Last Day Of The Hols

 After what seems like ages my days of leisurely mooching around doing next to nothing have come to an end and it's time to face up to the harsh reality of going back to work tomorrow. At least the dross weather of last week has been put to bed and I enjoyed another great day of warmth and sun. I spent most of my day wandering around Priors Hall where I enjoyed a peaceful and fairly productive day.

Small Heath and Common Blue.

For the first time in what seems like weeks butterflies featured quite strongly with two species new for the year in the shape of Small Heath and Common Blue. Joining them were good numbers of Dingy and about ten Grizzled Skippers though I still can't find any Green Hairstreaks. Other species noted on my travels included plenty of Orange-tips and a few Brimstones.

Grizzled and Dingy Skipper

Best dragonfly was a first for the year Broad-bodied Chaser which was gracious enough to pose for a pic or two. Plenty of Four-spotted Chasers were emerging and I managed to find a few settled ones, most flew straight into neighbouring trees and were lost to view. About six Hairy Dragonflies were on site too though none seemed keen to settle as they patrolled constantly around the edges of the ponds. Many teneral damselflies were taking first flights and they did well to avoid the depredations of the Sand Martins hawking over the area. Commonest damsel was Azure with over a hundred being seen while Large Reds remain numerous too. Only a couple of Blue-taileds were found and a single Red-eyed completed the list.

Broad-bodied and Four-spotted Chasers.

The only birds of note were a trio of Mandarin Ducks flushed from one of the ponds, they seem to be getting quite regular here. Other wildlife included a Common Lizard, an injured Fallow Deer which appeared to be lame and a brief view of a possible Roe Deer. It's a shame that I couldn't get a better look at the putative Roe as it would have been my first sighting here.

Blue-tailed Damselfly.

Variable Damselflies

 Today I ventured over to Wicksteed Park in Kettering today to check on the colony of Variable Damselflies that I discovered here in 2019. While the day had begun rather unpromisingly with cloudy skies it did clear up quickly leaving a beautiful sunny day to enjoy. Wicksteed was not surprisingly very busy though the area around the fishing lake where I concentrated my efforts was mercifully peaceful.

The fishing lake at Wicksteed Park

It didn't take long to find Variable Damselflies and it's safe to say that the colony appears to be doing very well. Outnumbering the normally much more common Azures by about eight to one I enjoyed my best ever day in the county for what remains a very local species in Northants. Mostly males were seen suggesting that many of the females were minding their own business elsewhere. The full range of variations were present which gave me a good chance to expand my growing Variable Damselfly port folio.

Variable Damselflies.

Other damsels were responding to the fine weather and many tenerals were taking their first flights though a number of House Sparrows made this quite a hazardous undertaking. Plenty of Blue-tailed Damselflies included several colour forms of which rufescens was the most distinctive. Other species seen in smaller numbers were Banded Demoiselle, Large Red, Red-eyed and Common Blue though sadly no dragons were noted.

Blue-tailed Damsels, rufescens form below.

Not much other wildlife to report with no birds of note while butterflies on the wing included Green-veined White, Orange-tip and Small Tortoiseshell.

Red -eyed Damselfly and Green-veined White

Purple Reign

 Spanish birders know the Purple Heron as the Imperial Heron and the one that has taken up residence at Summer Leys certainly appears to be drawing in a fair band of would be subjects. Sadly for some it's royal audiences were granted very infrequently as it spent much of the time concealed in the reedbed next to Pioneer Hide.

Duff pics but good bird, Purple Heron.

Alan Shorrock and I were both rather keen to catch up with this county rarity and so popped over to pay our respects. Wishing to avoid the crowds gathered at Pioneer Hide we headed around to Paul Britten instead where if potential sightings were always likely to be more distant then we could at least enjoy the benefits of some social distancing! Settling down for what potentially could have been a long vigil we took to scanning the reedbeds hoping to catch a glimpse. After about half an hour the star of the show obliged us by emerging from the reeds and walking out into the open. Sadly the bird did not linger for too long and flew into a further patch of reedy cover and was lost to view. Distance meant that record shots were of the distinctly duff variety but they do at least record my first ever Northants and only my third British example of this attractive heron. Not many other birds to report though I saw a Hobby and both of us heard a Cuckoo.

Common Blue and Red-eyed damselflies.

With the weather being untypically warm we had a wander around looking foe odes and our efforts met with some success. There appeared to have been a very good emergence of Common Blue damselflies and I think that we saw over fifty of them. Red-eyed Damselflies were also emerging in numbers and we had a double figure count of them. Other damsels seen included Large Red, Azure, Blue-tailed and Banded Demoiselle. Just the one dragon was noted and that was a Hairy Dragonfly patrolling the edges of one of the ponds. Best butterfly today was a Red Admiral though a couple of Holly Blues were appreciated in what has been a poor year for them.

Better view of a Grey Heron and Small Tortoiseshell

A visit to the River Welland near Gretton was not very productive and we struggled to see much of interest. Just a few Banded Demoiselles and Large Reds were noted while the only butterflies were a couple of tatty looking Small Tortoiseshells.

Convincing bumble bee mimic hoverfly.

It's Beginning To Look More Promising!

 Having arrived back in Northants much earlier than I expected I used the extra time to good effect by heading over to Barnwell CP. Although it was a little cloudy at times there was enough sunshine to tempt a few insects out and I managed to see some odes as well as a few butterflies.

Four-spotted Chaser, Common Blue and Variable Damselflies

Three species of dragonfly were noted and of these two, Scarce Chaser and Hairy Dragonfly, were my first of the year. Unfortunately neither stayed around for pics but a Four-spotted Chaser did oblige. Of the seven species of damselfly showing a Common Blue was another year first. More interesting perhaps were a male and a female Variable Damselfly which were different individuals to the two seen on my previous visit. I'm hoping that this is proof that there is a small but viable breeding population here. Commonest damsel were the many Banded Demoiselles flitting around, at least a hundred were noted. Also present in growing numbers were Azure and Red-eyed Damselflies while I noted two each of both Large Red and Blue-tailed.

Banded Demoiselle, Large Red and Blue-tailed damsels

A small selection of butterflies were noted though I was largely in ode mode and some probably passed by unnoticed. Those that were seen included Orange-tips, Brimstone, Small Tortoiseshell and a Peacock. I didn't pay too much attention to birds but a singing Cuckoo was heard near to Barnwell Lock.

Azure and Red-eyed Damselflies

Norfolk Break

 I've just returned from a family holiday in Hunstanton, Norfolk from 21 - 28/5/21 which while not a wildlife watching trip in any way did allow me the odd chance for nature spotting. Most of my watching was done in the Hunstanton area though I did manage one brief morning visit to Titchwell. One down side of my visit was the weather as the recent run of wet and windy dross continued and meant that not a single butterfly or dragonfly were seen during my stay.

Grey Plover, Turnstone and Sanderling

Migration is all but over for the moment though a few high arctic waders still seem to be on the move. On the 22nd a small number of Grey Plovers were noted but none were seen after this date. Good numbers of Turnstones were present and rather a lot of Sanderlings were still about too. A flock of about twenty Common Scoters were seen distantly and were presumably migrants too. Small numbers of Brent Geese continue to linger and perhaps that's not such a surprise given the weather! Causing panic amongst the gathered waders was an immature Peregrine which circled several times before moving on. I took the chance to wander down to the cliffs and enjoy the comings and goings of the Fulmars at what is their closest colony to us here in Northants. While here a Cuckoo made a flying visit and I managed a record shot as it went past. My favourite birds in the Hunstanton area were two pairs of Grey Partridges which gave good though always distant views on several occasions.

Record shot scoters, Peregrine and Grey Partridges.

My Titchwell jaunt was a little on the quiet side though it still managed to deliver a few goodies. An adult Spoonbill broke with tradition by being awake, I watched it feeding actively before some birders flushed it. Other leggy birds included a booming Bittern and a Great White Egret. There were very few waders on site other than the breeding Avocets and Redshanks and the Mediterranean Gulls all appear to have moved on. Two Little Terns were a rare treat and I had some distant views of them. Bearded Tits were heard pinging from the reedbed and were the last good birds of my visit.

Fulmar, Spoonbill and Little Terns.

Not a huge amount of other wildlife was noted and all of it consisted of introduced mammals. Muntjacs seem to be common on the north Norfolk coast and I saw them at several sites. Brown Hares too appear to be flourishing and the area between Hunstanton and Heacham seemed to support a good population.

Muntjac, Brown Hare and Rabbit.

Damsels and Downpours - Deux

 I took a bit of a chance with the weather after work today as there were more than a few threatening looking clouds promising to rain on my parade. Happily the rain stayed off for the duration and didn't start until just after I arrived back home. My main goal was to try and find some Variable Damselflies in the vegetation alongside the stream and I'm happy to say that my efforts met with some success!

Female Variable Damselfly and FFTY Blue-tailed.

Despite those clouds there were enough sunny spells to tempt a few damsels out and the first to show were several teneral Banded Demoiselles, their shiny wings and red eyes betraying their tender youth. A growing number of Azure Damselflies were on view and these included several females. I checked each one very carefully but my initial efforts to find a Variable came to nought. My first Blue-tailed Damselfly of 2021 helped to salve the pain of dipping and I saw what was probably the same individual on several different occasions. There was a brace of Large Reds to add to my day list but I left the best to last. Appearing fashionably late in the proceedings a female Variable Damselfly showed just before I left, this is the fourth year in a row for the Weldon Variables which is still one of only three known sites for them in the modern county of Northamptonshire.

Banded Demoiselle, Azure and Large Red Damselflies.

In all honesty I was concentrating on the damsels too much to pay much attention to other wildlife but I did notice a few Orange-tips flitting around. Once again a Sedge Warbler was singing next to the pond while the fledged Grey Wagtail was still hanging around the stream being fed by its parents.

Still there, juvenile Grey Wagtail.

Damsels and Downpours

 Today I hopped on the bus and took a trip over to Oundle from where I took the short stroll to Barnwell CP. With a further easing of the lockdown measures my bus had been all but hijacked by a garrulous group of grey haired grannies who appeared to be heading off to Peterborough for some shopping and dining. No such distractions for me however as I set my mind to finding some more odes.

Male and female Banded Demoiselles

Although it was overcast when I arrived I set to work scanning the vegetation and soon noted that there had been quite an emergence of Banded Demoiselles with well over fifty being noted. Other species took a little more finding and it was some time before I saw my first of two Azure Damselflies. My next species was the hoped for Variable Damsels as first a female and then a male were seen. this is the third year in a row that I've seen this county rarity here. A single Red-eyed Damsel was next to be seen followed soon after by the only Large Red of the day. By now the clouds were beginning to look more than a little threatening and I was lucky to gain the sanctuary of a bird hide before the clouds opened. Once the thundery interlude had ended I chose to head back into town where I enjoyed several pints before catching my bus home.

Azure, Red-eyed and Large Red Damselflies

Not too much other wildlife of interest was seen today with the best bird being a Kingfisher. A singing Willow warbler was a bit of a surprise however as the habitat seems far from ideal for this species. A Brown Rat was the only mammal seen and the best of a very small selection of butterflies was a male Orange-tip.

Male and female Variable Damselflies