Messingham Sand Quarry

My first visit to this fantastic Lincolnshire Wildlife Trust nature reserve. What was formerly a sand quarry has become a patchwork of lagoons, reed beds, conifer woodland, wet woodland, ponds and heath. There are two hides overlooking the northernmost lagoon and benches with a view scattered around the perimeter path. Just upon arrival, near the car park, there were hundreds of Common, Azure and Blue-tailed Damselflies. A Hairy dragonfly hunted atop trees, aggressively charging towards the branches to dislodge insects, but it didn't settle. As I watch the dragonflies, and from the south end of the reserve a Bittern starts booming, and does do intermittently.

 

 I walk around the perimeter path, visiting the hides and taking any possible detour. Birds don't disappoint, with a Spotted Flycatcher (above) on a glade amongst pines, hawking for insects with Chaffinches and Long-tailed tits. When I return to the spot for lunch, it has been joined by hawking Black-headed Gulls over the wood. There is plenty of insects about! There are at least five Garden Warblers singing, and two Cetti's Warblers. In the water, two drake Red-crested Pochards, one Avocet and a common Pochard with ducklings. Also with young the Black-headed gulls and Mute Swans. A Cuckoo calls most of the morning. Then a female calls and I see the male flying over and calling again on a dead tree, where i manage a shot.

Spotted Flycatcher.

Great Crested Grebe with young.

Pochard with young.

Red-crested Pochard.

Black-headed gulls with newly hatched chick.

Cuckoo calling.

Garden Warbler.

Dragonflies and damselflies
The reserve is well known for the abundance of Odonates. Overall I find six species, which is 6 more than I had in my year list at the beginning of the day. I see 3 Hairy dragonflies, but they are hunting and don't stop.

Very abundant Blue-tailed Damselflies.

A couple of Four-spotted chasers.

Red-Tailed and Blue-tailed damselflies.

Azure Damselfly.

Large Red Damselfly.

Common Blue damselfly.

As I check the edge of one of the lagoons, I see the exuvia of a dragonfly, and a damselfly larvae emerging from the water.

Other invertebrates
A wide range of invertebrates around. Including at least 5 Brimstone, with a mating pair, a Speckled Wood and an Orange Tip.

One of several Cinnabar Moths.

Bee Fly, Bombylius major.

This was a new beetle for me. Ontholestes murinus, on a scat, possibly fox, strongly smelling of carrion, with a couple Oiceoptoma thoracica (below).

Cercopis vulnerata.

Brimstone.

Tetragnatha sp.

Nursery web spider, Pisaura mirabilis.

Hornet.

More information
There is a car park, but no other facilities.
A detailed map of the reserve can be found here.
Lincolnshire Wildlife Trust page for the reserve.