Sunrise at the Leys then Dipping on a Bunt, After that a Damselfly Hunt

It feels as if the day was as long as the title of this post but I have to say that it was certainly a good use of one of my precious days off. My brother gave me a lift over to Summer Leys where we were treated to rather a nice sunrise. After that I got dropped off at Upper Benefield where I took the walk along to Deenethorpe before ending my explorations at Priors Hall.

Summer Leys sights.

Summer Leys was fairly quiet in the sense that there were not many interesting birds, the many Black-headed Gulls ensured that it was very noisy in every other aspect! Two Cuckoos struggled to make themselves heard over the larid louts but were my first of the year. Wildfowl numbers were low though most of the commoner dabblers were present. Lapwings and a Redshank were the only waders on show, water levels remain high here as they do at so many other sites. A good collection of Common Terns were also year firsts as indeed were the several Sedge Warblers heard singing. In truth there was not much else to report though a female Brimstone was seen egg laying near the car park.

Some bird highlights from later in the day.

My brother had other plans for his day but was good enough to drop me at Upper Benefield from where I set off hoping to catch up with the Corn Bunting that has been frequenting the area. I couldn't find the bird unfortunately but then again I did arrive rather late in the morning. An OK selection of birds where on view and they included the usual Tree Sparrows as well as a very vocal Lapwing. Migrants included at least one Lesser and three Common Whitethroats while Swallows are beginning to become established I the local villages. Not many butterflies here but at least two Small Torts were present in the area.

A good day for butterflies.

Deene lake inflow held a Green Sandpiper and many Greylags but the goosey highlight here were a pair of Egyptians which were most probably the birds seen nearby last week A Small White was the first for the year and I also found two egg laying Brimstones. On the main lake most of the wildfowl have migrated though at least three Shelducks were present. Between here and Priors Hall birds were few and far between while butterflies were represented by several more Small Torties and a Green-veined White which was another first for the year.

Some of the other wildlife on view.

Priors Hall had an attractive little patch of Bluebells in flower, I'm going to have to check Ironpits Wood out as this site has the best display locally. More butterflies in the form of three Peacocks, a male Brimstone and at least four Orange-tips as well as two further Small Whites were observed as I walked towards the ponds. At the first of the ponds I found my first Large Red Damsel of the Spring, the first of seven seen during the day, I so enjoy it when the dragonfly season kicks off! A Common Lizard was also seen around here while a group of three Brown Hares were seen nearby.

The season has started, get ready for loads of pictures!

Moving on to the larger ponds closer to the A43 produced my first Reed Warblers of the year, two in total while Tufted Ducks were present on three of the ponds. A Speckled Wood was my first of the year and I also managed a half decent shot of another Green-veined White. I always enjoy seeing amphibians so a sighting of a Common Frog was appreciated. With the clouds now starting to thicken I took a look at the quarry where the usual Sand Martins and Little Ringed Plover were on view, all in all not a bad end to the day.