The Sun Returns

Yesterday was only the second day this year that was totally rained off and so I was very glad to see blue skies and sunshine when I got up this morning. As is often the case on a Monday I headed off to Barnwell where I had my usual walk around before taking a stroll along the Nene.

Brown Hawker and Four-spotted Chaser.

Brown Hawkers were the commonest species today with quite a few being flushed from vegetation as well as those hawking for insects. A few Emperors were noted and so were three or four Black-tailed Skimmers. Only one Four-spotted Chaser today but they're coming to the end of their flight season and it's natural that numbers will start to drop off. Common Darters are starting to appear in numbers and Ruddy Darters were also observed.

Common Darters and Black-tailed Skimmer.

I couldn't find any Willow Emeralds despite searching but it's still early for them, top damsel today was my first site record of White-legged Damselfly. Otherwise things were much as before, good numbers of Small Red-eyed, Red-eyed, Common Blue and Banded Demoiselle being joined by lesser numbers of Blue-tailed.

White-legged and Small Red-eyed Damselflies.

Pristine looking Painted Ladies were on the wing today and are probably the first of a locally bred generation. Numbers of Red Admirals and Peacocks were good and a couple of Commas were seen. Of the other species Gatekeepers were commonest though all three of the common whites showed well too.

Painted Lady and Holly Blue.

A little later along the Nene I found good numbers of Small Red-eyeds and these included ovipositing ones as well. A similar suite of species were seen with Common Blues more than living up to their name at Princess Fishing Lake. New butterflies for the day included a Brimstone and at least five Holly Blues. Few birds of note apart from the Mandarins at Barnwell where I also heard Kingfisher on several occasions.

Brimstone and Peacock.

Half Day Off

With the weather being so nice it didn't take long to come to a decision when work offered me the chance of a half day off. Once I'd got changed I soon found my way to Harry's Park Wood where I hoped to find some interesting butterflies. An attempt to find White-lettered Hairstreaks in an elm hedge close to the wood met with failure and afterwards I made my way into the wood proper.

Silver-washed Fritillary and White Admiral.

The heat seemed to have an affect on the butterfly numbers and I suspect that some were lying low during this hottest part of the day. At least four Silver-washed Fritillaries were seen but I managed to make it a double hairstreak dip by missing out on Purples at one of their favoured sites. The second of the purple duo, the larger Emperors also managed to evade me though two White Admirals were more obliging. A fairly standard set of butterflies otherwise though decent numbers of newly emerged Peacocks were observed.

Ruddy Darter and Black-tailed Skimmer.

A pair of Ravens were seen high over the wood and they appeared to be displaying while the best of the other wildlife were three species of dragon which included several male Emperors.

Brown Hawker and White-legged Damselfy.

After I'd finished my walk around the wood I strolled down to the pond near the Woodland Park in the village. Plenty of Small Red-eyed activity with many pairs ovipositing and others resting on waterside vegetation. Two male White-legged Damselflies were also present around the pond and another was found next to the stream. Also frequenting the streamside nettles were several Banded Demoiselles including several newly emerged ones. Other damsels recorded here were Red-eyed, Common Blue and Blue-tailed. Of the three species of dragon observed three ovipositing Brown hawkers were joined on the list by Emperor and Black-tailed Skimmer. Little else of interest was moving around in the heat though at least one new brood Holly Blue was seen.

Small Red-eyed Damselflies.

A Day By The Nene

I had another day out in the company of Alan Shorrock and we began our watching at Barnwell CP. Although we had to endure the odd grey spell the weather was a bit kinder than yesterday and there were some warm periods of sunshine. The warmth certainly seemed to have an affect on dragonfly numbers and we saw seven different species today.

Brown Hawker and Common Darter.

Of the dragons it was Brown Hawkers that were commonest and as well as hunting individuals there were two ovipositing. Emperors were present in decent numbers too and as with the previous species several were noted laying eggs. A few freshly emerged Common Darters were seen and an adult male Ruddy was found. Four-spotted Chasers were active over the lakes while several Black-tailed Skimmers preferred the margins, a pair were also noted in cop. Of the damsels Small Red-eyeds were out in good numbers around Mill Lake with many pairs ovipositing and others hunting around waterside vegetation. Red-eyed Damselflies were present on all of the lakes though they were generally outnumbered by Common Blues. Two other species were seen with a small number of Blue-tailed vastly outnumbered by Banded Demoiselles.

Black-tailed Skimmers and Emperor.

A new brood of Brimstones appears to have hatched and at least half a dozen were flitting about. Red Admiral numbers continue to grow suggesting some immigration, several certainly looked as if they had had a hard life. Some new brood Peacocks were also observed joining Commas nectaring on the many thistles. Nothing else of too much interest with the usual browns and whites on show.

Brimstone and Red Admiral.

Eight Mandarin Ducks were seen around the park though the best bird seen today was a male Kingfisher seen from its namesake hide.

Kingfisher and Mandarin.

Having spent some time at Barnwell we decided to pay a brief visit to Ringstead GP in the hope that we could see the breeding Cattle Egrets that have been reported there. News was recently released now that the chicks are ready to fledge and the threat of egg collectors or excessive disturbance have receded. Sadly for us we could not find any though we added Southern Hawker and Holly Blue to our day list and also saw more Small Red-eyed Damselflies.

Small Red-eyed Damselfly and Holly Blue.

Frits at Fineshade

Alan Shorrock and I visited Fineshade Wood today in the hope that we might see some county Dark Green Fritillaries at one of their newly occupied sites. Unfortunately for us we failed to find any despite several hours of searching. While it might be easy to blame the often grey conditions for this there were enough butterflies of other species about to suggest that we were just unlucky.

Silver-washed Fritillary and Gatekeeper.

Despite the Dark Green deficiency there were plenty of their larger cousins about with good numbers of Silver-washeds flitting along the rides. Browns and whites showed in good numbers and we saw the three species of skippers typical of July. The best butterflies showed only briefly with Purple Emperor, Purple Hairstreak and White Admiral restricted to brief views of single individuals. Other species noted on our travels were Red Admiral, Comma, Small Tortoiseshell and a tatty looking Painted Lady.

Painted Lady and Lrge Skipper.

Other wildlife observed included three Ravens, lots of Common Blue damselflies, a Brown and a Southern Hawker.

Six-spotted Burnet and Speckled Wood.

From Fineshade we moved on to Fermyn Wood CP where an attempt to see Willow Emeralds also met with failure. Once again a relative helped ease the pain of dipping and we saw two Emerald Damselflies which are one of my favourite species. Numbers of dragons and damsels seemed low though the skies had turned cloudy by now which perhaps explained things. Singles of Four-spotted Chaser and a Brown Hawker and three Ruddy Darters were the only dragons. Damsels were slightly better represented with Banded Demoiselles, an Azure, Common Blues and Blue-tailed joining the Emeralds on the list.

Emerald Damselfly and Ruddy Darters

Of the butterflies recorded further sightings of Silver-washed provided the highlight while of the other wildlife seen a brief view of a Raven was the only other thing of note.

Nightjars

Every year my brother and I take a trip over to Norfolk to catch up with Nightjars and last night ( the 20th) we journeyed over there in the company of one of his old school mates. With the afternoon thunder storms having moved off it was nice and clear when we arrived leaving us hopeful of a good evening's watching.

Here be Nightjars.

A male gave a brief churr just after quarter to nine but it was some time later before the main show began. Whilst waiting for the Nightjars to get active I heard a Grasshopper reeling distantly but there wasn't much else to keep us occupied other than a bit of midge swatting, the pesky little blighters are always a pain on such evenings! Thankfully the Nightjars started a bit earlier than on some previous visits and we were treated to quite a performance.

Let the show commence.

First off several males began to churr and from then it wasn't long before we heard the first flight calls and saw our first views. With it still being quite light we could actually see some colours on these early birds and could also pick out a bird that landed in a nearby pine tree. Other views followed and we had several birds pass closely by. Another bird hunted above the sky line and we were treated to an excellent display of aerial dexterity as it swooped, hawked and hovered at one point. After quite a period of sustained activity we decided to leave while we could still make out the numerous cow pats in the gathering night, nobody wants to scrape that off the carpet in the car!

Quick Visit to Harry

As the sun was shining when I left work I took the bus over to Weldon from where I walked up to Harry's Park Wood. Although the sun did a bit of a disappearing trick I managed to see most of the butterflies that I wanted to.

White Admiral and Peacock.

My first White Admiral was seen before I'd even entered the wood as one was zooming around the brambles on the wood's edge. A further seven where noted and these included at least two taking in moisture or nutrients from the path. Two Silver-washed Fritillaries were seen in their favoured spot near the entrance but were too preoccupied with fighting to pose for pictures. Another camera shy species was a male Purple Emperor that flew past without stopping. Several butterflies were basking on the path and these included a fresh looking Peacock and a Small Tortoiseshell while a Comma was using a branch as its sun bathing spot. The three species of common white were noted and the three typical browns too. One further species observed was Large Skipper, these always seem to favour woodland rides with plenty of brambles.

Small Tortoiseshell and Soldier Beetles.

Highlight amongst the other wildlife was a fox which wandered up the path towards me until it caught on to the fact that I was there and consequently legged it. Two Brown Hawkers and a Common Blue Damsel were the only other wildlife of any note.

Surprised fox.

Grey Day at Barnwell.

Not one of the brightest days as there was total cloud cover for all the time that I was out, more than a little galling as blue skies returned almost as soon as I got back to Corby! This lack of sunshine contributed to what was one of my more boring days for quite a while. As the school holidays will soon be upon us I opted to go to Barnwell CP where I hoped to enjoy a quiet visit before the legions of squealing sprogs get off.

Common Darter and teneral female Red-dyed Damsel.

Only one dragonfly was seen today and that was a Common Darter, another darter was glimpsed but too briefly to confirm an I.D. Damsels fared a little better and I saw five species within the park and another on the Nene. Commonest species was Banded Demoiselle with many resting in the nettle banks next to the river. Running it close was Blue-tailed Damselfly and it's perhaps not surprising that they're so common given how many pairs in cop that I saw, the little blighters could show Giant Pandas a trick or two when it comes to insuring the species' survival! Rather a lot of Common Blues were observed but only one Azure could be found. Red-eyed Damselflies are continuing to emerge and I saw at least one nymph that had crawled out on to a water lily. The final species recorded today was a single male Small Red-eyed on a water lily close to the marina, a poor record shot was all that I could manage.

Banded Demoiselle and Small Red-eyed Damsel.

Gatekeeper numbers really are rising quickly and they were the commonest species today, mainly males still but I did see at least one female. Other browns were almost as common with decent numbers of Ringlet and Meadow Brown showing. Whites seemed fairly tolerant of the dull weather with Green-veined being commonest, a few Small and Large were noted as well. The only other species seen today was a Small Tortoiseshell and a few Small Skippers on grassy land near the Princess fishing lake.

Gatekeepers and Green-veined White.

At least six Mandarin Ducks were found in the park suggesting that they probably bred here again though given that it's yucky ducky time again eclipse plumage meant that they all looked like females. Best bird of the day was an Oystercatcher in flight over Lower Barnwell Lock while there were also several Common Terns around the marina.

Mandarin Ducks.