After some searching around on the internet as to where to go to this weekend, we stumbled upon Moore Nature Reserve, south of Warrington. It had some good write ups and, as it's not too far to go, we decided to give it a try. It's a little tricky to find if you go via Warrington, but a lot easier if you go via the Runcorn Bridge. The car park surface was a bit of a challenge, but if you don't mind getting a few stones in your tyres you'll be alright. Word of warning though, we did see glass on the floor which looked like the remnants of a car window so don't leave your sat nav, blackberry and laptop on display!
We started off in the small meadow just in front of the car park and immediately had a good start: a male kestrel was hunting low then landing on a dead tree or pylon to observe his next target. He was a little too small and our lens not powerful enough to get a decent shot though.
We carried on round to Birchwood Pool and were greeted with a family of Tufted Duck chicks swimming behind their mother. Also a couple of Little Grebes and a Heron, the latter stood on top of a rock, all the better to see his prey with!
This heron "helpfully" brought its own twig to hide behind:
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| Grey Heron |
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We then travelled through towards Middle Moss Wood where there was a rather nice Nuthatch, but the sun was too strong to get a decent shot again. There were also three Buzzards to be seen throughout most of the day - always sticking together.
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| Buzzard |
Here we observed a sexton beetle,
Nicrophorus vespillaides, note the mites on its back
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| Nicrophorus vespilloides |
We made a circle round towards Lapwing Lake - another Little Grebe and Heron, also Gadwall and family of Mute Swans.
Other sightings of the day included those below:
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| Hoverfly |
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| Peacock |
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| Peacock |
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| Scorpion Fly |
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| Teasel |
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| Soldier Beetle Rhagonycha fulva |
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| Damselfly (possibly female Common Blue) |
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| Fly |
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