One of my favourite poos. The white, walking-stick-like droppings of the Green Woodpecker. On closer examination it is full of the fragmented exoskeltons of the ants that the bird has fed on.
Hmmm. I am not convinced the general biodiversity value of the east side of the river comes close to that of the west. I am on the side of the stonechats. And the green hairstreaks, the mountain bumblebees, the juniper shieldbugs... 馃檪
The Whitefish (Coregonus lavaretus) spawns in the shallows of Ullswater in winter. At this time they are vulnerable to predation by Otters and patches of scales on the shore from fish landed by Otters have been useful in plotting the spawning grounds of this vulnerable species.
A couple of pics for comparison. Coastal Stiletto on sand with a pale yellow club to the haltere and all hairs on top of thorax silver-grey. Northern Silver Stiletto on a stone with grey club to haltere and obvious black hairs mixed among silver ones on top of thorax. Both males
Some bug-eyed creepy-crawlies colonising the shoreline of the new ponds at @cumbriawildlife's #EycottHill reserve back in April: the beetles Elaphrus riparius and E cupreus and the shorebug Saldula saltatoria
The new ponds created by @cumbriawildlife at their #EycottHill nature reserve are already being colonised by several species of dragonfly. I was pleased to find several Broad-bodied Chasers emerging the other day, still an uncommon newcomer to the Cumbrian fauna. #ClimateChange
I was surprised and delighted to see this single Marsh Fritillary at @cumbriawildlife Trust's #EycottHill Nature Reserve yesterday. The fabulous weather seems to be aiding the dispersal of this and other very localised insects
During the heatwave of July 2018 we spent a few nights camped high on the Braeriach plateau, swimming in every lochan and burn to keep cool. Fabulously remote with snow buntings and dotterel for company.
Plenty of hoverfly action on the scabious flowers @cumbriawildlife Trust's Argill Woods Reserve yesterday. Always nice to see Arctophila superbiens and Sericomyia silentis but the star of the day was Volucella inanis, which may be the first record of this species in Cumbria
