Another Fine Day

After a couple of long walks over the last two days I initially thought that I might keep things even more local and give my body a rest. With the fine weather of the past week looking as if it might change very soon however I decided to drag my tired old bones over to Harry's Park Wood to make the most of such fine conditions.

Countryside views.

A Sedge Warbler heard singing along Kettering Road between the A43 and Weldon was my first of the year, it had moved along to the entrance of the Woodland Park by the time I returned. On the subject of the park it looks as if the closure was only temporary though the car park will remain closed, I think the council wants to stop people driving there to exercise. Bears Lane held quite a showy Garden Warbler which I chose to watch rather than photograph as I don't get that many clear views of this species. Other good birds noted today included a pair of Ravens near Bocase Farm on the edge of the wood where a male Cuckoo was also calling.

One of many singing Whitethroats noted today

The pick of the butterflies was my second Red Admiral in as many days and this coupled with the sighting of a Silver Y moth suggests some insect immigration has occurred recently. Not for the first time it was Orange-tips that were the commonest species, other whites were seen but generally not identified except for a few Green-veined. Of the species which hibernate as adults Peacocks remain the commonest with a few Small Tortoiseshells and Brimstones also seen. Corby Old Village had a Holly Blue flitting about but my biggest surprise was not seeing any Speckled Woods in Harry's Park as I thought there would be plenty there.

Orange-tip and Lackey moth caterpillars

What's turning out to be an excellent Spring for Large Red Damselflies continued as one seen on the edge of the wood made this my sixth site so far this year. Weldon Pocket Park delivered the best damsels of the day with my first Banded Demoiselles of the year. Three males led me on a bit of a song and dance before I finally got a photograph of one. These are one of my favourite damsels and I hope they have a long season, last year they made it into October - no pressure there then!

Large Red Damselfly and Banded Demoiselle

Of the other wildlife observed on my stroll a Common Lizard basking on a newly felled log in Harry's Park was my first confirmed one of the year. It looks as if there have been a lot of forestry operations there over the winter and I hope it doesn't have an impact on butterfly numbers later in the year. One other bit of wildlife worth mentioning was a Brown Hare dozing away part of the day in a field near the wood.

Common Lizard and Brown Hare