Green Hairstreak butterfly Large heath butterfly Brimstone

You can see them in June and July, flying from one plant to another. Fenn’s and Whixall Mosses are home to the large heath butterfly, a protected species. It’s an amazing sight in spring and summer as the butterflies and other invertebrates emerge. The Marches Mosses has long been an important site for butterflies, with 27 species recorded. These include stonechat, spotted flycatcher and others. You can also look for a variety of songbirds in the trees along the disused railway and the wooded edges of the Mosses. Lapwing Curlew Snipe Songbirds on the Mosses The lapwings return to the fields in the evenings, while curlews feed at the fields during the day before returning to their nests on the moss at night. You can watch a wide variety of wading and water birds throughout the year. The magic of the Mosses continues across the Llangollen Canal at Sinker’s Fields. Hobby in Flight Credit: Stephen Barlow Short-eared owl in flight Credit: Andy Rouse/2020Vision Female Kestrel Credit: Stephen Barlow

Short-eared owl and kestrel can also be seen. Sparrowhawk, buzzards and peregrine can be spotted in the sky over the Mosses, and you can watch the distinctive flight pattern of the hobby as it darts over the peat in search of its dinner. In the wooded edges of the Moss, you can find wren, robin, whitethroat, chiffchaff and willow warbler. At dusk, you can often hear the haunting sound of nightjar. In spring, you can hear curlew and skylark across the site, and watch for them and lapwing.

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