Grey Again

 This morning the clouds were suffused with a rosy blush but that sadly was it as far as the sun was concerned as those clouds soon assumed a less welcome but more familiar grey look to them. On my walk to Deene today I was treated to several spells of rain but they were never heavy enough to make me regret my decision to leave the house. Photographic opportunities were few and far between so instead of treating you to a series of shots of damp fields etc I'll include some pics from this year's dragonfly season.

Large Red, Willow Emerald and Variable Damselflies.

Checking Willowbrook Industrial Estate for Stonechats drew a blank and in fact the early part of my stroll was every bit as dreary as the weather. Along Kirby Lane  I did manage to find a female Stonechat close to the hall while a Raven was calling nearby. Reaching Deene Lake I actually bothered to take my scope out of the bag for a change and it did pay dividends. A female Red Crested Pochard was my first at the site and it was one of the few diving ducks, a small number of Tufted Ducks were also present. Good numbers of dabbling ducks included plenty of Gadwalls and there were many Teal at the inflow. Shelduck numbers have risen to eight and the pair of Egyptian Geese were still present. Other regulars on site included the pair of Black Swans while a single Green Sandpiper joined those teals at the inflow.

Small Red-eyed Damselfly, Scarce and Broad-bodied Chasers

Not much else to report, Redwings and Fieldfares remain common but for the first time in a while I saw no Siskins or Redpolls. Raptors were well represented with four species on view but there was little else of note.

Hairy Dragonfly and Emperor.