At the end of my regular evening walk tonight (20.00) a pipistrelle-sized bat flew over from the tree in a neighbouring garden towards the one in the next street. First one I've seen around for quite a while.
Mike Chorley said
Sun Nov 8 9:38 PM, 2020
Sat 7th November. Turn around Werneth Park for my permitted exercise. Mostly small things now, excluding the Squirrels and some large specimens of Trooping Funnel. A Harlequin Ladybird, a couple of wasps, a hoverfly and a number of different fly species on the ground level Ivy, plus a mystery Lepidopterid. It was flying around the canopy of an Acer species on the edge of the scruffy area. Unfortunately only seen against the sky and had disappeared before I could move to view it against the foliage. On a different tree species earlier in the year I'd have said it was a White Hairstreak, but this late all I can think of is maybe a small second generation Speckled Wood (it was too small for overwintering Peacock or Small Tortoiseshell).
-- Edited by Mike Chorley on Monday 9th of November 2020 08:29:13 AM
July 19th. Walk over to Chadderton Cemetery. Was hoping for a good collection of insects but the combination of patchy cloud cover and a cool breeze meant that only one distant white and one Small Tortoiseshell were seen around the cemetery itself, despite large numbers of recent cut flowers and an extensive area of Hawkbit/Sowthistle around the older graves. The scrubby, woody edges were more productive, with Speckled Wood(2), Ringlet(several), Small Tortoiseshell(1) Red Admiral(1) Peacock (1) Comma(1) ans Small Skipper (1). Also an interesting fly with a spotted abdomen and what appeared to be a gold spot in front of each eye on either side of the mouth, which I failed to photograph well enough with my phone to identify. Also not so much a troop as a regiment of Redleg Roundhead mushrooms on wood chip in a shaded part of the park
July 28th Brown Rollrim and a welcome return of Honeysuckle on Suthers Street, the latter having disappeared a few years ago in a very sever cut back of vegetation (admittedly mostly eye-level bramble!) on a chain-link fence.
August 11th Brown Hawker over a patch of grass between the industrial units and the overgrown fence opposite my flat. First record around here for me.
Mike Chorley said
Wed Jul 1 9:12 PM, 2020
Large and Small Whites in Werneth Park late afternoon and a couple of Red Admirals having a border skirmish. Elsewhere on my usual route more Small Whites and my first local Ringlet. A reliable source confirmed another 4 Ringlets nearby, along with 4 Small Skippers and recently emerged White-letter Hairstreaks.
Mike Chorley said
Wed Jun 17 7:10 PM, 2020
Foxdenton Hall, Chadderton this a.m. Around the edge of the football pitch and just beyond, at least 2 probably 3 Ringlet, Red Admiral and at least 1 Small Tortoiseshell. Might just get the year's butterfly list into double figures. Also a couple of Grey Squirrels.
Mike Chorley said
Tue May 26 10:17 PM, 2020
Have added Red-tailed and Buff-tailed Bumblebees to my sightings in Werneth Park and on my last fortnightly shopping trip (May 25th) found a Common Spotted Orchid behind a slab-topped retaining wall on Featherstall Road.
Mike Chorley said
Sun Apr 26 5:55 PM, 2020
Despite the warm windless afternoon there were very few butterflies on the wing during my circuit today ..... and none in the sheltered suntrap on the edge of the park. Plenty of other insects around there though, the only two of which I could identify being Common Carder Bee and Red Mason Bee. The lack of humans and, more likely, wandering dogs seems to have encouraged the local Grey Squirrels with maybe 10 sighted throughout the park. Elsewhere in the area 2 Large White and 1 Small White butterfly were seen.
Mike Chorley said
Sun Apr 19 10:17 PM, 2020
Several year ticks for my butterfly list this afternoon as part of our #Virtual Trip, all in the overgrown area, with Speckled Wood, Small White and female Orange Tip to go with the Peacock.
The park is actually the extensive gardens of Werneth (new) Hall so wild flowers are pretty much weeded and mulched out of existence. Even the ubiquitous Dandelion is banished to the edges and I suspect the Bluebells that are to be seen are foreigners, but Pink Purslane has got a good foothold around the area once know as the 'nature reserve' and Forget-me Nots are providing a fine spread along the woded boundary path to offset the Snake's Head Fritillaries
Just one butterfly seen in the park today. A peacock in its' favoured spot. Buff-tailed Bumblebee Queen in the same area. At least 6 Grey Squirrels around today, and clumps of Speedwell among the cultivated flowers on the side entrance.
Mike Chorley said
Wed Mar 25 7:09 PM, 2020
Short walk to Werneth Park this afternoon and in a quiet, overgrown area just on the edge of the park 2 Comma butterflies and a Peacock were arguing over the best sunning spots. White-tailed Bumblebee Queens around in a couple of places, 6 Grey Squirrels and some good clumps of Lesser Celandine.
Mike Chorley said
Sun Mar 22 11:56 PM, 2020
Just heard an almighty squealing outside which proved to be three foxes having a fight up and down the street! And this us supposed to be a nice, quiet area
Mike Chorley said
Sat Sep 14 9:05 PM, 2019
Good 'troop' of Velvet Toughshank on a mature, pollarded Beech on Chamber Road.
Mike Chorley said
Mon Aug 5 8:11 PM, 2019
At last. Painted Lady on the track bed just south of Freehold tram stop Not exactly an invasion but it's a start.!
Peacock nearby as well.
Mike Chorley said
Thu Aug 1 4:12 PM, 2019
Comma on Watts Street and loads of Cinnabar Moth caterpillars all over the ragweed throughout my route over to Chadderton.
Andrea Wilson said
Wed Jul 17 1:57 PM, 2019
Humming-bird hawk moth briefly visited my back garden today.
Andrea
Mike Chorley said
Fri Jun 28 8:49 PM, 2019
Cream Wave on a door jamb on Chamber Road, Cinnabar Moth again and a Speckled Wood.
Andrea Wilson said
Thu Jun 27 6:15 PM, 2019
2 Painted Lady butterflies in my back garden this evening, a first for me.
Andrea
Mike Chorley said
Sat Jun 22 10:48 PM, 2019
First local Cinnabar moth of the year today flitting round the edges of the lawn this afternoon.
Mike Chorley said
Tue Apr 23 12:18 AM, 2019
Female Orange-Tip on Cuckoo Flower along Featherstall Road South this lunchtime. First record for the area for me in at least 7 years.
Mike Chorley said
Fri Nov 16 11:57 PM, 2018
A fox doing the rounds of the gardens on Windsor Road at 11.30 this evening.
Mike Chorley said
Sat Oct 20 9:28 PM, 2018
Two good clumps of Shaggy Scalycap around the base of one of the trees in our communal area again this autumn, and a smart Red Admiral on Ivy leaves nearby on Frederick Street.
Mike Chorley said
Wed Sep 12 11:40 PM, 2018
Fox foraging along Napier Street around 22,20 this evening.
Mike Chorley said
Tue Sep 4 10:43 PM, 2018
Some clumps of Shaggy Inkcap were new since Sunday in a garden on Chamber Road and a Poplar Hawkmoth caterpillar was making it's way over the back lawn behind the flats on Windsor Road.
Mike Chorley said
Fri Mar 2 8:14 PM, 2018
You know the weather's bad when there's a Fox checking out the gardens on a busy suburban road in Werneth at 11.30 a.m!
Rather shaggy-coated and definitely not as relaxed with humans as the foxes on the local trading estate, he was surprised to emerge through a front gate just in front of me and bolted off a short distance down the road before turning off into another front garden. The fact that he was even more surprised to find me still walking down the road when he emerged from that garden suggests maybe a last year's cub. He fled back up the path towards the back garden and hopefully found some quieter foraging there.
Mike Chorley said
Sat Nov 4 11:43 PM, 2017
A Pipistrelle sp. over the roof at about 17.45 yesterday evening, and a good showing of Snowy Waxcaps in the verges on Lansdowne Road, also several Shaggy Inkcaps at Apfel Lane.
Mike Chorley said
Thu Oct 12 7:29 PM, 2017
More Snowy Waxcaps at Apfel Lane but more scattered than the other clump, with a few Blackening Waxcaps and possibly a specimen of Vermilion as well; also lots of Candlesnuff and a Mycena -probably Milking Bonnet but I didn't have time to check details.
Mike Chorley said
Thu Oct 5 10:30 PM, 2017
A 'fairy ring' of Snowy Waxcap on one of the mounds at Apfel Lane today.
Mike Chorley said
Mon Oct 2 10:36 PM, 2017
Nearly trod on an Angle Shades lurking on a leaf-strewn kerb as I was heading into Oldham this morning.
Good selection of Shaggy Inkcap at Apfel Lane as usual.
Mike Chorley said
Sun Jun 25 11:24 PM, 2017
Three Foxes out tonight. A slim rangy animal with the look and colouring of a Jackal, which I've seen before, was prowling a regular area while a pair of shorter, thicker-furred russet toned 'Basil Brush' types betrayed their inexperience by making a dash for it when lurking in cover might have served them better. Certainly lacked the casual insouciance of some of their predecessors.
Mike Chorley said
Sun Jun 25 5:08 PM, 2017
A large but sadly defunct Hedgehog on Windsor Road this morning, near the grounds of the Grammar School. The animal was still largely intact and looked as if it might have been killed while in the act of rolling up defensively. First evidence of Hedgehogs in this area I've seen in the 12 years I've been living here.
Elsewhere, occasional sightings of a young male Fox along my Sunday evening route home from Chadderton.
Mike Chorley said
Fri Feb 17 7:59 PM, 2017
A fox was quietly foraging along part of Windsor Road last night about 22.45, completely unnoticed by (most ) people and dogs passing within feet of it.
Mike Chorley said
Fri Feb 17 7:58 PM, 2017
A fox was quietly foraging along part of Windsor Road last night about 22.45, completely unnoticed by (most ) people and dogs passing within feet of it.
Mike Chorley said
Tue Nov 8 10:20 PM, 2016
Recent sightings:
Sulphur Tuft - several clumps Apfel Lane Shaggy Scalycap - Napier St West Pleated Inkcap - Manchester road
Fox- Alder Root.
Mike Chorley said
Tue Sep 13 10:51 PM, 2016
Another local first for me with a Satellite last night.......also first local Peacocks of the year this morning!
Mike Chorley said
Fri Aug 26 7:54 PM, 2016
An attractive new addition to my local list last night - Flame Shoulder. Obviously taking shelter from the elements
Mike Chorley said
Mon Aug 15 11:44 PM, 2016
Green-veined White on Suthers Street this afternoon.
Just outside the area A Brown Hawker was cruising the playing fields at Boundary Park.
Mike Chorley said
Tue Aug 2 11:23 PM, 2016
Scalloped Oak (deceased) in the gap between door and sill on an internal front door in Apfel Street flats.
Mike Chorley said
Sun Jul 31 12:18 AM, 2016
A Fox playing 'chicken' on the tram tracks between South Chadderton and Freehold this afternoon
Mike Chorley said
Thu Jul 7 8:06 PM, 2016
Heart and Dart moth sheltering in the entrance to flats on Apfel Lane this afternoon
Mike Chorley said
Mon Jun 27 11:22 PM, 2016
Ghost Moth sheltering in the Ivy on Suthers Street bridge last night.
Mike Chorley said
Mon Mar 7 9:40 PM, 2016
Fox vocally active last night in the vicinity of the tramline - although it actually sounded like someone neutering a basso profundo chicken very deep 'clucks' then a higher noise like plucked violin string.
First wasp of the year this afternoon on Apfel Lane.
Mike Chorley said
Fri Oct 16 8:10 PM, 2015
Pleated Inkcap - Watts Street
Mike Chorley said
Tue Oct 13 10:00 PM, 2015
Shaggy Scalycap - Napier Street West Velvet Shank - Dalton Street Shaggy Inkcap - Apfel Lane.
Mike Chorley said
Sat Sep 26 9:22 PM, 2015
Common Inkcap: several clusters on the verge near Old Lane Snowy Waxcap: good, spread cluster in Werneth Park
Mike Chorley said
Mon Sep 21 9:11 PM, 2015
20/09/15 Watts Street. Pipistrelle sp. hawking for insects below the canopy of the trees at the Peel Street end
Mike Chorley said
Mon Aug 17 10:14 PM, 2015
2 foxes last night - a smallish one on Peel Street practicing its' Highway Code with passing traffic (motorised and pedestrian) and a larger dog fox on Windsor Road quietly going about its' business .
Mike Chorley said
Thu Aug 13 7:58 PM, 2015
Went out around 23.30 last night to check on the chances of watching the Persid meteor shower, but there was too much light pollution for any but the very brightest to show through. Did manage my first bat for The Coppice though - a Noctule, judging by size.
Mike Chorley said
Wed Jul 29 7:08 PM, 2015
Yes, I gathered from Waring and Townsend that this is the predominant form 'in the north' (wherever that starts ); just the first time I'd seen it. Then again, I'm not a regular trapper.
Doc Brewster said
Tue Jul 28 11:00 PM, 2015
Mike Chorley wrote:
Ribband Wave f. remutata taking shelter last night. Not seen this form before in GM
I used to moth trap in West Didsbury, Mike, and had both forms reguarly, albeit more of the typical dark-banded forms I agree. Also on UK Moths there is a pic by Ian Kimber of a remutata, taken in Littleborough.
Mike Chorley said
Tue Jul 28 8:14 PM, 2015
Ribband Wave f. remutata taking shelter last night. Not seen this form before in GM
-- Edited by Mike Chorley on Monday 9th of November 2020 08:29:13 AM
July 19th. Walk over to Chadderton Cemetery. Was hoping for a good collection of insects but the combination of patchy cloud cover and a cool breeze meant that only one distant white and one Small Tortoiseshell were seen around the cemetery itself, despite large numbers of recent cut flowers and an extensive area of Hawkbit/Sowthistle around the older graves. The scrubby, woody edges were more productive, with Speckled Wood(2), Ringlet(several), Small Tortoiseshell(1) Red Admiral(1) Peacock (1) Comma(1) ans Small Skipper (1). Also an interesting fly with a spotted abdomen and what appeared to be a gold spot in front of each eye on either side of the mouth, which I failed to photograph well enough with my phone to identify. Also not so much a troop as a regiment of Redleg Roundhead mushrooms on wood chip in a shaded part of the park
July 28th Brown Rollrim and a welcome return of Honeysuckle on Suthers Street, the latter having disappeared a few years ago in a very sever cut back of vegetation (admittedly mostly eye-level bramble!) on a chain-link fence.
August 11th Brown Hawker over a patch of grass between the industrial units and the overgrown fence opposite my flat. First record around here for me.
The park is actually the extensive gardens of Werneth (new) Hall so wild flowers are pretty much weeded and mulched out of existence. Even the ubiquitous Dandelion is banished to the edges and I suspect the Bluebells that are to be seen are foreigners, but Pink Purslane has got a good foothold around the area once know as the 'nature reserve' and Forget-me Nots are providing a fine spread along the woded boundary path to offset the Snake's Head Fritillaries
Peacock nearby as well.
Humming-bird hawk moth briefly visited my back garden today.
Andrea
2 Painted Lady butterflies in my back garden this evening, a first for me.
Andrea
Rather shaggy-coated and definitely not as relaxed with humans as the foxes on the local trading estate, he was surprised to emerge through a front gate just in front of me and bolted off a short distance down the road before turning off into another front garden. The fact that he was even more surprised to find me still walking down the road when he emerged from that garden suggests maybe a last year's cub. He fled back up the path towards the back garden and hopefully found some quieter foraging there.
Good selection of Shaggy Inkcap at Apfel Lane as usual.
Elsewhere, occasional sightings of a young male Fox along my Sunday evening route home from Chadderton.
Sulphur Tuft - several clumps Apfel Lane
Shaggy Scalycap - Napier St West
Pleated Inkcap - Manchester road
Fox- Alder Root.
Just outside the area A Brown Hawker was cruising the playing fields at Boundary Park.
First wasp of the year this afternoon on Apfel Lane.
Velvet Shank - Dalton Street
Shaggy Inkcap - Apfel Lane.
Snowy Waxcap: good, spread cluster in Werneth Park
I used to moth trap in West Didsbury, Mike, and had both forms reguarly, albeit more of the typical dark-banded forms I agree. Also on UK Moths there is a pic by Ian Kimber of a remutata, taken in Littleborough.