Disregarding birds – there were almost none to make note of anyway, this was a very special day in the field in pleasant conditions. Beginning in Thornton-le-Moors woods was a good move as within moments of searching the leaves of the first Silver Birch tree, I began finding clutch after clutch of immature PARENT BUGS! To put this into context, despite this particular tree being probably the only regular site for the species on the patch, these represented just the 6th ever record! In total there were 18 batches of immatures in various stages of development, as well as three presumed females doing their thing by standing guard over their eggs. Taking a photograph of each group found enabled an accurate count of 381 immatures and three adults! Only Gorse Shieldbug comes close thanks to the colony in 4473. One group was doing its best to hide the leafmine of STIGMELLA SAKHALINELLA, the second record ever and the first since mines on the same tree on 2010. A NUTHATCH calling from the wood was an entirely unexpected first for the year.

Heading south out of the village there was little along the hedgerow until just before the entrance to Speckled Wood Lane, when by some freakish amount of luck accounted for the finding of an adult STIGMELLA SCHREBERELLA! The first adult for the patch and just the 3rd record ever following the discovery of leaf-mines on the very same tree as the shieldbug throng.

Speckled Wood Lane was almost declarable as a bird-free zone; singles of Chiffchaff and Blackcap were about the best along the entire route, though there was a brief encounter with a newly fledged Robin. Even hoverflies were all but absent, with just the odd individual of several common species on show and Speckled Woods (6) were the only butterfly actually along the lane itself. Moths did however rescue the situation with new for the reserve records of both CHOCOLATE-TIP and YPSOLOPHA USTELLA. The first being found when attempting to photograph an ARGYRESTHIA BONNETELLA, itself just the 9th record ever!

Leaf-mining added Stigmella aurella, Stigmella hybnerella, Stigmella hemargyrella, and Phyllonorycter coryli so things were busy enough.

With the weather being as it was, a census of Banded Demoiselles seemed in order. It took an hour to get to the river as there were distractions aplenty along the route, not least of which a year high 35 Swallows over what was left of the pond in SJ4373. Sixty-five Harlequin Ladybirds were a less welcome sight but looking at a particularly nicely marked individual drew my attention to a Gypsonoma dealbana moth, which in turn led me to another reserve first, ACLERIS COMARIANA! Small Copper added itself to the growing butterfly day list. 

Once at the river it was immediately obvious that there were masses of demoiselles on the wing, so a slow walk north to the A5117 was certainly called for. At times, numbers were difficult to count as patrolling Emperors caused pandemonium in their ranks. These instances aside only a handful of Azure Damselflies, one or two Brown Hawkers and the very welcome sight of a family party of Mute Swans (five cygnets) interrupted the counting. The first sighting since the nest in SJ4374 was vacated, it was good to see that it had been a successful attempt in the most bizarre place to nest!

I started within Thornton-le-Moors wood, checking on the Parent Bug horde and despite the light drizzle, it took just seconds to find around 50. A nice Sparrowhawk circled overhead for a short while too. After leaving the others to cover the northern part of the reserve I spent a little time in the wood looking for leaf mines and turned up a few species without anything to write home about. However, along the road south there was to be a few mines of Stigmella perpygmaella and the first of several Red Admirals. The eastern end of Speckled Wood Lane, devoid of birds or bird sounds even was only lacking tumbleweeds so yet again insects took centre stage. Increasingly more moth leaf mines are ‘available’ for detection these days and several more species (including Phyllonorycter coryli and Phyllonorycter corylifoliella) were simple enough to find, as were Neuroterus numismalis galls on Oak. At the s-bend in the lane a BUFF FOOTMAN showed nicely, just the second reserve record and then Willow Warblers were heard calling. In the end there were to be three, but since the species has been totally absent on the reserve this breeding season the question as to them being migrants (they were all adults) begged being asked. It’s certainly not too early for return passage to have begun and a Green Sandpiper was heard adjacent to the lingering remnants of the pond in SJ4373. Before the pond however there were other highlights: the first PARASWAMMERDAMIA NEBULELLA micro-moth for the reserve a 22-spot Ladybird, several Speckled Woods and Argyresthia bonnetella plus the first Hawthorn Shieldbug of the year. The latter is getting increasingly difficult to find these days. 

Two female Kestrels were around the pond and one was inadvertently disturbed from the perch of the nestbox (though it returned within a few minutes). Butterflies became more frequent, especially and as might be expected, Gatekeeper and Meadow Brown, though there were two more Red Admirals. In quick succession there were then new records for the reserve of the hoverfly PLATYCHEIRUS MANICATUS the macro moth SLENDER PUG, as well as the second ever EPINOTIA NISELLA. However, in terms of sheer difficulty in finding, the larva and cocoon of BUCCULATRIX BECHSTEINELLA on Hawthorn was sighting of the day; I had only found the cocoon one time before –the mines being easier.