Dragonflies 2017 - a Final Flutter

 

It finally looks as if the season has actually finished, yes I know that I've already said this a couple of times already but light snow on Saturday suggests that this time I may be right. Beginning on April the 19th with a Large Red Damselfly it ran until the 19th of November with at least fifteen Common Darters at Priors Hall. I had harboured hopes that a December record might be on but that dratted cold spell looks to have put paid to that. Still eight months was a pretty good run and it won't be too long until April!

First on the scene, female Large Red, Corby STW 19/4/17.

Last of CA 15 Common Darters at Priors Hall, Corby 19/11/17. 

Morons!

I began my day at Upper Benefield from where I took my usual walk towards Deenethorpe and Deene. As is so often the case around here a small flock of Tree Sparrows provided an early highlight with about fifteen birds in the hedges near the village. A flock of thirty or so Lapwings had four Golden Plovers for company while another, larger flock of sixty or so Lapwings were feeding in a field close to Burn Coppice.

Big skies near Deenethorpe.

A walk down to the barns produced little of note though greatly reduced numbers of both Pheasants and Red-legged Partridges suggest that the shooting season has begun in earnest. Still a lot of Fieldfares in particular feeding in the fields with just a few Redwings for company. Two seperate Sparrowhawks were a nice addition to the usual Buzzards and Red Kites though the smaller passerines were probably not so happy to see them. Several calls from overhead led to the discovery of a large flock of Golden Plovers, about seventy or so, flying eastwards.

Deene Lake.

Things stayed rather quiet until Deene churchyard where I hoped the Yew trees may have attracted a certain species of finch. Sadly although they were attracting thrushes of five species the finches did not appear. I'm beginning to think some sort of mass hallucination is taking place or perhaps it's a massive stringathon!

Hawfinch free zone at Deene.

Gadwalls were the commonest species on the main lake where a Shelduck and three Pochards were new additions to the usual crowd. The water level at the inflow was high which meant that the wader count was reduced to two Snipes as Teals took over the WBT.

New additions to the scene at Deenethorpe Airfield.

A stiff breeze was blowing at the airfield though I could still hear Skylarks singing during one of the sunnier spells. The rest of the walk was largely uneventful, Bears Lane had lost most of its birds with only a Kestrel to provide any interest.

Red Kite.

Now anyone that has read either my blog or its Birdforum predecessor will know that I'm prone to an occasional rant. Generally I direct them towards selfish or thoughtless people whose actions or lack of action can spoil the countryside for others. Whether it's shouty cyclists, dog owners that don't pick poochy's poop up or drivers that feel an inch is sufficient room when passing a walker I've vented at them all at one point or another.  This blog is a swear free zone but that restriction is sorely tested by the moronic and criminal behaviour of fly-tippers. Dumping rubbish in what are often rather nice places must surely mark you out as a moron of the lowest order, anyone caught doing it should be buried under a pile of their own trash. Two piles of junk at the end of Bears Lane were particularly galling as it's within sight of Weldon tip but I better stop now before my blood pressure hits the roof.

Blight at Bears Lane, the work of brain dead criminals. 

Weldon churchyard was as free of imaginary finches as Deene was and a Grey Wagtail was the last bird seen today. Very little other nature seen today though a Muntjac was heard barking near Burn Coppice.

Winter Arrives

We had the first snow of the year yesterday and I hope that it was not a sign of things to come. This morning dawned cold and clear with a heavy frost and it was more in hope than in expectation that I went to Priors Hall in search of Common Darters. I'd spent yesterday at a family wedding and despite enjoying the delights of a free bar I was clear headed enough to get there while the sun was still shining.

A darter free Priors Hall.

Sadly despite a great deal of searching I could not find any and I'm left to think that this time they may finally have succumbed to the cold. Having said that I've made similar claims in the past and have ended up with egg on my face so....Not a great deal else to mention, a group of five Fallow Deer were seen as they ran from one strip of woodland to another. Raptors were represented by Kestrel, a Buzzard and several kites while a few Siskins were also noted.

The lake had little of interest, a single female Tufted Duck had joined the Mute Swans while there was a group of Great Black-backed and Herring Gulls having a pre roost wash.

Spooky, a headless Heron.

At the A43 pond there was a large group of Mallards, a pair of Gadwalls and three Tufted Ducks as well as a snoozing Heron while a Grey Wagtail flew over. By this stage the sun had disappeared and given way to cold rain so I headed off home.

Summer Leys Saunter

Some people say that a change is as good as a rest and for that reason I took yet another trip on the X4 over to Earls Barton from where I had a slow stroll to Summer Leys. It had been quite a while since my last visit and on the strength of this trip it may well be a while before my next one.

View from Earls Barton Lock.

Grey skies started things off though thankfully the weather did pick up a little as the morning wore on. A selection of the commoner species were seen along Mill Lane while the first of the lakes had a very large assemblage of Mute Swans swimming around. Other than these and a small number of ducks there was little else until I got closer to Hardwater Crossing when a Cetti's Warbler gave a burst of song and a male Stonechat showed distantly.

One of many Mute Swans seen today.

The reserve itself was hardly a hive of interesting activity either although at least two each of Water Rails and Cetti's Warblers were heard. A Chiffchaff was also heard calling close to the entrance. Duck and wildfowl numbers on both the main lake and from Pioneer Hide seemed low with only a limited variety of species on view. Rather more on view from the screen but again nothing out of the ordinary though it was good to catch up with Goldeneyes, the lakes around Corby seldom host this attractive species.

Highlight of the day, a Yakolev 50.

While walking down to the feeders a Yak 50 aeroplane passed over and that was probably the most interesting thing all day though there was a reasonable number of birds taking advantage of the food hand outs.  In keeping with the general mood of the day Mary's Lake was dullsville though a small number of Siskins were present in the area.

Selection of diners at the feeders.

A Kingfisher was seen on the way back to Earls Barton but in truth the day's highlight was several pints of Thatcher's in the Old Swan while I waited for my bus.

Darters Delight, Hawfinches Don't.

It was cold enough to make a brass monkey more than a little anxious about its future family credit prospects this morning with rather a heavy frost whitening the grass. Plenty of sunshine though even if most of the puddles and a few of the ponds had a coating of ice.

A sunny start.

The Yew in Weldon churchyard did not prove attractive to Hawfinches though a few Redwings seemed to like it. Bears Lane's flock of Chaffinches still had at least one Brambling tagging along as well as Yellowhammers. In fact it was good for finches in general with a Redpoll joining the more usual species. Close by a couple of Golden Plovers flew westwards while there seemed to be plenty of Buzzard activity to enjoy.

Not quite the finch I was hoping for.

Fieldfares really have arrived in force now and a large flock flew over as I walked towards Deenethorpe. The airfield had only man made diversions while the village itself had nothing to report. Deene Lake inflow showed that the WBT had regained its Snipe charming powers with a total of seventeen feeding and also a Green Sandpiper. The main lake had just the usual selection of wild and not so wild fowl with an Egyptian Goose once again appearing. Hawfinches did not find the Yews in Deene Churchyard to their liking any more than Weldon so I remain an unwilling member of the HDS.

Lovely day for a flight and the WBT strikes back.

I popped into Priors Hall for the first time in a while and was rewarded with a brief glimpse of a female Common Darter. Although it was too quick to photograph it was still nice to see a species that I had written off for the year. Luckily a second female was happy to pose and so too a further thirteen active and not so active around the site. Common Darters were not the only insect to show Lazarus qualities as a Red Admiral took the chance to indulge in a spot of sunbathing as well.

They thought it was all over, it's not yet!

Not too much in the way of birds with Siskins perhaps the pick of the bunch though there was a double figure count of Great Black-backed Gulls on the lake.

Northants Butterflies 2017

Well in what is probably not a totally unexpected move I'm going to give the butterflies the same treatment as the dragonflies and give a brief account of my butterflying year. It was a very good year for these insects as far as I'm concerned as I amassed an eventual total of 34 species during my wanderings. Unlike in more recent years I made more specific trips to view them and often went out later than I would usually do on my birding jaunts meaning more records and greater numbers of individuals.

Peacock started the show on the 9th of March, Orange-tip followed in April.

The year began on the 9th of March with the sighting of a Peacock in my garden. From then a warm Spring meant that other species followed rather earlier than usual though a cooler Summer period led to things returning to more a normal footing by late June. Dingy and Grizzled Skippers were the stars of the early season with high counts of both species being noted at Priors Hall near Weldon. Dingies in particular seemed to enjoy a good year with sightings from five sites.

Dingy and Grizzled Skippers had a good year.

June marked the beginning of the main season and I was able to note all four species of the county's hairstreaks during the month. Fermyn Wood produced the usual records of Purple Emperor though I was also able to see this spectacular species at two other sites. Silver-washed Fritillaries were also noted at Fermyn at the same time and this species had a very good year. The colonisation of Corby's woodlands by this species continued with records from South Wood in addition to further observations in Brookfield Plantation.

Green, Black, White-lettered and Purple Hairstreaks.

Another species really on the up was Marbled White. The colony discovered at Willowbrook Industrial Estate in Corby was found to be bigger than I realised and the butterflies appeared at just about every suitable site around the town. It was such a pleasure to see this attractive butterfly doing so well locally. Small Heaths were found in many of the same locations and seemed to enjoy a good year.

Stars of Summer, Purple Emperor and Silver-washed Fritillary

2017 did not appear to be a good year for migrants and numbers of Painted Ladies remained low. August saw a small arrival of Clouded Yellows into the county and at least one individual was present at Priors Hall throughout the month. Red Admiral numbers seemed high but I got the impression that many of these were locally bred rather than migrants as their emergences seemed to coincide with that of other relatives such as Comma and Peacock.

Marbled White and Small Heath.

A personal highlight during the Summer was going to see Wood Whites in a wood near Sywell which were my first in the county for a good few years. Northamptonshire is one of the better counties for this species so it's good to catch up with them.

Migrant marvels, Painted Lady and Clouded Yellow.

Numbers of both species and individuals began to decline as the season progressed and a last sighting of a Red Admiral at Brookfield Plantation on the 5th of November brought matters to a close. Looking ahead to the coming year I would like to catch up with Chalkhill Blues somewhere in the county, it was sad that a new colony was destroyed almost as soon as it was discovered but that seems to happen too often nowadays. Another goal is to find a Dark Green Fritillary, they're present in decent numbers in neighbouring counties and such strong flying butterflies must surely wander... Exciting news for a little further ahead into the future with plans to attempt a Chequered Skipper reintroduction being considered, to see such a striking little insect flying once again in the county would be very fine indeed.

Red Admiral  and my favourite photo of the year a Small White.

Northants Dragonflies 2017

Both last year and this one I decided to do a brief summary of my dragonfly spotting activities on Birdforum and have decided to do the same on the blog. 2017 was the first year for perhaps as long as a decade when I actually made trips specifically to look at these insects. As a birder that basically dabbles in this subject I cannot pretend any degree of expertise but I can bring a lot of enthusiasm to the table.

Large Red Damselfly kicking things off on the 19th of April.

This year saw the launch of the Northants Dragonfly Facebook Group which was begun by the county recorder for Northants, Mark Tyrrell. It has been an invaluable source of information as well as having some excellent photos to gawk at and I recommend it wholeheartedly to anyone with an interest in the subject.

Willow Emerald and Emerald Damselflies.

My season finally began on the 19th of April with the sighting of a female Large Red Damselfly close to Corby Sewage Works and this was the only species that I saw during the month. By May the 7th a further five species had emerged including my first dragon as opposed to damsel in the shape of a Hairy Dragonfly. From then onwards species were added on a regular basis with many taking advantage of warm Spring weather to emerge earlier than usual.

2017 saw only my second sighting of Beautiful Demoiselle in the county.

A Willow Emerald at Finedon Pocket Park provided the highlight of the year as it was a completely new species for me and proved to be my twenty second species for the year in the county. I spent rather a long time attempting to find my own at other locations but was unsuccessful, perhaps next year. This was also a good year for Emerald Damsel too with records of this species from five sites.

Small Red-eyed and White-leggeds both did well.

Small Red-eyeds featured strongly too with sightings from the established colonies at Weldon and Barnwell, additional and perhaps new colonies at Deene and Harringworth Lodge Lakes and a singleton at Priors Hall. This species emerged early with a first sighting at Weldon on the 21st of June and a last one at the same location at the end of September. Another definite highlight was seeing several Beautiful Demoiselles at Brampton Fisheries, these were only my second observation in the county of this attractive species.

Banded Demoiselles lasted into October at Weldon.

White-legged Damsels seemed to enjoy a good year too with a strong population along the Welland between Middleton and Gretton and other good populations at Deenethorpe and nearby Deene. Wandering individuals were noted near Corby Sewage Works (a coupled pair), Priors Hall and the pond near Eurohub where a female attracted the attentions of an amorous Azure Damselfly.

A Scarce Chaser at Deene Lake.

Perhaps my favourite species, Banded Demoiselle added a little spice to the latter end of the season when a few individuals lingered until the 15th of October. I can't confirm it at the moment but I believe that these may have been the latest in the country. Great to see this species doing so well with the populations along the Nene and the Welland featuring strongly but also on many of the smaller streams too. Wandering ones were found at many sires away from their usual habitats.

Four-spotted and Broad-bodied Chasers.

A Scarce Chaser at Deene Lake was my first away from the Nene, perhaps they will make their way to the Welland in 2018, here's hoping anyway. The larger dragonflies provided few other surprises though they were as interesting as always with hawkers, chasers and skimmers supplying lots of entertainment. My one slight disappointment was failing to see a Red-veined Darter that was photographed at Pitsford Res as this was the only one recorded in the county this year. Darters provided my greatest I.D challenges and also my last record of the year when a male and female were seen close to Brookfield Plantation, Corby on the 5th of November.

Brown and Migrant Hawkers.

Next year I want to find my own Willow Emeralds, surely they must be about somewhere other than Finedon (I hope). I'd also like to see some Variable Damselflies too so may spend more time trying to find some within the modern county of Northants, a hard task perhaps but one worth trying I believe. A final quest will be to catch up with Downy Emeralds at their one site in the south of the county, I've only seen them in Surrey before so some more local ones will go down very well indeed.

Emperor and last of the line Common Darter 5/11.