Friday 27th May 2011 - Shenstone

At Captains Pool, the 2nd pair of Great Crested Grebes have now hatched 3 young.  The original pair of Grebes are still sitting on the 2nd brood (TS).

This morning, due to the rather frustrating lull in bird activity at Shenstone, TS and I decided to spend some time looking at the invertebrates along Butts Lane.  Although quite dull it was good for seeing fairly inactive butterflies and day-flying moths that were perched.  In total we recorded 3 Brown Argus, 3 Common Blue (2♂ & 1♀), 1 Large White and my first patch Large Skipper of the year.   We also recorded the first ever patch Burnet Companion moth (to my knowledge), 2 Cinnabar Moths and a Blue-tailed Damselfly.

All in all a good visit...thank heavens for the 'inverts' during the summer lull between bird migration periods thats all I can say!

Common Blue (♂):

Common Blue (♀):

Brown Argus:

Large Skipper:

Blue-tailed Damselfly: