I haven't written anything since 8th June so there's some catching up to do.
13th June: Carrington Moss. After worrying that there were so few butterflies this year, I saw over 50 on my walk round the Moss. 23 of them were Small Tots; the rest were Meadow Browns and a few Large Skippers. There was also the most glorious Banded Demoiselle, and the biggest fungus I have ever seen - a Dryad's Saddle, in which the largest plate was over 20 inches across.
A couple of days later I was pleased to see several Red Admirals - last year I saw only one.
Next up on the 17th it was the day of the Commas and Peacock caterpillars - dozens, maybe hundreds of them. Also the loveliest Small Tort! Speckled Woods along the woodland edges and the occasional Cinnabar moth.
22nd June: More Red Admirals, more Peacock cats, more Commas, more Large Skippers. Also a number of Small Whites settled long enough for me to identify. I remember reading in BC's report that the Whites appeared to have done less well but I would imagine that's due to lack of reporting, with the difficulty of identifying them.
23rd June; a trip on the Metrolink - first since lockdown - to St Werbergh's station where in the past there has been a bounty of Common Blues, but there were none. Nor were Meadow Browns or Skippers in much evidence - a surprisingly poor showing. Did the Blues caterpillars hatch out during the hot dry weather and starve to death? There was very little vegetation growing. The Peacocks, Commas, Small Torts and Red Admirals all hatched just before and after the rain so they have had plenty to eat.
Today I was back on the Moss and found a lovely little moth - and as usual I can't identify it. Possibly a Swift?