Hazy Day of Autumn

A distinctly Autumnal chill in the air this morning that the occasional periods of weak and watery sunshine struggled to dispel. In fact Autumn definitely seemed to have gained the upper hand today with more and more leaves turning either yellow or orange. Lots of fruit about too with blackberries in particular hanging heavy on the bush. Elsewhere elderberries joined crab apples, haws, hips and sloes as well as hazel nuts and acorns in providing a banquet for the local wildlife.

Swallows choosing a natural spot to perch on.

Thinking that the conditions would not suit insects I picked what I hoped would be a decent route for birding taking in Weldon, Deenethorpe and Deene on my travels. At Bears Lane near Weldon a collection of the commoner bird species were noted while there was a Yellow Wagtail on the grass airstrip near Laundimer House, A Sparrowhawk flying low and fast had me thinking briefly of Merlin but the only falcon seen was a Kestrel.

Hornet on the look out for food.

Talking the public footpath across the fields I came across a patch of ivy in the hedgerow that leads down to the A427. For the second week running the ivy had attracted some insect life which in turn had served as a lure for some marauding Hornets. Several were hunting around the flowers and I watched one seize some prey before stinging it and then landing on some grass. The Hornet spent at least two minutes dealing with its victim, in this case a wasp, before flying away.

Good news for the Hornet, bad news for the wasp.

Very few butterflies about with just a few Speckled Woods and some Small Whites joining a Red Admiral on my day list. A dull period enlivened by two more Yellow Wagtails at Deenethorpe Airfield was only relieved at Deene Lake inflow. Here five Green Sandpipers were feeding and there were at least twenty five Lapwings. Good numbers of Moorhens and a few Teal fed around the WBT but there was not much else of note.

Green Sandpipers at Deene Lake.

Lapwings.

Behind the dam on the main lake I found at least two Small Red-eyed Damsels next to the stream where the family party of Grey Wagtails were still present. In the same area there were a couple of Blue-tailed Damsels and half a dozen Common Blues. One of the latter provided some elevensies for a female Southern Hawker. She made short order of her snack and was left with what looked like a blue lollipop stick within less than a minute after its capture as both the head and the thorax were munched first leaving just the thin abdomen which was then in turn discarded.

Small Red-eyed Damsel.

Southern Hawker and a bit of a Common Blue Damsel.

At the Home Farm ponds a small group of wildfowl included at least three Shovellers and a female Brown Hawker was seen ovipositing. From here conscious as I was of the increasingly threatening looking skies I headed home. Passing through the Priors Hall area I added more butterflies to my list with Small Heath, Green-veined White and Small Tortoiseshell being seen. Both species of darters and a few further sightings of Southern Hawker completed the tally of interesting stuff.

Compare the skies behind this kite with last week, not good!

Common Darter.