Seaforth Nature Reserve

Common Sandpiper

The common sandpiper is a small wading bird which breeds along fast-moving rivers and near lakes, lochs and reservoirs. It bobs up and down when standing, known as 'teetering', and has a distinctive, stiff-winged flight. Tony Conway spotted this one having a nice time wading about at our Seaforth Nature Reserve this month. 

Kingfisher

One of the most striking and disarming birds to see on your wildlife walks is the kingfisher. A beautiful bird spotted at rivers and streams, look out for them perched on low-hanging branches over the water, ready to dive in to catch a small fish.

In this stunning photo taken by Tony @merseybirders, the kingfisher looks to be hyper-focussed for it's next catch.

Gill Griffiths shared her nature moment with a kingfisher at Seaforth this month too, letting us know that it was showing off that day! Did you know that a group of kingfishers is called ' concentration?'

Check out where you are likely to see kingfishers in the north here!

Black-tailed godwit

Tony also photographed this black-tailed godwit on his visit to Seaforth.

A sociable bird, it forms large flocks when feeding, probing the mud with its bill for invertebrate-prey. Black-tailed godwits form monogamous pairs that last for years. Every spring, faithful couples will arrive at their breeding grounds within three days of each other, mate and raise their chicks together.

Unfortunately, they are classified in the UK as Red under the Birds of Conservation Concern 5: the Red List for Birds (2021), so we especially love it when people send us sightings at our Seaforth reserve.

Moses Gate Country Park

Black-necked grebe

Whilst not one of our nature reserves- Moses Gate is owned by Bolton Council- we couldn't resist sharing this sighting of a striking black-necked grebe, taken by Dennis Atherton on his visit to the park this month. It's dark feathers contrasted with ruby-red eyes staring straight at the camera is a wonderful photo. Thanks for sharing with us Dennis!

We'd recommend following The Kingfisher Trail, a scenic 14-mile route connecting the rural West Pennine Moors to the urban centres of Bolton, Bury and Salford, on your next visit there.

Brockholes Nature Reserve
 

Brown hare

We love to see how our resident hares our doing at our flagship nature reserve. Richard recently snapped a photo of this leggy beauty bounding away from him across the road, showing off it's long, powerful hind legs. Hares can reach speeds of up to 45 mph to escape predators and other threats.

Spoonbill

Robert photographed this beautiful spoonbill at Brockholes this month. It was a few weeks ago that he saw a pair of them in the lake, "which like most lakes I've seen at reserves over the last few weeks, has now dried up".

The spoonbill is a relative of the ibises, a group of long-legged birds with curved bills. Almost as big as a grey heron, the spoonbill feeds on shrimps and other aquatic invertebrates which it catches while sweeping its bizarre, spoon-shaped bill from side to side in the water.

Osprey

Ospreys are a migratory bird in the UK over summer, and tend to be one of our star attractions at Brockholes for visitors, birders and photographers.

We've seen a few ospreys this month, however Craig Smith photographed this one attempting, and failing, to land in a tree with it's huge wings. It aborted it's landing mission as gracefully as it could!

Lunt Meadows

Grey Heron

Nathan perfectly timed this photo of a heron catching a sizeable dinner at Lunt. Usually sighted standing statue-still, this heron's patience was rewarded with a tasty fish. 

Herons nest in colonies called 'Heronries', often in the top of trees. They make rudimentary nests out of twigs and lay 3-4 eggs. The young will then fledge from the nest after about one and half months.

Brown Hare

Lunt Meadows is favoured by birders for it's abundance and diversity of species that visit, nest and breed there. But it's not all birdlife - Bob Hurrell saw this hare happily feeding on new vegetation in the dry pool beds. It looks content and well-fed sitting in the August sun.

Middleton Nature Reserve

Speckled Wood Butterfly

These brown beauties are on the wing until October, so spot and appreciate them whilst you can! Janet photographed this one with it's wings on display, with it's brown colours contrasting with the yellow flower. Thankfully, speckled woods were a common sighting in this year's Big Butterfly Count.

Ruddy Darter Dragonfly

One of the more common darter species, Janet spied this one taking a rest at Middleton Nature Reserve. This darter is male because it is ruddy-red with a club-shaped abdomen. The females have an ochre-yellow abdomen and black markings. Their abdomen is not club-shaped, making it clear to tell the difference.

Chat Moss

Common Lizard

Legendary birder Dave Steel has sent us in some sightings from his visit to Chat Moss this August. We were delighted to see this common lizard basking in the warmth of the day on a log. 

Also known as the 'viviparous lizard', the common lizard is unusual among reptiles as it incubates its eggs inside its body and 'gives birth' to live young rather than laying eggs.

Fledgling Swallow

This adorable, fluffy fledgling swallow is one of our favourite sightings this month! This hungry little one is waiting to be fed. Dave said it was 'one of several young Swallow awaiting its nest feed...to think within weeks this bird should be on its way to South Africa!'

Learn more about swallows and other summer migrant birds from our blog, or check out Dave Steel's wildlife writings from his adventures.