Lancashire wildlife

Recently spotted this flower on the fishing lake and didn’t know what it was. Looking in the guide books suggests a Common Hemp nettle Galeopsis tetrahit .

Amazing growth in just a week - the nest is looking a bit crowded and no sign of the swan feather decoration. While working on the roof Colin managed to photograph one of the parents too.

The swallows nesting in the resource centre are progressing and looking slightly less alien. It is amazing how much they develop in a week. Meanwhile others in one of the older buildings have already fledged. One particular family can usually be seen as a gang of four sitting together on a wire fence or in a tree, occasionally still being fed by a parent.

This year there seems to have been more swallows, swifts and house martins than usual. They are a pleasure to watch in the evenings as they fly low over the ground and in amongst the buildings.

Spotted this damselfly on the edge of the fishing lake. It is probably a relatively common Blue-tailed damselfly Ischnura elegans though other suggestions welcome.

A selection of recently seen butterflies including this Comma - Polygonia c-album feeding on a bramble near the fishing lake; Small skipper - Thymelicus sylvaestris feeding on a Shepherd’s purse in the grass verge of one of the meadows; and finally a Speckled wood Pararge aegeria seen in the wood near these dramatic foxgloves.