6/5/10 early morning visit to Pendle hill

Got up as early as possible today(5.30), to go and see the reported pair of migrating Dotterel on top of Pendle hill. I hoped that the mist would burn-off after sunrise but it didnt. The summit was shrouded in mist leaving me with 10 yard visibility.
Just before the summit (when vis was still 50 yards) I spotted and digiscoped this golden plover.






























Took me a while to find the Dotterel (even with the very accurate ELOC report) but when I did find them, I got down low and waited for them to approach. Terrible conditions, but nice to get some shots of the female, my 122nd species recorded in the UK this year. Even more worth it to get the summit to myself, I'm sure it will be very busy at the weekend.

Saw first orange tip and speckled wood butterflies today. Kestrel pair displaying, calling and mating, and found this little mouse/vole in the garden.














Its clearly a juvenile but its hard to distinguish features. Ears too small for wood mouse, nose too sharp for bank vole?, it may even be a house mouse. Whatever it is it must be very young or sick, because it was totally oblivious, even when I picked it up.
Sorry for out-of-focus shot, Jills mum took it, I was busily modelling the mouse.

Stocks reservoir, Hornby road and Moor piece

Drove up to Stocks at 8am to hopefully beat the crowds. I had a list of target birds missing from my yearlist and a couple that I wanted to photograph.
Only 2 cars in the carpark, but I could hear a noisy group up ahead on the path.
Stopped in at the walled garden and immediately heard cuckoo calling and then spotted a house martin (number 119 tick for the year). Didnt manage to scope the cuckoo though, it was on the opposite bank of the res.
Walking up to the new hide, I heard a grasshopper warbler reeling. I saw gropper at marton mere on Friday but didnt manage a photo yet. I set-up on the path and waited for it to come into view. Unfortunately the loud party of walkers started back down the path, dogs and all :( No dice.
From the new hide, I spotted 2 prs of little ringed plover (yearlist 120), RB merganser (pr) GC grebe (pr), some redshank and common sandpiper. I could still hear the cuckoo calling but it sounded more in the direction of opposite the old hide. I decided to go back to dodgyscope the gropper and see if I could sight the cuckoo. More punters arriving and the path was getting busy. I couple stopped to ask what I was looking at, and amazingly the gropper started reeling and showing, right in front of us. It seemed pretty unperturbed by all this holiday traffic. Scored a couple of shots but never did see the cuckoo.





























Headed on to croasdale fell where my targets were whinchat, short eared owl and cuckoo (again). Allof these were birds here, this time last year.
On the hornby road, I spotted a red coloured moth. Managed just one photo before the wind carried it away. I memorised its features (white antenae, red spotted undersides) and later IDed it as Ruby tiger (click on its name for a better photo of this beautiful moth)















The fell was pretty bare today, virtually nothing singing, and the wind keeping most birds grounded. Meadow pipits and the odd red grouse calling but no ouzels, harriers, merlin.....nothing, nada, zilch :(

Had lunch at the bridge, which was slightly sheltered from the wind. Found this rove beetle larva, not quite a devils coachhorse apparently.















Weather looked like it was closing in, so I headed back to the car with plans to stop in a moor piece for wood warbler.
I walked the new loop path in the silver birch wood here, but only found one redstart, couldnt find the pied flycatchers that I saw here last week, and definately couldnt hear any wood warbs.

So it was back home for roast lamb dinner and to ID the moth from croasdale.