Showers

Today was dominated by squally showers and blustery wind with just the occasional sunny interlude though it did brighten up to leave quite a nice evening. I went for a long stroll today as far as Spanhoe Quarry and although I didn't see a huge amount of interesting stuff it was OK.

Marbled White and Meadow Brown

At Willowbrook Industrial Estate there were a few Marbled Whites and Meadow Browns braving the wind while in Brookfield Plantation there were quite a lot of Ringlets and a single Common Blue Damsel. I was hoping to see Crossbills here but my search came to nothing. My walk to and beyond Gretton added Small Heaths and s few whites to the list but not much else.

Ringlet and Small Heath

Recent rain means that two of the ponds at Spanhoe now have water in them though the weather kept dragonfly activity to a minimum. About half a dozen Common Darters looked newly emerged and there was a single Emperor ovipositing. Damsels were represented by Azure, Common Blue and Blue-tailed, I had hoped that some Emeralds might be out but if any were I didn't see them. Of the butterflies seen a Small Skipper was perhaps the best.

Small Skipper and Azure Damselfly.

Harringworth Lodge Lake had a single male Small Red-eyed Damselfly and a Black-tailed Skimmer but not much else. The other butterflies seen today were Speckled Wood, Small, Green-veined and Large White, Small Tortoiseshell and Large Skipper.

Common Darter and Small Red-eyed Damselfly.

Fallow Deer were seen in and near Brookfield Plantation and also near Spanhoe and among the birds noted today were Peregrine and Osprey.