Local Wanderings

After getting a lift over to Deenethorpe Airfield I began my walk back towards Corby taking in Deene, Priors Hall and Weldon. Although there was quite a lot of cloud about during the day it did at least stay dry and I saw a few things of interest.

Wheatear.

Still plenty of brown butterflies on the wing though some of the Meadow Browns and Ringlets are beginning to look a little tatty. Gatekeepers on the other hand are still looking pretty sharp and they were one of the commoner species seen today. Other browns in the area included a Speckled Wood and several Small Heaths. Whites were fairly numerous too and I saw all three of the commoner species. Peacock numbers are certainly on the rise and I saw my first of many here. Perhaps my best butterfly was an Essex Skipper, they've not been that common this year. Only one dragon was seen and that was a Brown Hawker. Best bird was a Wheatear, in recent years I haven't seen many autumn birds so it was good to catch up with this one.

Tatty twosome, Meadow Brown and Ringlet.

At the village itself a White-legged Damselfly was the most interesting species while nearby Deene Lake inflow held a good sized flock of Lapwings. Highlight on the main part of the lake were two immature Shelducks which suggests local breeding. A quick look at the vegetation near the dam produced two male Willow Emeralds, there may well have been more but I didn't spend too much time searching.

Willow Emerald and Ruddy Darter.

Best bird at Priors Hall was a female Mandarin, this is becoming a regular site for them. Several Silver-washed Fritillaries were seen though they didn't land while a single Marbled White may prove to be my last of the year. Other butterflies added to my day list included Common Blue and Large Skipper. Not many odes about today and certainly no Willow Emeralds unfortunately but it is still early in their season. Ruddy Darters were the commonest dragon as more and more take up territory at the ponds. Plenty of Common Darters continue to emerge but they still appear to be maturing away from the water. Apart from these there were only a couple of Emperors, Common Blue and Blue-tailed Damselflies.

Marbled White, Lapwings and juvenile Wren.

Another Barnwell Monday

It was a very busy Barnwell CP that I returned to this morning as parents and grandparents had flocked there with their sprogs to enjoy a decent spell of weather. Despite the increase in noise levels and footfall I did find the odd interesting thing both here and at the nearby Princess fishing lake.

Female and male Brimstone.

Not that much to report from a bird point of view with just those Barnwell regulars, Kingfisher and Mandarins putting in an appearance. No surprises amongst the butterflies though I was pleased to see my first of the new brood of Brimstones, it's amazing to think that these butterflies might still be alive in ten or eleven months. Whilst watching some butterflies nectaring on thistles I saw a Red Admiral escape the clutches of a Hornet hunting around the flowers. Having seen in the past one pluck a wasp out of the air I'd say that admiral had a lucky escape! Good numbers of Commas and an increasing number of Peacocks joined the whites and browns observed today

Southern and Brown Hawker.

Quite a few species of dragons and damsels were found though there were few individuals of each. Commonest dragon was Brown Hawker while Banded Demoiselle was the commonest damsel. A mature female Scarce Chaser was a nice find as it's getting very late in their season, Four-spotted Chaser and Black-tailed Skimmers still have some time to run on theirs. One male Southern Hawker and a few Emperors were noted while numbers of both the darters remain low at the moment. Most are probably still maturing away from the murderous intentions of those larger dragons.

Small Red-eyed and Blue-tailed Damselflies.

I had hoped to see some Willow Emeralds but couldn't find any though it is still early in their flight season. Just one Small Red-eyed was seen though there were more of their larger relative Red-eyed as well as Common Blue and Blue-tailed. No other wildlife of interest was found today, I'd like to know where those local otters spend their summer!

Scarce Chaser.

The Second Half

For the second part of my nature spotting today (the19th) my brother David, Shozzer and I headed over to Norfolk for our annual Nightjar spotting session. We allowed a bit of time before hand to give us a chance to take a look at Titchwell.

Great White Egret and Spoonbill.

Titchwell didn't let us down and we enjoyed a decent couple of hours birding. First bird of note was a Great White Egret though it wasn't the only tall and leggy white bird on site as there were ten Spoonbills as well. The Spoonbills stayed true to their nature as most were enjoying a sleep apart from the odd preening bird or the occasional departee. We heard the pinging of several Bearded Tits but didn't manage to catch a glimpse of one.

Knots and Black-tailed Godwits.

Given the large number of waders on the reserve it was evident the tide was in as a mass of Knots joined a decent sized flock of Bar-tailed Godwits. Plenty of Black-tailed Godwits too and Dunlins while the usual mass of Avocets were also noted. Apart from these and the usual waders we found an adult Yellow-legged Gull and at least four and probably five Mediterranean Gulls.

Titchwell selection.

With the sun beginning to dip towards the horizon we set off to look for those Nightjars where we all had a spell of midge swatting as we waited. Birds began to churr at about quarter to ten and we began to see them soon after. While it wasn't their best showing it was still an enjoyable session (midges not withstanding!). As dusk gradually gave way to night we bid the Nightjars au revoir and headed back towards home.

Let the churring begin!

A Game of Two Halves

Part one of my day's nature spotting was spent in and around Harry's Park Wood near Weldon. While it was nice to see some sunshine I didn't really see a whole lot in the wood itself though it wasn't a total waste of time.

Green-veined and Small Whites.

No White Admirals or hairstreaks today though I did manage to find a couple of rather tatty looking Silver-washed Fritillaries. Good numbers of browns and whites today and there are still quite a few Large Skippers around. At least one Essex Skipper was noted at the Brigstock end of the wood though I didn't manage to find any Smalls. A decent number of Red Admirals were observed as well as lesser numbers of both Peacock and Comma.

Essex Skipper and Silver-washed Fritillary.

Small numbers of Siskin were noted on site while dragonflies were represented by several Emperors, a Brown Hawker and a Common Darter. I actually managed to get a photo of the male Brown Hawker which is a fairly rare event as most of my BH pictures are of ovipositing females.

Red Admiral and Small Tortoiseshell.

An attempt to locate White-lettered Hairstreaks at a nearby spot failed though I did see my first Painted Lady of the year. I didn't get a pic as it wouldn't settle but it was good to catch up with one, it certainly is a far cry from last year's invasion of this attractive species. Not for the first time recently a Crossbill flew over heading towards the wood, the summer of 2020 will definitely be remembered for this species' irruption. Nothing else to report at the moment though I'll add the second part of my day a little later on.

Brown Hawker.

Crossbills

Alan Shorrock and I headed over to Wakerley Wood this morning with the aim of catching up with some Crossbills at one of their favoured county sites. At least ten had been reported from there recently so we were quite optimistic and we were not let down.

Crossbill selection.

Soon after our arrival I heard at least one calling from larches near the picnic area and over the next half an hour or so we heard several more and caught the odd glimpse too. Siskins appeared to be moving through as well with a double figure count noted. Crossbill numbers were by now beginning to build up as we waited going from about ten to an eventual total of at least forty of which most appeared to be juveniles. The birds were not always vocal and were often hard to pick out in amongst the larches which still had their needles. Poor light hampered efforts at photography though we did manage to get some record shots. Some of the birds were popping down to a puddle to drink and it was this that was probably drawing the birds in. Sadly the puddle was next to a path and the birds were flushed by a couple of mountain bikers. Somewhat intriguingly one of the birds showed very prominent double wing bars and although it was likely to have been a Common I can't say with a hundred percent certainty that it was. Many of the birds were by now moving on and we decided to emulate them choosing to visit Spanhoe,

Meadow Brown and Gatekeeper.

No birds of interest were seen in the quarry though the eagle eyed Shozzer did pick out four Ravens at a nearby spot. Although the cloudy conditions seemed unpromising for insects we managed to find a few. My first burnet moths of the year in the shape of many Six-spotteds were observed. Quite a few Meadow Browns were on the wing and a fair number of Gatekeepers as well. Both Marbled Whites and Ringlets are coming to the end of their season but we still saw a couple of each. Other butterflies included Comma, Peacock and Small Skipper and I also observed a Yellow Shell moth.

Six-spotted Burnet Moths and Yellow Shell.

Only one of the ponds had any water in it so it was difficult to find any dragons except for Common Darters. It seems as if many had emerged this morning and it's perhaps just as well that they get out before this pond dries up too. Only one species of damsel was noted and that was Blue-tailed Damselfly with perhaps as many as ten on site.

Brown Argus and Common Darter.

Purple Patch

While the weather was not ideal I still decided to give Harry's Park Wood a bash in case any interesting butterflies were on the wing. Several periods of morning sunshine did bring a few out and while they didn't include any Purple Emperors amongst their numbers there was enough to keep me happy.

Purple Hairstreak and young Blue Tit.

Despite the absence of those emperors a little splash of purple did brighten my morning and it came in the shape of a Purple Hairstreak that had ventured down from the tree tops long enough to let me take a pic or two. Three more were observed during the rest of my walk. Four Silver-washed Fritillaries were noted too while five White Admirals included one in very good condition, most are looking a little ragged now. Some colour was provided by several pristine looking Peacocks and a few Red Admirals. Most of the other species seen were either whites or browns though I did see some Commas and a couple of Large Skippers.

White Admiral and Silver-washed Fritillary.

Two species of dragonfly were hunting along the woodland rides and these were Emperor and Brown Hawker while the best birds on view were a Raven and several Siskins. Once I'd finished checking the wood I went along to see if any White-lettered Hairstreaks were showing at a nearby site but sadly I couldn't find any.

Meadow Brown and Peacock.

My final stop of the day was at Weldon where thick cloud cover all but put a stop to any hopes I may have harboured of seeing Willow Emeralds. Very few odes were braving the conditions with several teneral damsels being joined by an ovipositing Brown Hawker.

Small Tortoiseshell and Brown Hawker.

Poor Start

My brother was good enough to take me along to the Brampton Valley Way near Hanging Houghton where I confidently expected to add Beautiful Demoiselle to my county year list. Sadly things did not work out that way as I saw nothing other than a solitary Common Blue damselfly. I'm not sure what has happened as this has been quite a reliable site for at least a couple of years.

Yellow-legged Gull and Small Red-eyed Damselflies.

Disappointed we continued on to Wicksteed Park where we enjoyed a good walk in decent conditions. Highlight was a Yellow-legged Gull on the main lake though we also had views of a Sparrowhawk and several Sedge Warblers. Some Small Red-eyed Damselflies were present on both lakes making this the forth site that I've seen them at in the county this year. Few dragons other than  several Emperors and the only damsel seen in any sort of numbers were Common Blues. Of the butterflies seen an Essex Skipper was the best.

Emerald Damselfly and Emperor

At Weldon my brother's and my path diverged, he heading home and I heading to Priors Hall. Plenty of damsels and dragons here and although I didn't find the hoped for Willow Emeralds I did see enough interesting stuff to make the visit worthwhile. A single Emerald Damselfly was the highlight, it may have been the male from last week. Other damsels observed were Banded Demoiselle, Blue-tailed and Common Blue. Commonest dragon was Ruddy Darter as more and more mature males are taking up territory around the ponds. Several Commons were also noted though these were immatures and newly emerged individuals. Black-tailed Skimmers and Four-spotted Chasers were sparring over the ponds and both Brown Hawker and Emperor were also noted.

Brown Hawker and Black-tailed Skimmer.

Among the butterflies a few new brood Peacocks and a fresh Common Blue were best though Essex Skipper was a welcome find too. Plenty of other butterflies around with six species of brown being seen, July tends to be a very good month for them. Of the other wildlife recorded today a fishing Osprey was the highlight and for the second week running I had at least one Siskin pass overhead. A Brown Hare rounded off today's sightings before I ventured into the George at Weldon for my first pub pint since March.

Essex Skipper and Peacock.