Pleasant Surprise.

When work gave me the opportunity to take a half day off and savour the last of the fine weather I jumped at the chance. Having enjoyed the song of a Blackcap from my garden and seen a Peacock butterfly too I was ready to get ready and grab the bus down to Weldon.

Banded Demoiselle.

A walk alongside the stream produced a sighting of a female Banded Demoiselle, I'd been hoping to find one but didn't really expect to. After all this record was about a fortnight earlier than in any previous years and was no doubt due to the exceptionally good weather that we've had over Easter. Having taken several photographs I left her to herself and walked on. I then bumped into the county dragonfly recorder Mark Tyrrell who set off to look for my demoiselle.

Large Red Damselfly.

Carrying on along to the pond at the Woodland Park I walked along its edge hoping to see some Large Red Damselflies. Pleasingly I managed to find three though I had to rescue one from a spider's web. While I'd normally leave nature to do its thing I thought differently today and decided to save it from becoming a spider snack. After several minutes the damsel seemed to have cleared herself of web and flew off. Returning to the stream I saw that Mark had managed to catch up with the demoiselle before he had to scoot off back to work. Minutes later I found to my further surprise a male Banded Demoiselle though this one unlike the female did not pause for pics and chose instead to flit over the stream and into someone's garden.

Holly Blue and Peacock.

From here I wandered along to the A43 pond where at least twelve Tufted Ducks were still hanging around. I was able to find a few butterflies and my total list for Weldon was Comma 1, Peacock 1, Brimstone 2, Speckled Wood 3, Holly Blue 4 and a few Orange-tips. On the way home from Weldon I popped in briefly to my old patch near to Corby STW where butterflies were the order of the day with two Small Tortoiseshells, a Comma, four Speckled Woods, two Peacocks and an Orange-tip making up the numbers. Sorry for boring you with the figures but these posts also serve as my notes! Not a great deal else to report though a Whitethroat was singing near to the entrance.

Bee and bee-fly.

Thrapston Swansong

Today was the last day of my Easter break (boo!) and I spent much of the day with Alan Shorrock taking a walk around the Titchmarsh reserve near Thrapston. We enjoyed a cracking walk in good conditions and managed to find some interesting birds.

Titchmarsh NR

My second Great White Egret in as many days was seen on Aldwincle lake soon after our arrival though this one's beak was still yellow unlike yesterday's. There were plenty of warblers in song on the reserve and these included Cetti's as well as my first Garden Warblers of the Spring. I also saw my first Cuckoos of the year with two males having something of a territorial tiff. For the second day running I failed to catch up with any hirundines, I wonder where they are?

Great White Egret and Song Thrush.

Another migrant that did perform was Nightingale, we saw one and heard another close to the iron bridge between Town Lake and Elinor. I did manage a record shot of sorts but it's a bit of a duffer truth be told. We listened to this declining visitor's marvellous song for quite a while, with the seeming loss of the Glapthorn birds this could become a hard species to see in the county.

Nightingale and Whooper Swan

Elinor trout lake paid host to the long staying Whooper Swan which I'd managed to miss so far but which was far more obliging today. Its bill has now coloured up nicely and the bird looks almost adult. You don't often get to enjoy Whooper Swans whilst wearing a T-shirt so it was a pleasant change. There were not too many other interesting birds about though a few butterflies were seen and these were Speckled Wood (4), Peacock (3), Comma (1), Small Tortoiseshell (2), Brimstone (8/9) and rather a lot of Orange-tips. In addition to these a Holly Blue was noted when we stopped for a pint in Brigstock.

Speckled Wood and Comma.

County Travels

My brother and I did a bit of a county tour today as we checked out some of the better birding sites in Northants. We began just before sunrise at Kingswood in Corby where we found a selection of the commoner species including Stock Dove. After about an hour it was time to move on and we made our way over to Stanwick Lakes.

Kingswood views.

Stanwick was a bit on the misty side when we first arrived though it did not take long for conditions to improve. Our main goal was try and catch up with our first Northants Cattle Egret, we've made a few attempts in the past but with no joy whatsoever. Today luck was on our side however as we found the reported bird preening in a tree close to some cattle. Although the bird was quite distant we were happy just to have finally caught up with this species. Herons were well represented today with Great White and Little Egret as well as Grey Heron joining their scarcer cousin on the day's list. There were plenty of Reed Warblers singing around the site but no hirundines at all. Worryingly we didn't see any at Summer Leys either, hopefully it was just bad luck on our part and not a sign of a major decline. A single Muntjac was the only other wildlife noted here this morning.

Stanwick.

Moving on along the Nene Valley took us to Summer Leys where we hoped to catch up with the long staying drake Garganey. While the bird was indeed reported today we were unable to find it, I suppose you can't expect to win them all! More warblers were heard around the reserve with at least four Lesser Whitethroats and a few Sedges as well as those species that were already well established. Not many waders were on view with a few Redshanks and a couple of Little Ringed Plovers being the only ones apart from Lapwing. With the sun burning rather hot by now it was no surprise to see some butterflies, Orange-tips were the commonest but at least ten Brimstones were noted too and these included several egg laying females. Several Speckled Woods were also found but I couldn't find any damselflies today despite having a look.

Egret trio.

Reports of two Avocets at Irthlingborough were enough to persuade us to give it a try. We were fortunate enough to catch up with them and had some distant and heat hazy views of this scarce county visitor. From here we moved on to our final stop at Harrington airfield where we saw a selection of common farmland birds including several Whitethroats. A few more butterflies were also added to the list with three Small Tortoiseshells and a Peacock being noted. Satisfied with our day's wildlife spotting we headed back towards home where I treated myself to a cold beer - cheers!

Some of today's wildlife

Worth Leaving the House For.

Yesterday (the 20th) I'd treated myself to another day off and began my day by taking the bus as far as Upper Benefield. From here I began my walk home via Deene, Deenethorpe, Priors Hall and Weldon. Tree Sparrows were seen in several of the trees on the edge of the village and more were seen along the lane.

Tree Sparrow and Yellowhammer.

The hedgerows alongside the road were alive with birds, many Whitethroats appear to have arrived and there was also a single Lesser Whitethroat too. Yellowhammers and Chaffinches filled the air with their song with Skylarks and Linnets also adding their voices to the chorus. A Brown Hare provided some none bird interest.

Kestrel and Red Kite.

Deene Lake inflow was rather lacking in birds and it seems as if the large number of Teals have moved on leaving only a few behind. A pair of Shelducks were bathing in the shallow water but sadly there were no waders. Not too much apart from a further four Shelducks on the main lake though there was a flock of about thirty five Fieldfares feeding in a field next to the water. By now the day was heating up and several butterflies were found with two Orange-tips, a Speckled Wood and a Small Tortoiseshell noted.

Brown Hare and Linnet.

Kirby Lane provided sightings of a further eight Orange-tips and a male Brimstone but little else. At Priors Hall Alan Shorrock had seen a Grasshopper Warbler and also a Wheatear but I was unable to catch up with either one. I did manage to see a pair of Mandarins on one of the ponds and there were the usual Sand Martins over the quarry lake but there was nothing out of the ordinary birdwise. Happily there were plenty of insects to watch with butterflies in particular showing well. My first Large White since an extremely early one in March was a welcome find and I finally managed to catch up with my first female Brimstone of the year. The other species seen on site were twenty plus Orange-tips, several male Brimstones, eight Speckled Woods, a Comma and seven Peacocks. As well as the butterflies I also found nine Large Red Damsels and unlike yesterday's individual several of these posed for pictures.

Orange-tips.

Once I'd got back to the Old Village I was pleased to see a Holly Blue flying around the garden, while they're by no means common I usually manage to record a couple every year.

Large Red Damselfly.

Welcome Back.

Yet another half day off (thanks work) and not for the first time I headed along to Weldon. My continuing search for damsels finally paid off as I managed to find a single example at the Weldon Woodland Park pond after a great deal of looking.

Small White and Brimstone.

My nature spotting began with a selection of butterflies near the steelworks. Commonest were four Orange-tips which for the first time this year included a female. Other species included a Brimstone, a Small Tort and two Small Whites. From here I made my way to the A43 pond where there was the usual selection of birds including Dabchick and Tufted Ducks.

Orange-tips and Holly Blue.

At least four Holly Blues were showing well near the pond and these were joined by further Orange-tips and examples of both Brimstone and Speckled Wood. Walking around the edge of the pond did not produce any sightings of damsels but this pond is probably a little too polluted. Making my way to the other pond at the Woodland Park produced some of the day's best sightings.

Green Hairstreak and Speckled Wood.

A Reed Warbler was the best bird find, one was singing rather half heartedly from the rushes while several Swallows were hawking insects overhead. What was presumably the same Willow Warbler from my last visit was still singing away while a pair of Gadwalls and Canada Geese were present on the water. Further Holly Blues were joined by a Green-veined White and a Peacock though all thoughts of butterflies were forgotten when I finally saw my first damsel of the year.

Peacock and Comma.

I'd been approaching some brambles close to the entrance when a Large Red Damsel took off and headed towards a tall Hawthorn. Briefly I hoped that it might settle where I could get a picture but unfortunately it didn't oblige. Shaking some branches to try and roust it from its perch did not produce any results though it did scare up my first Green Hairstreak of the year. Although I continued looking for more damsels I sadly could not find anymore, perhaps tomorrow I'll be luckier.

Small Tortoiseshell.

On my way home I popped into my old patch near the STW where the Willow Warblers have arrived. No other birds of note but there were a few more butterflies to enjoy. Three Commas were my ninth species of the day while at least five Peacocks were also present. Other species included more Orange-tips, Brimstone, Small Tortie, Speckled Woods and another Green Hairstreak. There was not a great deal of other wildlife on view though I did see a vole of some sort or another.

Magpie and Willow Warbler.

Returning to the village I saw three more Orange-tips and also noted that the first House Martins had returned.

Afternoon at Weldon.

My continuing quest to find Large Red Damselflies for the first time this Spring took me down to Weldon for an after work look around. Not for the first time the sun retreated behind some clouds but while the damsels did not show I was lucky enough to see some butterflies.

Holly Blue and Small White.

My first butterfly of the day was a male Orange-tip near the Old Village but he did not hang around, this is fairly normal for these active little butterflies when they first emerge. One next to the steelworks did settle briefly but sadly not quite long enough for me to get a picture. As well as this and a third Orange-tip the steelworks also provided a sighting of two male Brimstones and a Speckled Wood. One of the Brimstones was noticeably smaller than the other, barely Small White sized and may have been the result of accelerated development during the drought conditions of last Summer.

Peacock and Comma  + friend.

Close to the A43 pond I found my first Holly Blue of the year, a male that allowed me to take a record shot. This area turned out to be fairly productive and further sightings of Orange-tip (2) and Brimstone were joined by Peacock (3), Comma (1), another Speckled Wood in addition to my first county Small White of the year. On my walk between here and the other pond I found a Small Tortoiseshell basking in the last of the rays before the sun's disappearance. Eight species in one day counts as my best result of the year so far and hopefully is a taste of things to come.

Brimstone and Small Tortoiseshell.

While, as I've already mentioned, there were no damsels around the other pond I did see a few other butterflies notably another Comma, two or three Peacocks and yet another Orange-tip so my time was far from wasted. Not too many birds to report today, several Tufted Ducks continue to linger on the A43 pond and there was a vocal and obliging Willow Warbler around the other pond.

Two views of Willow Warbler.