Thursday 18 July 2013

Teesmouth Field Centre Butterfly Walk 14/7/2013

I woke up to a misty morning and wondered whether our current spell of hot sunny weather had come to an end the day before my Butterfly Walk. Typical!

As I drove to the Teesmouth Field Centre to open up in time for our visitors, mist/light fog could clearly be seen in the distance. The air was cool and there was no sign of the sun as the clock ticked around to 10 am. Ten visitors came to the Field Centre and after a short introduction we set off to start the Hartlepool Power Station Nature Trail.

No butterflies were around my first planned stop at the bramble bushes and there were none to be see along the grass edges. We reached the start of the trail and notice some mating Narrow-bordered Five-spot Burnet Moths and there was another sitting wait for the air to warm up. A few more steps along the path and we were met by dozens of Ringlet butterflies, Meadow Browns and Large Skippers. I needn't of worried as the butterflies and moths were showing well.

By the halfway point the sun was out, the temperature was rising and everyone was spotting things along the path.

Here is a record of our sightings

Butterflies
Meadow Brown 97
Large Skipper 43
Small Skipper 1
Skipper sp 13
Small Heath 15
Ringlet 61
Large White 4
Small Tortoiseshell 2

Moths
Narrow-bordered Five-spot Burnet Moth 20
Six-spot Burnet Moth 1
Burnet Moth sp 13
Shaded Broad-bar 4
Timothy Tortrix 1
Cinnabar Moth 1
Cinnabar Moth larvae 20
Yellowshell 1
Chrysoteuchia culmella 2

Insects

7-spot Ladybirds 11

Birds
Carrion Crow 3
Woodpigeon 3
Common Whitethroat 4
Magpie 2
Dunnock 2
Reed Bunting 1
Wren 2
Great Tit 2
Swallow 2
Black-headed Gull 29

Damselflies

Blue-tailed Damselfly

Pyramidal Orchid
 
 
In the afternoon, I went for a walk to the Hartlepool Power Station Bird Hide overlooking Seal Sands. The wildflowers were beautiful having had no disturbance and of course they were also butterflies too.
 
Common Century

Vipers Bugloss
 
Butterflies
Meadow Brown 50
Large Skipper 25
Ringlet 85
Large White 1
Small Tortoiseshell 5
Grayling 3

Moths
Six-spot Burnet Moth 9
Shaded Broad-bar 6
Cinnabar Moth 1
Chrysoteuchia culmella 2
 
Grayling
 

Large Skipper

Meadow Brown

Shaded Broad-bar Moth

Ringlet


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