Where Did Summer Go?

A yucky combination of heavy rain and sometimes sleet showers allied to strong and gusty winds made for a bit of a challenge. There were a few periods of sunnier stuff which is why I spent some my day off out and about in the Harringworth area.

Banded Demoiselle and White-legged Damselfly.

At Harringworth I couldn't find either the reported Scarce Chaser or Beautiful Demoiselle though I suspect the weather was a major factor. Brief bursts of sunshine did bring many Banded Demoiselles out and I also saw between 35 and 40 White-legged Damsels as well as a single Blue-tailed Damselfly.  Decent birds here included a male Cuckoo, a pair of Grey Wagtails and a Kingfisher.

Small Heath and Meadow Brown.

Moving on I was lucky enough to see an Osprey passing over which was probably a non breeding bird from the Leicestershire and Rutland population just over the border. Spanhoe Quarry's ponds have fallen victim to the dry weather, two are dry and one almost so. Despite the decidedly undry weather today I managed to find a few butterflies with Small Heath being the commonest. Half a dozen Meadow Browns were also noted and it's a measure of the weather that even this cloud tolerant species chose to hide deep down amongst the grass. Other butterflies noted here were Common Blue and Large Skipper.

Red-eyed and Blue-tailed Damselflies.

On my way down to Harringworth Lodge Lake a heavy shower made me seek shelter for a while though a fairly lengthy spell of sunshine then coincided with my visit to Harringworth Lodge Lake. Lots of Common Blue and Blue-tailed Damselflies were present along with a few Red-eyed. My only dragons of the day were seen here too with a single Emperor and about ten immature Black-tailed Skimmers on view. The only butterflies seen here were a couple of Small Tortoiseshells. Of the birds found on the lake a male mandarin going into eclipse was the best.

Mandarin Duck and Large Skipper.

From here there was little new to add, more Small heaths, a few Speckled Woods and another couple of Large Skippers at Gretton but further showers were enough to send me heading for home.