It's been a while since I was at Old Moor so I decided it was about time I spent another day there. It's a 70 mile round trip for me, so just wish I lived a bit nearer sometimes. Anyway, as much as the birdlife at Old Moor I also love to see all the other things that are there in abundance - the wild flowers, the butterflies, the dragonflies and with it being such a lovely sunny day yesterday I saw quite a few of all of these. Within five minutes of arriving at Old Moor this beautiful four spotted chaser was the first thing I saw in the grassy area just before you get to the new pond dipping area.
This was closely followed by a butterfly (green veined I think - didn't see the outside of its wings) sat on a daisy.
I had a wander down to the Wader Scrape where lots of BHG chicks were on the islands.
Just as you get to the turning off to the Wader Scrape hide a bird was singing in a tree (I think it's a willow warbler - can anyone confirm? It certainly wasn't chiff-chaffing!). It was there all day - every time I walked by it was there singing its little head off)
Walking down Green Lane the daisies looked lovely in the sunshine with little bits of dandelion clock presumably stuck to spiders web threads attached to them.
An orchid was just coming into bloom.
One of the paths I really like to wander down when I come to Old Moor is the path from the Wath Ings Hide to the Field Pool hide and then past there to the gate at the bottom. This time there were a pair of young blue tits flitting about above my head.
I think this is a dingy skipper on the clover
Back to the cafe now for a latte and a piece of flapjack - no visit is complete without it! Then it was off to the new Bittern Hide which I hadn't seen before yesterday - no bittern sighting for me, but the hide is in a great place and gives really good views of the lake.
There were plenty of common blue damselflies on the lily pads.
I saw so many other things whilst wandering round, but will leave it there for now! I'm just wondering when I will have time to come back - work does get in the way, but I have a day off on Tuesday.........!!
By the way, if you read this Nicola it was nice to bump into you in the Visitor Centre and have a chat about cameras!
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Lovely Photos Christine superb clarity and I know you know they are longtailed tits in the picture. I love Old Moor I just like letting it absorb into me like a sponge ! And yes its the gorgeous flora and fauna as well as the birds.Lovely Lovely Steve
Thank you Redwolf for your kind comments and yes I did know they were long tailed tits - I don't know why on earth I wrote bluetits! Old Moor is one of those places I can just spend hours at - there is always something new to discover. I enjoy spending just as much time looking round the hedgerows and by the ponds as I do in the bird hides!
Ever thought about moving to Barnsley Christine? Thought not lol. Glad you continue to get new things out of your visits and it's interesting to see your comments about the new hide, which I haven't seen for myself yet. Must put that right this week.
Regards
Ian
Hi Christine, nice to see you too! Your photos are lovely, I too saw the long tailed tits but didn't get such a lovely view or photo as you did, very cute and great to hear them singing!
Lol Ian! Yes - you must get out to see the new bittern hide. I must admit, I work four days a week and Tuesday is my day off and I'm already toying with the idea of going back again in the morning - or should I stay at home and do the dusting and ironing? Difficult one that lol!!
Hi Christine. I always enjoy your photos and descriptions of your days out and this is no exception. Lovely photos again with the Long tailed Tit's being particularly nice although it's been lovely to see the flowers and insects as well.
Paul
My bird photos HERE
Hi Paul and thank you! Sometimes I like to go and spend more time watching what is on the lakes and sometimes it's nice to go butterfly and dragonfly hunting! Makes me wonder what I used to do with my spare time before I got into birdwatching about three years ago now!
Lovely photos :) The little Long-tailed Titlings are so gorgeous. The warbler is a Willow Warbler, and the damsels are Azure rather than Common Blue. Butterfly IDs are spot on.
My blog: http://mazzaswildside.blogspot.co.uk/
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Hi Bob hope you had a great holiday - expect you'll have lots of photos to show us before too long! What a novice I am mixing up a LTT with a bluetit lol!
Aiki - thanks for all those ids! I was hoping that might be a willow warbler. Need to brush up on the blue damselfly species now that dragonfly season is coming upon us again!
Re the blue damsels... I posted these on here ages ago but as it's that time of year I may as well post them again - first image is male Common Blue Damselfly, second is male Azure Damselfly.
Now, the key.
1 = marking on the second abdominal segment. This is a stalked blob in Common Blue, an unstalked U shape in Azure.
2 = antehumeral stripes - the pair of pale stripes down the thorax top. These are narrow in Azure, broad in Common Blue.
3 = the Coenagrion spur - a little extra black half-stripe on the thorax sides of the Azure (and the other rarer blue damsels in the genus Coenagrion), but it's absent in the Common Blue (which is in the genus Enallagma). This one also works with the females.
The other blue damsels are much scarcer than these two, the Northern and Southern in particular are very localised. Variable is more widespread. If your possible Azure has broken or missing antehumeral stripes, and its U-shaped marking is thick and stalked, it's probably a Variable.