Walked from the house to Darcy Lever Gravel Pits and surrounding area this afternoon, noting the following sightings -

5 Speckled Wood
5 Large White
13 Peacock
2 Comma
6 Small Tortishell
28 Orange Tips!

Also 5 Large Red Damselfies emerged.

Last couple of weeks Dragonfly sightings -

Emerald Damselfy - 20+
Large Red Damselfly - 10+
Azure Damselflies
Common Blue Damselfly - many
Blue-tailed Damselfly - 5+
Common Hawker
Brown Hawker - 5+
Four-spotted Chaser - 2
Broad-bodied Chaser - 6
Common Darter - few
Ruddy Darter - 20+

Glory of the Snows, Snake Head Fritillary, Lesser Celandine, Primrose, Skunk Cabbage, Red Campion, Cowslip, Wood Anemone, Green Alkonet, Opposite Leaved Golden Saxifrage, Lungwort, Butterbur, Marsh Marigold, Summer Snowflake, Blaxckthorn, Flowering Cherry all in flower

-- Edited by Ian Boote on Thursday 9th of April 2015 09:26:01 AM

Some big Rainbow Trout and Smaller Brown Trout leaping up the Weir at Moses Gate with a dopey Heron looking on. Also Musk Mallow in flower.



-- Edited by Ian Boote on Thursday 16th of October 2014 02:52:43 PM

Cyrtomium falcatum Chinese Holly Fern- looked planted but established and very rare in GM

Meadow Cranesbill, Water Cress, Yellow Pimpernel, Southern Marsh Orchids, Solomans Seal, Wod Aven, Guelder Rose, Comon Valerian, Yellow Iris, all in flower

Woodruffe, several new patches of Water Aven, Bog Bean, Dusky Cranesbill, Pink Purslane, Cuckoo Flower and Bugle all in flower

Yellow Archangel, (Variagated form) Whitedead Nettle in flower also the Wilson Bridge onto Nob End is being replaced and despite the works that are across the SSSI due consideration to the site appears to have been planned and carried out to protect it. This is all on the Bolton MBC planning site

Lots of Rabbits, Symphytum asperum x officinale (S. x uplandicum) (Russian Comfrey) in flower, Primula veris (Cowslip) in flower, and Pentaglottis sempervirens (Green Alkanet) in flower, Leucojum aestivum (Summer Snowflake) also in flower but presumed last planted.

Marsh Marigold and Snake Head Fritilary in flower.

Lesser Celandine, Glory of the Snows, hawthorn, Primrose, Skunk Cabbage, Wood Anemone and Alternate Leaved Golden Saxifrage in Flower.

Snowdrops and Cyclamen in flower.

Good bunch of Field Scabious, up at Nob End LNR Blue Fleabane, Oxford Ragwort, 25 Spike of the Autum Gent, Golden Rod, Carlene Thistle all showing well and Fragrent Orchid going over . Also saw a postr on another website of 2013 sightings of Blue Eyed Grass as Sisyrinchium bermudiana rather than Sisyrinchium montanum

Lots of Gatekeeper, Meadow Brown and a few Speckled wood. Ladies Bedstraw, Agrimony, Mallow and Brown Hawker Also a Gooseberry Bush the fruit soon to be made into Jam.

-- Edited by Ian Boote on Friday 19th of July 2013 12:44:55 AM

Good trudge about loads some highlights
Up at Nob End Common Blue loads of five and Six Spot Burnet a Meadow Brown, Marsh Heleborine, Norhern and Southern Marsh Orchid, Common Spotted Orchid, Early Marsh Orchid Coming through Carlene Thistle Autumn Gentian, wild strawberry, Devils Bit Scabious, Rough Hawkbit,
Canal whirley gig beetle, frog bit, Banded Demoisel, White water lily Gypsywort skullcap, ling
Darcy Lever Broad based chaser, four spotted chasers, Red, azure, blue tailed, emerald, and common blue damsels and common darter. Bogbean Water Violet, Marsh Cinquefoil, Common Water Plantain, Lesser Spearwort, Water Soldier, Fringed Water Lily, Eyebright, Butterflies Large Skipper, Speckled Wood and meadow brown
Lodges Bittersweet, Water Aven, Meadow cranesbill, valerian, wood aven, water mint and a colony of 2 spot ladybird

Darcy Lever Gravel Pits (this area is part of Moses Gate CP)

1 Four-spotted Chaser, 1 Broad-bodied Chaser.
Large Red, Azure, & Common Blue damselflies.
A Speckled Wood was the only butterfly due to overcast conditions.
Moths :- 3 Silver-ground Carpets, 1 Common Wave, 15+ Small China-mark (seen on a few pools), a few Bactra lancelana, 1 Ancylis badiana.

Water and Wood Aven, Strawberry, Southern Marsh and Common Spotted Orchid and Valerian all in flower

More of last post still in flower in addition in flower Ramsons, Bluebell, Solomans Seal, Red Campion, Lesser Stitchwort, Strawberry, Cow Parsley, Dusky Cranesbill, Comfrey, Ground Ivy, loads Marsh Marigold

Golden Saxifrasge, Wood Anemone, banks of Cowslip, Snake head fritilary, and Glory of the Snows in flower. Last two are around bird hide apart from a good clump of Glory of the Snows some distance in the wood.

two rabbits

In flower blackthorn, lesser celandine, butterwort, marsh marigold, skunk cabbage, primrose (one plant) along with snowdrops still showing well

First Blackthorn in flower

Numerous Common Darters on and by the boardwalk. Some were mating.

Migrant or Common Hawker. I only saw it flying past so could not identify it for sure. Probably Migrant this late in the year.

On the verge as you enter small scabious and greater knapweed bank of lodge Wild Carrot

-- Edited by Ian Boote on Thursday 30th of August 2012 05:33:44 PM

Autum Gentians out. Area damaged has no plants so a net los pf about 20% around 40 plants in other areas.

In flower Meadow Cranesbill, Southern Marsh and Spotted Orchid, Welsh Poppy, Valerian, Wood Aven, and Dames Violet

In addition to last lot in flower
Cuckoo flower, Water Aven, Red Campion, Forgetmenot more Common Violet Lungwort Ramson Wood Anemone Cowslip etc

Wood Anemone, Commion Violet, Cowslip, Lungwort, Ramsom comming into flower, Glory of the Snows, Snake Head Fritilary, Lesser Celandine, Butterbur, Skunk Cabbage, Marsh Marigold Primrose all in flower

Primrose Lesser Celandine, Glory of the Snows and skunk cabbage in flower last just opening

Butterbur in flower by the stream other less wild snowdrop and cyclmen all in flower