Lunt Meadows, Merseyside

Kingfisher

Visitor Paul Madden spotted this magnificent kingfisher at Lunt Meadows this month. Paul spotted it from the small hide at the opposite end to the kingfisher screen looking towards the reedbed.

Lunt Meadows is a wetlands site, and so is a perfect habitat for the kingfisher to perch and catch prey from the reedbeds.

There are about 90 species of kingfisher around the world, most of which have brightly coloured plumage. The Australian kingfisher, the laughing kookaburra, is the heaviest of all the kingfisher species. 

Juvenile Eurasian Sparrowhawk

Paul Madden also submitted this stunning photo of a sparrowhawk to us from his visit. Seen from the bird hide near the reedbed at the opposite end of the pool to the kingfisher screen, towards Hunts Brook, this sparrowhawk was perched on a tree looking right at him! The sparrowhawk is one of our smallest birds of prey. The male is somewhere between the size of a blackbird and a collared dove, whereas the female is larger, up to the size of a feral pigeon. This is the biggest difference in size of any bird.

Sparrowhawks are classified in the UK as Amber under the Birds of Conservation Concern 5: the Red List for Birds (2021), so it's wonderful to see this one making itself at home on one of our reserves.

Kestrel

Another excellent sighting from Paul, as he spotted and photographed this kestrel having just landed with rodent prey in its talons. 

Lunt Meadows is a popular reserve for birders, and this photo shows how patience, a keen eye and being in the right place at the right time pays off!

The kestrel is a little larger than a feral pigeon and lays between four and five eggs. When they hatch, both parents help to feed the young chicks.

Mere Sands Wood, West Lancashire

False deathcap mushroom

Fungi are in abundance at Mere Sands Wood! Mark Lazenby shared a selection of mushroom photos with us after his visit to our nature reserve this month.

Appearing in late summer to late autumn, the false deathcap has a smooth white cap with small warty pale patches on it. The gills are white and crowded and grow free of the stem. This mushroom looks remarkably like the deathcap. Whilst not deadly like it's look-a-like, it is still inedible, toxic to humans, and should not be eaten. Discover which fungi you can hope to spot on our reserves this autumn here.

Blusher mushroom

The blusher mushroom is difficult to identify since its cap varies so much through its waxing and waning cycle. It can appear as white, pink, brown or black. A common fungus in the UK, it is called the blusher mushroom because when it is cut or bruised, the flesh exposed to the air blushes a pinky red colour. Tell-tale identification features are a bulbous base, a white ring on the stem (in this photo it has fallen away), and white gills that grow free of the stem. Thanks to Mark Lazenby for sending us this excellent photo!

White Saddle mushroom

Helvella crispa, or more commonly known as white saddle or elfin saddle mushroom, is one of the easier fungi to identify due to it's wild wavy cap and ribbed stem. Interestingly, the white saddle does not have gills that sit on the underside of the cap like other fungi, but produce their spores from sacs on the crumpled surface of the cap. With its irregular shape, you can see why it is nick-named elfin saddle, because it looks like the ideal seat for fairy-folk to rest on! Thanks to Mark Lazenby for his wonderful photos.

Want to learn more about the fascinating kingdom of fungi? Sign up to our 7 day free beginners' course!

Brockholes, Preston
 

Bank vole

This cheeky little fellow was spotted by Paul Haworth on his visit to Brockholes this month. Seen peeking out from underneath a muddy bank, this bank vole greeted Paul long enough for him to get a great photo. Paul said that the cheeky little bank vole made his day, and that "every time I visit come away with a smile on my face".

Bank voles live in shallow burrows, but may make grassy, round nests above ground if the soil is unsuitable for digging. They have three or four litters a year, each with three to five young.

Great White Egret and Little Egret

This fantastic photo of a great white and little egret hanging out together at Brockholes was sent to us by g.c_ph0tography_.

This photo perfectly shows their difference in size, and that they need the same habitat to thrive. Great white egrets were once a rare UK visitor, but now we have several breeding pairs on our wetlands. They are the size of a grey heron, but with longer legs and neck. Great white egrets have a large, dagger-like bill that is yellow for most of the year, but becomes mostly black in breeding birds.

Similarly, little egrets were once a very rare visitor from the Mediterranean, but are now a common sight around the coasts of England and Wales as they expand their range, possibly due to increasing temperatures caused by climate change. 

Seaforth, Merseyside
 

Meadow pipits

Tom McKibbin shared this lovely photo of two meadow pipits bickering at Seaforth from his visit this month.

In the autumn and winter, meadow pipits move out of upland areas to lowlands, where they gather in small flocks and can be found on farmland and saltmarshes. It's a delight to see these two birds having a chat at our Merseyside site, as they are classified in the UK as Amber under the Birds of Conservation Concern 5: the Red List for Birds (2021). Listed as Near Threatened on the global IUCN Red List of Threatened Species.

Middleton Nature Reserve, Heysham
 

Southern Hawker

Southern hawkers remain on the wing until October, so we love that regular visitor and talented photographer Janet Packham has managed to see these dragonflies on her visit to Middleton nature reserve this month. Hawkers are the largest and fastest flying dragonflies; they catch their insect-prey mid-air and can hover or fly backwards. 

Red-veined darter

This red-veined darter is a female, because of its golden colouring and beautiful yellow wing veins. The males are unmistakably ruddy coloured. Janet Packham shared this gorgeous photo of her sighting at Middleton. 

Key features to distinguish this darter from others is the blue eyes, pale wing spots outlined in black and the coloured wings - males sport red where females sport yellow colours.