Arctic Terns on Longton Marsh, 10 July 2011.

Longton Marsh and the River Douglas, Lancashire 10 July 2011.

Common Tern, Longton Marsh 10 July 2011.

Quick walk along the River Douglas near home today. Still 23 Arctic Terns at the edge of Longton Marsh including a pair feeding a well grown juvenile. At least 5 Common Terns joining them mobbing the resident Raven every now and then. The tide had dropped and the muddy banks of the Douglas were full of birds including a nice selection of waders: 30+ Lapwing, 150+ Redshank, 3 Greenshank, a Knot, 35 Curlew, 20 Dunlin, 11 Common Sandpipers and 7 Avocets. Not too many ducks around at the moment but 3 Teal and 15 Mallard were on the river with 50+ Shelducks (including 16 juvs).

Arctic Terns, River Douglas 10 July 2011.

Single Peregrine, Buzzard and at least 5 Kestrels hunting over the saltmarsh and neighbouring fields and as expected it was pretty quiet on the small bird front apart from a few singing Whitethroats. Two Yellow Wagtails were a nice surprise though.

Butterflies were littered on the thistles along the seawall and included plenty of Small Tortoiseshells, Small and Large Whites, Red Admirals, Meadow Browns and a Painted Lady.

A Scottish Hobby.

Mediterranean Gulls on Loch Ryan near Stranraer, Dumfries & Galloway 7 July 2011.

It's been a long time since my last blog post. Photo opportunities have been few and far between in the last month but the highlights have been a Hummingbird Hawkmoth in our garden in Longton and proof of Arctic Tern breeding on Longton Marsh at the Ribble / Douglas confluence on the home patch.

Birding in Scotland has not been without its moment though and my first Dumfries & Galloway Hobby sighting near Kircudbright the other day certainly lifted spirits. Otherwise its been a few Hen Harriers, Short-eared Owls, Red Kites (including a tight flock of 5 wandering birds), Whinchats, Redstarts (many roving juveniles) and plenty of Crossbills. A lengthy search through the scoter raft (three flocks of 400+ birds) off Castle Point on the D&G Solway last week failed to produce the hoped-for rarity, but I live in hope.