A nice morning for cricket(s)

Mons Pool looked promising this moring, with water levels down (but carpets of algae in places), but there wasn't even a Green Sand taking advantage of this newly reappeared habitat - one Little Egret was the only thing of note.

Not much at Collingham Pits either, so I had a look in the grassland adjacent to Wharf Cottages Pit for Roesel's Bush-crickets. This species was first recorded in the county in 2006 from a road verge on the A453 near Clifton; I then had the second county record from this field at Collingham Pits in 2007, where they have been present ever since (and seemingly quite widely elsewhere now). They are difficult little beast to see - their high pitched, buzzing stridulation is difficult to pinpoint, and even when you think you're in the right patch of grass, actually locating them is tricky! Nevertheless, I persevered today and got a few record shots.

Roesel's Bush-cricket at Collingham Pits

As I was waiting for one of the Roesel's to re-emerge after I spooked it, a different bush-cricket walked into view - a conehead. It was a male as it lacked an ovipositor, and had short wings, so I wondered if it was a Short-winged Conehead (which I don't think has been recorded in the county yet!), but a quick Google tonight revealed that Long-winged Coneheads do come in a short-winged form, and apparently the shape of the cerci (the spikes on the tip of the abdomen) are a good ID feature. My pics suggest these are straight, and therefore this was a Long-winged Conehead. This species arrived in the county a year after Roesel's Bush-cricket, being first found at Keyworth Meadows in 2007, and spreading north ever since - I found several at a site on the south side of Hucknall in 2008, and at another site in Hucknall in 2011, but this is the first I've had in this area.

Long-winged Conehead at Collingham Pits

After an uneventful walk around Dukes Wood and Mansey Common this afternoon (it was cool and breezy with a heavy shower at one point, and there were very few butterflies around, let alone any fritillaries...), I popped out to Langford for the early evening. There had been up to 35 Black-tailed Godwits through the site yesterday, but the best waders I could muster today were 4 Dunlin which flew in and circled low around the site before disappearing. Also present were 14 Common Terns and at least 5 Little Egrets, and a Peregrine powered over on a beeline south. Non-avian highlights were 3 Purple Hairstreaks again at the northern end of the oak copse next to the silt lagoons, with a huge Privet Hawkmoth on the end of a willow stump next to the path - always an impressive animal to see.

Privet Hawkmoth at Langford Lowfields