Back in the County

Alan Shorrock and I popped over to Summer Leys this morning where I was able to get back to the business of county wildlife spotting. Minutes after our arrival Alan noticed rather a lot of Swifts hawking insects overhead. In contrast with previous trips out into the county this Spring there were also good numbers of the three common hirundines present too. Also showing well in the area near the car park was a singing Garden Warbler, it seemed as if this reserve is good for this species as we saw a few more on our travels. Also heard from here was a Grasshopper Warbler reeling somewhere in the distance and a male Cuckoo also put in an appearance.

Garden and Sedge Warblers.

Rotary Hide did not produce that much of note but Pioneer was a bit better with a pair of Little Ringed Plovers and some Redshanks showing though my best bird here was a female Wheatear. She was my first of this Spring though Alan has seen several already. We moved on to the screen hide  where Al picked out some distant Dunlins, rubbish record shot is included for your viewing pleasure! Our walk around the reserve also proved to be very good for warblers with a total of ten seen or heard.

Lapwing and Redshank.

From the old railway line I managed to find my first Common Blue Damselfly of the year despite the less than ideal conditions while Alan weighed in with a discovery of a male Large Red. Very few other interesting insects were found today with the only butterflies being several Orange-tips at nearby Grendon Lakes.

Wheatear and Dunlins 

While it was good to get out and about again in Northants both of us had other commitments and so having completed a circuit of the reserve we left for home.

Common Blue and Large Red Damselflies.