Crossbill

 This Summer has seen an arrival of Crossbills into the county with an increasing number of sites garnering records. Such irruptions happen periodically whenever their numbers exceed the available supply of food and birds are forced to move into new areas in search of sustenance. It took a while but I finally managed to catch up with this latest bird trend when I heard a calling bird pass overhead while butterflying in Harry's Park Wood. One of their favoured sites in the county at Wakerley has already attracted a flock and I think that a future visit there is more than likely.

Brown quartet.

Away from the Crossbill invasion it was evident that the butterfly situation is changing with fewer species on view. I did not connect with any Purple Emperors but their season may well be coming to an end. My main target today had been Purple Hairstreak but again I failed to find any, perhaps purple is just not my lucky colour! Brown on the other hand seems to be very much in vogue and both Gatekeepers and Ringlets were abundant, the latter are now looking tatty and ragged  but the 'keepers still look fine. Still common but not reaching the heights of their cousins were Meadow Browns and some very fresh looking Speckled Woods. White is another colour that is very much a la mode with Green-veined in particular putting on a good show, Large Whites continue to do well while Small Whites were few and far between.  Best butt of the day was a Wood White, this year has been far and away my best at this site and I really believe that they've colonised Harry's Park and look forward to seeing many more in future years.

Comma, Red Admiral and Peacock

While some species prosper it seems that others are on the way out, my only White Admiral was an incredibly tired looking individual nectaring on bramble. Likewise my only confirmed Silver-washed Fritillary was a very tatty looking female which moved on before I could grab a picture. Commas and Red Admirals remain common though Peacocks are currently outnumbering both, each bramble patch had at least one but some harboured half a dozen or more. Another species coming towards the end of their season is Large Skipper, I saw loads today but they're definitely starting to show signs of wear and tear.

Most of a White Admiral, Wood and Large White

Not too many odes were noted but amongst the few that I did encounter was a year first Migrant Hawker. It flew around briefly before hanging up at the Old Dry Bushes end of the complex, I don't think that I've ever seen Migrant Hawker before Common Darter in previous years but this has been a strange one. The only other species putting in an appearance was Emperor with at least four flitting along the rides. I may well have stayed later but my wife wanted to visit the Highland Gathering in Corby and I'm not brave enough to deny her. Although I was never a big fan of bagpipes despite having a Scottish heritage it seems that several pints of beer can make anything sound good!

Migrant Hawker

Missed Targets

 Shozzer and I headed back over to Stanwick to have another try for Lesser Emperors hoping that the better weather might work its magic. Those hopes were sadly dashed and it may well have been too hot for some of the larger dragonflies, they often seek shade when temperatures get too high. There was the odd interesting sighting to make the trip worthwhile but overall it turned out to be a bit of a damp squib.

Small Red-eyed Damselfly and Southern Hawker

On the lake near the visitor centre I saw my first Small Red-eyed Damselflies of the year as well as some of their larger cousins. Few dragonflies were on the wing, there were several Brown Hawkers and Emperors and also my first Ruddy Darter of 2025 while a Black-tailed Skimmer was seen ovipositing. Not surprisingly Common Blues were the commonest damsels though there were plenty of Banded Demoiselles along the Nene too where two male Scarce Chasers were also in residence. On the way back to the car a male Southern Hawker was another year first and it obliged us by perching for a minute or two.  There were no birds of note here and the butterflies on show did not throw up any surprises.

Ruddy Darter and Emperor

Having failed at Stanwick we tried our luck at Summer Leys but it was even hotter here and there was not much ode activity to observe. New additions to the day list included Four-spotted Chaser but we had no luck with the hoped for Norfolk Hawkers. Realising that today was not going to be our day we decided to abandon ship and head towards home. Our final stop was at the Coach and Horses in Welly and it was the only time that we actually got what we were aiming for, in this case a damn fine pint of beer!

Scarce Chaser, Brimstone and Great White Egret

 

Shady Characters

 Another after work stroll took me into Brookfield Plantation where the temperatures continue to rise as the next heat wave approaches. My initial attempts to see the local Peregrines on the way again met with failure, their favoured perches being bathed in strong sunshine. In the wood there was plenty of shade to help take some of the sting out of the sun and plenty of butterflies to enjoy too.

Large Skipper and Comma

Best were once again a couple of male Silver-washed Fritillaries, they really do seem keen on bramble blossom. Browns continue to dominate the scene with Ringlets and Gatekeepers in particular being common. The new brood of Common Blues seems to be out, at least two hyper active males were on the wing. Both Green-veined and Large Whites were noted while Large Skippers continue to do well. Others putting in an appearance were Comma, Red Admiral and Peacock. Odes were under represented with just a male Emperor being seen before I left.

G-v White, S-w Frit and Peacock

On my way home I had another look for the falcons and this time enjoyed better success. Both birds were found hiding in the shade, I don't know if they ever attempt to breed because they never appear to raise any young which is strange given that they seem to be a pair. I left them to sit out the evening sun and decided to find some shade of my own.

Peregrines

The Late But Not Great Show

 A day of rain and cloud for the most part and although the countryside could probably do with a drop of the wet stuff I'm not a fan. Some breaks in the overcast began to appear in the afternoon and I finally managed to get out for a bit in the evening. My travels took me only as far as Eurohub but the results did not merit even this minimal effort and I did not stay out for long. No odes were seen and the only bird of note was a Grey Wagtail which was my first for a while. Four Fallow Deer scarpered as soon as they saw me while the only butterflies that I saw were Ringlets and Gatekeepers. Even the prospect of there being more tennis on the telly could not persuade me to stay out any longer and I headed home.

Gatekeeper and Ringlet.

Rolling The Dice

 Today's weather forecast looked far from encouraging with thick cloud seemingly being the order of the day. Alan Shorrock and I ventured over to Stanwick Lakes hoping that the meteorologists might have got it wrong and that the sun would put in an appearance. Reports of Lesser Emperors being present there prompted this optimistic flight of fancy which was sadly brought crashing down to earth as the weather guessers were proved right

Aberrant Common Blue and Banded Demoiselle

Having parked in the A45 lay-by we had a look at the neighbouring pit where a Mandarin and a Little Ringed Plover were the highlights. An aberrant Common Blue Damselfly was one of what turned out to be many seen during our walk. Outnumbering these and by some margin too were Banded Demoiselles, there was a veritable swarm on site. Butterflies responded quite well to the warm but cloudy conditions with Green-veined Whites and Gatekeepers being the most numerous species. As we strolled towards the main lake we added Blue-tailed and Red-eyed Damselflies to our ode list while "new" butterflies included Red Admiral.

Small Copper and Brown Argus

In sheltered spots near the main lake a trio of male Scarce Chasers were noted, I'd seen my year first Brown Hawker a little earlier. Small Copper and Brown Argus were the pick of the butterflies here and we also saw a Common Blue. Birdwise things did not improve much and there was just a single Common Sandpiper on view from the screen hide. Things appeared to be brightening up at this point and we made our way towards the visitor centre lake noting good numbers of Commas, a few Large Whites and some Peacocks on our travels. More Scarce Chasers were seen but the conditions remained unfavourable for the most part with thick cloud interspersed by just the briefest of bright spells. During the latter we saw several female Emperors and one possible female Lesser but the views were inconclusive. After several hours of hanging around we decided that the sun was not going to oblige us and went back to the car.

Scarce Chaser and Coot (but not cute!) chick

Our final stop in frustratingly brightening conditions was at Warth Park, Raunds from where we walked towards the North Lake at Stanwick hoping to see some Cattle Egrets. Finding the cows was easy enough but they were walking through tall vegetation and our prospects did not seem too promising. Fortune intervened however when four egrets flew up from the grasses, all seemed to be adult Cattle. Two landed in view and I was able to take some dodgy record shots. It was getting quite late by now and Shozzer and I decided to head home, a pint in the Dukes at Woodford was a pleasant diversion on the way.

Cattle Egret

Back To The Plantation

 There was an intriguing and potentially very exciting report of a possible Vagrant Emperor being seen at Pitsford Reservoir yesterday. The view was fleeting unfortunately and the sighting could not be confirmed, I'm sure if it is there will be more than a few people popping in to see this county first. Although this species is a very rare visitor to the UK there was an influx of them into the country last month with multiple records from the east coast, inland records are not unknown and one was recorded several years ago in Buckinghamshire.

Silver-washed duo

My after work ramble around Brookfield Plantation unsurprisingly did not feature anything of this magnitude though it did provide some entertainment. A diversion on the way there did not produce any sightings of the local Peregrines though they may have been off hunting. The wood itself was alive with butterflies with Ringlets being far and away the commonest species. July is the prime time for browns and other types haunting the rides were Meadow Browns, Marbled Whites, Gatekeepers and Speckled Woods. This current brood of Commas are doing very well and they are also looking rather striking, joining the Commas are an increasing number of Peacocks, these are a stunning butterfly when fresh. Even more attractive were two pristine looking male Silver-washed Fritillaries, happily for me both posed beautifully as they nectared on bramble. Other species seen on my travels included the three common whites and both Small and Large Skipper.

Brown quintet

Normally Brookfield is often quite good for dragonflies and at this time of the year I'd have expected to see some hawkers or an Emperor or two. For some reason the rides were dragon free today and the only ode that I did see was a male Azure Damselfly, it was rather cloudy for most of my walk around and perhaps this explains the lack of activity. After a little over an hour I was beginning to wilt in the heat and decided to call it quits and walk home.

Comma, Peacock, Small and G-v White and Small Skipper.

Frits To The Fore

 Well it seems as if the weather guessers were more than a little wide of the mark today, what was supposed to be a hot and sunny day turned out to be a warm and mainly cloudy one. Had I known this in advance I might have gone with Shozzer's original suggestion of going to look at the Frampton Pratincole rather than joining him and Phil Rogers on a walk around some local butterfly sites. Despite the clouds we had quite a successful day and managed to catch up with all of our target species.

Gatekeeper and Red Admiral

We began at Ring Haw where Dark Green Fritillary was at the top of the wish list. It was mainly browns and whites flying about when we got there as well as a couple of Red Admirals and one or two Large Skippers. At this stage a Gatekeeper was the star turn as it was both mine and Phil's first of the year, we saw several more during the day. During a fleeting appearance by the sun we picked out a single Dark Green Frit nectaring on thistles, it was distant but I got a couple of record shots. I've only seen this species once before in the county and that was at this same site several years ago. Another addition to my day list were Essex and Small Skippers in the meadow near to the field centre. On our way back to the car we were treated to views of several Silver-washed Fritillaries. By now the sun was still showing no sign of burning through the cloud and so decided to pop into the Cross Keys for a spot of rehydration.

Dark Green and Silver-washed Fritillaries

Suitably refreshed we headed across the county border towards Bedford Purlieus in the hope of seeing White-lettered Hairstreaks. Scarlet Tiger moths seem to be enjoying a good year and there were half a dozen of so present in the ride near the car park. Large Whites are another species having a good year and there were many nectaring on the bramble blossoms as well as more Silver-washed Frits. It took a while but we did finally spot a hairstreak though this one was a knackered looking Black rather than a White-letter, we watched it for a while before it flew up into a neighbouring tree. On our way back to the car a sharp eyed Phil found a White-lettered on some Marjoram, it posed for quite a while before it too flew up into the surrounding trees. Final stop of the day was at the meadow where we were fortunate enough to see at least two more Dark Green Fritillaries.

Essex Skipper and Large White

Late June and July are probably the most productive time for butterfly watching and I'll list the species that we saw today to show what can be seen on even a cloudy day at this time of year.

Large Skipper, Small Skipper, Essex Skipper, Large White, Small White, Green-veined White, Brimstone, Meadow Brown, Ringlet, Marbled White, Speckled Wood, Gatekeeper, Small Heath, Peacock, Comma, Red Admiral, Silver-washed Fritillary, Dark Green Fritillary, Common Blue, Black Hairstreak and White-lettered Hairstreak.

Black and White-lettered Hairstreaks