Messingham Sand Quarries.

A lovely morning when we got up today,so after i had dropped Trace off at work,i decided to go and have a walk around Messingham.As i arrived in the car park and left the car,i noticed several butterflies around a solitary Buddleia and there were 3 species present,Comma,Red Admiral and Painted Lady.The Painted Ladies are my latest record for the species.As i carried on my walk through this brilliant reserve,it became apparent there was still quite a few dragonfly's on the wing with me recording a good total of 49 Common Darter and 7 Migrant Hawker by the end of my visit,some of the Darters where paired up and still mating.Other insect's observed where about 30 Gorse-shield Bug's,several Green-shield Bug's,Speckled Wood and a couple more Comma's.I also saw 2 young Pike basking in the warm sun at the edge of one of the lakes,giving great views of this fresh water predator.On the bird front it was a little disappointing to say the least,with the only highlights being a handfull of Siskin and Lesser Redpoll and 7 Common Buzzard over Manton Warren and Twigmoor Woods.An enjoyable few hours at this cracking reserve.