Letchmire Pastures, Allerton Bywater

On our first trip to Letchmire Pastures Local Nature Reserve a wetland and grassland site on a former coal area, we spotted a few firsts of the year, including our first dragonfly sighting. I have to admit that I'm out of practice but we think this is a female Four Spotted Chaser, broad tail,black tip & spots on wings. Below the same dragonfly a little closer.

In a South facing sloped patch of grassland I spotted my first Common Blue (Polyommatus icarus) of the year (3 males), not such great pics so this one's just for reference.

And my first Small Copper (Lycaena phlaeas) of the year.

We also heard our first Cuckoo of the year and saw it briefly perched on a telegraph wire before it flew off into the woodland. Its shape was familiar to me as a result of having viewed cuckoo photos on blog postings, so thank you to everybody who has shared their cuckoo photos recently, its a great way to learn about unfamiliar species. Other bird sightings included Partridge, Lapwing, Jay, Swallow, Cormorant.

Rodley Nature Reserve

A weekend trip to Rodley Nature Reserve offered the first dragonfly sighting of the year in the form of this Four Spotted Chaser, accompanied by a restless Brown Hawker and a female Broad Bodied Chaser.

On our way out we popped into the Lagoon Hide where we bumped into Chloe, Gav and Jackie, visiting the reserve for the first time. In a welcoming display of impeccable timing a Kingfisher flew into view to settle on its post before moving to another perch, focussing intently on the water below before propelling itself underwater and emerging triumphant with a fish.

Twenty+ Ringlets fluttered amongst the long grasses of the embankment running alongside the Access Road. A handful of Meadow Browns evaded our attempts to photograph them in the Hay Meadow. Five Small Tortoiseshell settled amongst nettles around the Dragonfly ponds where we saw a female Kestrel fly overhead.

Askham Bog

On a recent visit to Askham Bog, there were 10 Four Spotted Chase Dragonflies zipping around the pond, occasionally coming to rest on the surrounding vegetation. I counted 5 at rest on a grassy bank.

There was an abundance of Small Skippers (I'm now rethinking this because Dean has kindly pointed out that the following two pics are of a Large Skipper and not a Small Skipper, so thanks to Dean for his help). On the wing a couple of Orange Tip, 3 Brimstone, a Common Blue, a Green Veined White, suprisingly no Speckled Woods today.

A Longhorn Moth, Nemophora degeerella. I didn't quite realise how long the antennae are until I edited the second pic and realised I hadn't managed to include all of the antennae.

By the pond these small black shiny caterpillars feeding on what looked like birch, could they be the caterpillar of the Argent and Sable moth?