Not many birds around on Hilbre but with the Great Orme scoring a Woodchat Shrike on top of Bardseys and the Lancs one a week or so ago we still live in hope..........not much but a little.
Attention turned to the insects buzzing around Hilbre with few birds to see. My first Painted Lady of the year, Sexton Beetle and a few Cinnabar moths were on the wing whilst the moth trap yielded a handful of the commoner species including this stunning Buff Tip that sat on Lottie's hand.
A short ringing session in the garden was rewarding as I caught a female Bullfinch with a well developed brood patch suggesting the regular garden pair are nesting nearby. A check of the Swallows nests at John's local farm where he's been ringing them for centuries confirmed numbers are down with only 4 nests this year one of which contained young old enough to ring, one with very small young and two with eggs. They are much later than in previous years.
A trip with Barry to inspect our Little Owl box revealed one resident stood in the corner with its eyes shut hoping that if it couldn't see us we couldn't see it.
Apart from that a Hobby over the house in yesterdays evening sunshine was a welcome addition to the garden year list.
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