A visit to Whixall moss

[jerryh]

I spent a very enjoyable couple of days at Fenn's, Whixall and Bettisfield Mosses NNR over the weekend.
The weather wasn't as sunny as I would have liked for dragonflies, but still I saw 2 species I'd never seen before and generally had a great time.

The Mosses are a wierd but fantastic and fascinating place. Off the public RoWs, you need a permit to visit, but this isn't a problem as English Nature will provide one on request. The permit comes with a pack of documents and interesting booklets, plus 2 pages of safety information. Despite all the warnings about being careful where you sit down, etc, I still didn't see an Adder!

Jerry


Here are just a few photos of what I did see...

White-faced Darter


A just-emerged Common Hawker


Common Heath moth


There were plenty of Stonechats around


I found these dragonfly wings on a small patch of bare ground. Clearly, they had been removed by a predator, but what was the predator and what dragonfly was it?

[ChrisJB]

Always fancied a trip to Whixall Moss Jerry. It sounds great. I believe silver studded blues can be found there in season also. The dragonfly consumer could've been a hobby. There are supposed to be a lot of them there too.

Regards, Chris

[jerryh]

It's a great place, Chris

I, too, wondered about a Hobby - I saw one while I was there. I've never seen one eating on the ground, but I guess they do sometimes.

[ChrisJB]

Originally Posted by jerryh

I, too, wondered about a Hobby - I saw one while I was there. I've never seen one eating on the ground, but I guess they do sometimes.

Maybe it was a fussy hobby, that as usual ate on the wing, but decided to leave the wings in a nice tidy pile.

Regards, Chris

[jerryh]

Originally Posted by ChrisJB

Maybe it was a fussy hobby, that as usual ate on the wing, but decided to leave the wings in a nice tidy pile.

Regards, Chris

Ah, yes - possibly a previously unknown subspecies, Falco subbuteo orderlii


Jerry

[ChrisJB]

Originally Posted by jerryh

Ah, yes - possibly a previously unknown subspecies, Falco subbuteo orderlii


Jerry

Ha ha, nice one!

Regards, Chris