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.