Redstarts and Lizards

 Edgeley Road vole, one of three seen last night.

Meanwhile, below Shrewsbury, we saw redstarts, kites, pied flycatchers, treecreepers and nuthatches, siskins and lizards.

Stoat Presence

 

I guessed it was a predator making the water voles nervous this year: I was sitting quietly last week when a stoat padded past. However, last night one vole did come out and show itself. There were at least two others moving around underwater or below the fringe of the grass.

Demoiselle Special

Demoiselles are damselflies, so smaller and slimmer than dragonflies and holding their wings behind them in resting position. These are Beautiful Demoiselles: the male is dark blue and the female copper and green. 

At the bottom is a photo of an exuvia, the empty casing left when the nymph of a dragonfly or damselfly crawls out of the water to hatch into a flying adult. This casing isn't from a demoiselle, it's of one of the chasers - the Broad-bodied or Four Spotted Chaser, which is a kind of dragonfly.

A Field Signs Refresher

Water voles still proving very shy, though there are plenty.

Below, a burrow at Edgeley Road

Below, droppings at Edward German Drive.

Feeding - grazing and feeding stations at Edgeley Road and Edward German Drive.

Water vole prints at Edgeley Road.

Pebble Hook Tip moth and common lizard.

Above, redstarts and below, a wheatear.

Heron and oystercatcher.

Feeding station.

 

Bird Ringing at Fordhall Farm

 

I've never seen bird ringing close up, so was thrilled to spot this event at Fordhall Farm, Market Drayton. The birds caught were a male blackcap, a dunnock and a chiffchaff. Each bird was examined to see the ring number, which was then recorded, and in the case of the chiffchaff, a ring applied to the leg. The wings were examined and measured and the bird was weighed. Because these birds are handled by experts, they suffer minimal stress and fly away merrily after they've been released. Bird ringing and recording is an important way for conservationists and ecologists to keep track of how each species is doing. It was also nice to see children there, and how excited they were at being so close to birds.

Special Insight into Prees Heath

Toadpoles in the pond at Prees Heath.

Treecreeper (seen at Bridges) and a Prees Heath yellowhammer.

I was lucky enough to meet a butterfly expert who's been involved in improving habitat on the heath. He told me he was going to check for the caterpillars of the rare Silver Studded Blue butterfly, and did I want to see? We were looking out for where ants swarmed in the heather as they milked the little caterpillars. So, by searching for clumps of ants, we soon found our target. It was really interesting because, although I've seen thousands of the adult butterflies, I've never ever seen their larval stage.