England's Brown And Pleasant Land.

 The dry conditions are continuing which means that much of the countryside is now a mixture of browns and yellows rather than the traditional green. With just a one day weekend to play with I decided after some deliberation to blag a lift from my elder stepson over to Deene from where I walked back via Deenethorpe Airfield and Weldon. In truth there was not a great deal of wildlife on view but it was nice to get some decent exercise in.

Painted Lady

My morning began in the garden where a Painted Lady was a year tick on the Buddleia, this week has also seen numerous visits from Hummingbird Hawk-moths too. Deene was pretty quiet, there were plenty of Willow Emeralds but no other odes. Butterflies here included Gatekeepers, a Small Heath and Green-veined Whites. Interesting birds were few and far between, the pair of Black Swans now appear to have just the one cygnet while there was also a juvenile Shelduck at the inflow. The latter may well be locally born as Deene Lake does occasionally host breeding pairs of this species.

Willow Emerald, Black Swans and juvenile Shelduck

Deenethorpe village hosted plenty of Banded Demoiselles on the Willowbrook but I didn't see any White-legged Damselflies. The neighbouring airfield had more butterflies but in general they seemed scarce. Small Heaths, Meadow Browns and Speckled Woods represented the browns and there were also Common Blues, Painted Ladies, Commas and a Red Admiral to admire as well as the usual whites. Best odes were my year first Migrant Hawkers, a small group were hunting next to Weldon Park Wood. Top bird here was a vocal Raven which croaked noisily as it gained height on a thermal. Away from the wildlife spotting I enjoyed seeing several Auster aircraft on the airfield, I learned later that the club had arranged a fly-in over the weekend. As a military buff I was also pleased to see a Diamond 6 military truck and also an M3 halftrack. My day finished at around noon with a pint in the George where I was able to book a family meal for later this afternoon.

Raven, Migrant Hawker and a pair of Austers

Twitchy

 Having called off the Nightjar pilgrimage yesterday my brother David and I decided to do something birdy today. Britain's third Long-tailed Shrike on the border of Oxfordshire and Gloucestershire proved to be too tempting to ignore and we found ourselves heading in its direction early this morning. We left in rather grey and drizzly conditions but it was sunny by the time that we arrived at Eastleach Turville.

Long-tailed Shrike

Not surprisingly the bird was attracting quite a number of admirers and it didn't take long before someone put us on to it. We managed to get some decent views of it over the next half an hour or so and I was delighted to get some pictures of what is my eighth shrike species in the UK. Having watched it for a bit we decided to head back towards Corby arriving in time to get a large breakfast in the Samuel Lloyd.

L-t S again.

Back To Ole Blue Eyes

 I was supposed to making my annual pilgrimage to Norfolk in search of Nightjars with my brother today but some concerns about the weather meant that our jaunt was postponed. A more than acceptable alternative was found when I joined up with Shozzer for a trawl around some local sites on the hunt for interesting insects. In the morning at least it was warm and sunny with just a hint of a breeze and we began our day at Deenethorpe Airfield.

Auster aeroplane and Emerald damselfly

In truth it was all a bit on the dull side at the airfield, an Auster aeroplane taking off was my highlight. An Emperor dragonfly was the best of the odes while the top butterfly was a Painted Lady. We moved on to Priors Hall where Alan wanted to check out the site where we saw Southern Migrant Hawker last year. It turned out to be a good idea as we saw two males patrolling their territories and I enjoyed watching one for over half an hour before it eventually landed allowing us to get some pictures. Also of interest in the general area was a male Emerald damselfly, I sometimes struggle to see this attractive species. Nearby at a new pond near the Kirby Woodlands housing development I saw Small Red-eyed Damsel while a Four-spotted Chaser was also seen.

Southern Migrant Hawker

By the time that we reached the southern gullet at Priors Hall the clouds had rolled in and obscured the sun but we hung around for a bit nonetheless. I had brief views of a fly by Clouded Yellow which was my first of the year while at the quarry lake there was a Little Ringed Plover with a juvenile suggesting that local breeding took place. A few Ruddy Darters were flying around and we also saw a few Brown Argus butterflies before we headed off to the 'spoons for a welcome pint.

Small Red-eyed Damselfly and Little Ringed Plovers

A Modest Return

 After last night's boozing and then the football I got up somewhat later than I normally do on a Sunday morning which meant that I missed my usual bus. Thinking of an alternative took a little while but eventually I settled on taking a stroll to the pond at Little Stanion. I usually manage at least one visit during the year and today was the day. It was mainly sunny with a bit of a breeze which may have had an adverse effect on the number of insects that I saw.

Black-tailed Skimmer and Moorhen

My walk took me through Eurohub and along Longcroft Road before reaching one of Corby's new suburbs.  The grassland around the lake is parched and yellow with just a few Gatekeepers to look at, they appear to be the commonest species at the moment. Odes were scarce too though I may well have been too early for them. Black-tailed Skimmers were the only dragon while Blue-tailed and Common Blue represented the damsels. After one and a half fairly unproductive circuits of the pond I opted to leave, the only birds that I can recall were some half grown Moorhen chicks which looked like miniature Emus!

Silver-washed Fritillaries

My walk home was a little more interesting, three female Silver-washed Fritillaries were seen nectaring and although they're starting to look a little raggedy they are still stunning butterflies. Other species seen included Ringlet and Common Blue. The Eurohub pond is looking pretty dry but I found a few odes in the general area. Both species of darter were found and I also saw a Brown Hawker and Black-tailed Skimmer. Best damsel was a male Willow Emerald, this is one of the sites where I first found them back in those all too recent days when they were colonising the county.

Ruddy and Common Darters and Willow Emerald

My garden received a visit from a Hummingbird Hawk-moth which was the third this week though today's shunned the Buddleia and opted to visit the Honeysuckle instead. Up to three Gatekeepers were also present and I saw the day's only Comma and Red Admiral, several Small Whites also paid a call. Not the most exciting morning perhaps but it sets me up for watching a certain football match which I shall watch with more than a hint of regret  for what could have been.

Female Gatekeeper and Comma

Birding Again

 At this time of the year my attentions often focus on insects rather than birds but as the first signs of autumn begin to show my thoughts often start to turn to the southward migration and I find myself drawn to anywhere where waders might be on the move. Today Alan and I paid a call on Eyebrook Reservoir hoping to catch some signs of this seasonal movement and we were not disappointed. Weatherwise it was cloudy and quite cool to begin with though as the morning progressed the sun began to shine through and it became quite warm.

Black-tailed Godwits

At he sharp end a brace of Dunlins shared the mud with plenty of Lapwings and a couple of Redshanks, a little later on we found two juvenile Little Ringed Plovers too. As we watched over the area a flock of at least thirty Black-tailed Godwits circled the inflow before heading southeast. Minutes later a message on the Whatsapp informed us that 35 Blackwits were at the island and we headed there ASAP.  The Godwits showed well from the bunker though further counting suggested a total of 39 which is by far and away the most that I've seen here. The godwits were joined by a further two Redshanks while close by at Sam's Dyke a Common Sandpiper and a juv Little Ringed Plover were noted. Reports that a Marsh Harrier was quartering the fields below Great Easton hill sent me wandering off in that direction and I saw the bird gaining height on a thermal before departing in a south easterly direction. Another bird of note was the long staying Whooper Swan close to the dam, it's so nice to see them without running the risk of frostbite!

Spotted Flycatchers

A return to the sharp end added half a dozen Green Sandpipers, a Common Sand and another Blackwit to the day list while some up to date info from another birder put us on to some Spotted Flycatchers. From the bridleway to the east of the plantation we found a family party in a hedge just one field in from the Stoke Dry road. We watched them for some time and enjoyed some great views before moving on to the 'spoons, a prior evening appointment with workmates limited my time. An entertaining little coda to my day was provided by a Peregrine over the Saxon Crown as I drank with workmates, I bet the town centre's population of pigeons didn't enjoy the sighting as much as I did!

Flying Visit

 My garden Buddleia is in full bloom at the moment and is attracting its share of pollinators. This evening it played host to one of my favourite insects, a Hummingbird Hawk-moth. These remarkable little characters are migrants from southern Europe and arrive in the UK in varying numbers each year. This year seems to have been a good one for them so it wasn't a surprise that one popped in for a brief pitstop but it was a pleasure. Hopefully it or another will make further visits over the next week or two, I'll be watching intently for them.

Hummingbird Hawk-moth

Bagpipe Dodging

 It's Highland Gathering time again when Corby Old Village comes alive to the sound of bagpipes and drums. Most, but not all, years I try and get as far away as possible because although I'm half Scottish I have no great love for the music. (Oh and I won't be buying an Argentina football shirt either!) Today I headed back to Priors Hall where my plan was to check the ponds close to the golf course. In warm though breezy conditions I walked from Weldon making my first stop at the Quarry Lake.

Marbled White and Ringlet

No birds of note there today though there was a song flighting Meadow Pipit close by. Around the ponds themselves it looks as if Marbled Whites are at the end of their season as I only found one. Ringlets too seem diminished in numbers but Gatekeepers are at their peak. Another species now on the wing again is Common Blue as the new brood emerges in ever greater numbers. Other species seen included Speckled Woods, Red Admiral, an immaculate looking Painted Lady, Large Skipper and the usual whites.

Gatekeeper and Speckled Wood

Good numbers of teneral Common Darters were seen making their first flights and small numbers of Ruddies were noted too. Emperors were the most obvious of the larger species though many were hanging up in shady spots even relatively early in the morning. Brown Hawker and Black-tailed Skimmers made up the other species of dragon, very few damsels were found.

Painted Lady and Common Darter

On my way back to Weldon I paid a brief visit to the Southern Gullet but failed to see any sign of the Southern Migrant Hawkers, a Southern Hawker being scant consolation. Frustratingly a newly arrived Shozzer saw one minutes after my departure, clearly I suffered from premature evacuation. Alan also found another SMH at the same pond where we saw one last year, clearly the man has some kind of connection with this species. As usual other things demanded my time and I left at around noon, sadly there was still plenty of time left to listen to those wailing pipes!

Emperor and Black-tailed Skimmer