Prior Appointment

VE today and it was an entirely different type of bunting coming to the forefront. While barbeques were firing up and beers were being poured I opted instead to leave the festivities behind and go to Priors Hall. While there was a bit more cloud than there has been of late it was still pleasantly warm.

Grizzled and Dingy Skippers.

Swifts have arrived over the skies of Weldon while Sand Martins continue to hawk insects over the ponds of Priors Hall. Best bird was once again a calling Cuckoo, this really is proving to be a good Spring for this declining species. Not much in the way of non insect life to report other than a Common Lizard.

Green Hairstreak and Small Heath.

On the insect front I spent a lot of time watching the Dingy and Grizzled Skippers going about their business. It looks as if both species are at their peak as about seventy Dingies and about fifteen Grizzleds were noted with many appearing to be egg laying. Another Spring special in the lovely shape of Green Hairstreak was also seen. The next wave of butterflies is just getting underway with a trio of Small Heaths and two Common Blues representing the vanguard. A couple of the old stagers are still hanging about with a Peacock and a Brimstone showing.

Four-spotted Chaser and Large Red Damselflies.

My dragon and damsel list has grown quite a bit this week and today brought another year tick. Two or three male Hairy Dragonflies were patrolling the margins of one of the ponds though they didn't appear to stop which may help to explain the lack of any photos! Far more cooperative were Four-spotted Chasers, over ten were found with all but one looking as if they emerged this morning. Some disappeared into the tops of neighbouring trees but a few stayed around to allow close views. Another insect reaching peak numbers at the moment is Large Red Damselfly, over seventy were seen and these included many mating pairs. The other damsels present on site today were Blue-tailed and Azures, there were about ten of each noted.

Azure and Blue-tailed Damselflies.