Photo of a Lapwing. Cheers David

Photo of an Emerald Damselfly Cheers David

Photo of a juvenile Black-necked Grebe Cheers David

Photo of a Little Egret Cheers David

Photo of a juvenile Shelduck. Cheers David

It’s been a busy week, with our new Assistant Warden, Eva Pyrah, arriving and starting the process of settling in and finding her way around the Reserve. We are really pleased to welcome Eva on board as she will be a real asset, with a wide range of relevant skills and experience. The weather was hot and muggy which made for some good dragonfly and butterfly counts as we made our way around all four beds. The highlight of our walk round No.4 bed on Tuesday was undoubtedly the count of 22 Essex Skippers. They are a relatively scarce butterfly in this area and were first recorded in Cheshire in 2017, having been slowly spreading northwards as the climate has warmed. The only previous record at Woolston was of a handful on No.2 bed in 2023. Other records of note included a Green Sandpiper, 24 Ringlets,15 of the scarce Roesel’s Buch-cricket and a Hobby catching a Swallow right in front of the Morgan Hide. Thursday saw us walk nearly eight miles covering the remaining three beds. Highlights were 2 Garganey, 3 Black-tailed Godwits and a Redshank in front of the Morgan Hide plus 3 more Essex Skippers on No.2 bed. It was a little cooler this morning and we completed a count of Black-necked Grebes on No.4 bed, locating 24 in total, of which 16 were juveniles, with the majority of our breeding population now having left to start their long journey southwards. Photo of a Whitethroat Cheers David Bowman (with Dan Owen, Eva Pyrah, David Spencer, Helen Wynn and Brian Baird)