Tricky Icky

 Pint clutching patriots were nervously beginning to gather in the beer gardens and pubs of Corby when my brother and I set off for Rutland Water this afternoon. Our after work travels were provoked by news of an Icterine Warbler that was singing near Shoveller Hide on the Egleton reserve. Given my brother's previously unblemished warbler record of late I was feeling somewhat optimistic when we arrived. Events were to prove that the footie watching hordes would have a more successful time of things than we did!

Rubbishy record shot time - Black Tern.

Having paid for our permits we marched off to the spot that the warbler was favouring noting a Peregrine on the way. A small group of would be admirers had assembled and the news was OK if not brilliant. Apparently the bird was singing though views were brief and mainly unsatisfactory or at least that had been the case thus far. After a while the bird did indeed sing though only briefly and this was to set the pattern for the evening to come. Searching intently for the Icky did produce views of other warblers of which the best were Garden and Lesser Whitethroat. We broke our vigil for a look from Shoveller Hide where a Black Tern showed distantly as it fed on the far side of the lagoon. Returning to the warbler site did not bring a change of fortune and we eventually had to except defeat.

Ringlet and Painted Lady.

Of the other birds noted several Curlews were the best and there were a few Avocets on Lagoon Four as well as a Cuckoo near the visitor centre. Increasingly long spells of sunshine seemed to suit the butterflies and I was happy to see my first Ringlet of the year. A Painted Lady posed well while other species included Comma, Red Admiral, Small Tortoiseshell and Meadow Brown. Only two species of damsel were seen and these were Azure and Blue-tailed.

By Royal Appointment

 Traditional Wimbledon weather today with wall to wall grey clouds and rainy periods of varying length to challenge the would be wildlife observer. After yesterday's exploits I knew I was always going to struggle to avoid an anti climax but decided to venture out all the same. Given the conditions I thought that a place with hides might be sensible and so popped over to Barnwell CP on the fringes of Oundle. My hope was to catch up with the park's Kingfishers as the end of June and early July are usually very good for catching up with this colourful species.

Male Kingfisher.

After what seemed like an interminable bus ride I finally arrived at Barnwell CP and made my way to the Kingfisher Hide. Once there I settled down and waited hoping that I might be lucky enough to experience a royal visit. Joined by another observer and sharing the hide with  a nest of bumble bees we did not have to wait for too long before the first whistling call announced the arrival of a Kingfisher. Initial attempts to locate our colouful visitor drew a blank but luck did attend our efforts and we were rewarded with some prolonged and excellent views of a male Kingfisher. Not many European birds could match yesterday's Roller for impact but I believe that this chap more than matched it and indeed probably surpassed it. The bird was extremely obliging and I enjoyed my most sustained views for many a long year. Eventually the bird moved on and I decided to do the same leaving my fellow watcher and those bees to their own devices.

Mandarins

Barnwell is now one of the best places in the county to encounter Mandarins in Summer and today was really fantastic for them. While most of the drakes are now in eclipse there was at least one which retained most of his finery. About thirty were seen in total and these included a brood of new ducklings on the north lake. Of the other species noted a pair of Cuckoos were the best and I had some good views of Sedge Warbler. The dreadful weather meant that few insects were noted and the only mammal other than Grey Squirrels was a Brown Rat!

More Kingfisher pics.

None Too Shoddy

 An away day today to the wilds of Suffolk and Norfolk in the affable company of my brother David and Alan Shorrock. While the weather was somewhat dreary to begin with it's fair to say that the wildlife spotting was anything but and a selection of goodies were enjoyed throughout the day.

Roller.

We began in the Brecks where we joined quite a crowd of other birders near Icklingham in Suffolk where a Roller has been paying court to a succession of admirers. Our target was on view when we arrived and though the sky was grey and the bird distant it was still an absolute cracker. I watched it as it perched on wires occasionally making brief hunting forays from its lofty perch. At one point it attracted the unwelcome attention of an aggressive Mistle Thrush but the bird seemed unfazed and carried on going about its business. After about half an hour we left the bird and its fan club to it and headed off for a brief visit to nearby Lackford Lakes. Sadly the reported Glossy Ibis did not oblige us with a view though we had checked more in hope than expectation.

Black-winged Stilts.

From here we made the trip to Hickling Broad where the weather was beginning to show a few signs of getting brighter. While our primary target was the Swallowtail butterflies and Norfolk Hawkers for which the broads are known we spent the early part of our visit birding. Highlight was  a pair of Black-winged Stilts which showed rather distantly from the nearest viewing platform. Record shots were taken of these elegant though rare visitors, these were my fourth record in the UK (though I never count the long staying bird at Titchwell.). A good supporting cast of waders were also noted with an adult Curlew Sandpiper perhaps the best. Others seen included Ruff, Spotted Redshank and a Grey Plover that Shozzer found. Marsh Harriers and Hobbies were also seen during our visit but we didn't see the Collared Pratincole that had been seen on and off over the last few days.

Painted Lady and Speckled Woods.

By now the sun was putting in an appearance and we turned our attentions to insects. I'd caught a brief flight view of a Swallowtail but really wanted to see more. Norfolk Hawkers showed first with quite a few hunting in sheltered spots though they were very active and none settled when we were watching. Several Ruddy Darters, my first of the year did settle and so too did a Four-spotted Chaser while David saw a Black-tailed Skimmer. For the second day in a row I saw Variable Damselflies, this species often seems to favour the same sites as Norfolk Hawkers - maybe I should go back and check Wicksteed!

Variable Damselfly and Ruddy Darter.

Butterflies were also responding to the heat and it was Painted Ladies that were the first stars of the show, at least four were nectaring on bramble blossom, encouraging after last year's disastrous showing. Sharing those same flowers were Red Admirals and Small Tortoiseshells as well as some Meadow Browns. By now the sun was feeling warm and the headline act finally put in some stunning performances as several Swallowtails arrived to feed on the same brambles. Of all the British species this is surely the most magnificent and I thoroughly enjoyed watching what were only my second UK ones. Having taken a great many pictures we decided to call it a day and head for home, one thing's for sure, the next trip is going to have quite a lot to live up to!

Just wow, Swallowtails.

Wicksteed Wanderings

 I was supposed to be going to a comedy festival today but it was called off and i was left with a day off work and no particular plans in place. After some consideration I opted to go to Wicksteed Park in Kettering to see whether I could find any interesting odes. Weather wise things looked more than a little challenging to begin with, drizzly rain and clouds dominated proceedings to begin with but sunny spells did develop eventually and my time was not completely wasted.

Grebe family and Common Tern

Not too many birds were on view today, several warbler species showed quite well and the park's Great Crested Grebes put on a show but there were no surprises overall. Few butterflies were seen either with just a few Small Tortoiseshells putting in an appearance. Happily after a slow start damselflies did feature quite strongly though their larger cousins were all but absent.

Variable Damselflies

Wicksteed has Northamptonshire's best population of Variable Damselflies and they showed fairly well today around their favoured spot around the fishing lake. Also present in good numbers were the dross tolerant Blue-taileds and Common Blues. Other species recorded in smaller numbers were Red-eyed Damselflies and Banded Demoiselle. Only one dragon was on the wing during my visit and that was an Emperor.

Red-eyed Damsel and Banded Demoiselle

Gazing On A Sunny Afternoon

 The return of some decent sunny weather prompted an after work stroll down to Weldon where I hoped to find some Small Red-eyed Damselflies. While I failed to find my target species I did find a few other bits and bobs though nothing too earth shaking it has to be said!

Red-eyed Damselfly, Banded Demoiselle and Four-spotted Chaser

When those Small Red-eyed Damselflies do decide to emerge it would appear that a veritable rogue's gallery are assembling in anticipation of an easy meal. The usual flock of House Sparrows which have become experts at plucking damsels off the surface of the water were lying in wait in the surrounding bushes and chirping noisily. Less expert but most definitely making up for any deficiency in that department by adopting a high energy approach instead was a juvenile Pied Wagtail which was launching sallies out from the lily pads. Another cause for concern was a terrapin lurking amongst the rigid hornwort that damsels use as a perch.

Yellow Shell, terrapin and Pied Wagtail.

Unfazed by this predatory pack were Red-eyed, Azures, Blue-tailed and Common Blue Damselflies and Banded Demoiselles. Only two species of dragon were on show and these were some very active Emperors and some rather more static (at times!) Four-spotted Chasers. Few butterflies were noted and these included new brood Comma and some Small Tortoiseshells while best moth was a Yellow Shell. In fact the best thing on the wing today was a North American Harvard which growled noisily overhead as it flew past.

North American Harvard

Not Stiffed In Staffs

 My brother has enjoyed something of a warbler twitch fest of late seeing River, Great Reed and Marsh in fairly quick succession so reports of a Blyth's Reed relatively close to home was enough to have him reaching for his car keys. Happily I was able to accompany him on this particular jaunt and we set out hoping for the same sort of success that he'd already experienced with the others. 

Blyth's Reed Warbler giving decent view...

This bird had spent several days at Middleton Lakes RSPB reserve, Staffs and judging from the photographs on the internet was showing pretty well at times. On arrival at the site we tagged along with a local birder that knew the area well and had similarly twitchy intentions towards that warbler. Walking along the reserve's paths produced views of a Great White Egret and we heard Grasshopper Warbler and Cuckoo. Plenty of Cetti's were in fine voice too though we didn't linger for too long as a string of favourable report's coming from smiling birders returning from the Blyth's were too promising to resist. Hopefully the prospect of a second Monday dip in a row could be averted!

....and better views

We heard the bird singing before we saw it, a musical song quite different from the bog standard Reed, it had originally been identified as a Marsh when first found. I'd fully expected some skulking LBJ offering only brief views as it moved through thick vegetation but happily I could not have been proved more wrong! The Blyth's was perched at the top of a Willow singing its heart out when we arrived and went on to spend quite a lot of time there during our stay. Occasionally it would drop down out of sight but never for too long before returning to its favourite perch. We watched it for about twenty minutes before moving on, we were very unlikely to improve on the views that we had already had and my brother David had a shift to do at work. My first new species of the year and a good one too, while Blyth's Reeds are not quite the mega rarity that they were a decade or two ago they're still a rare bird. To get great views of a singing bird instead of brief glimpses of a bird lurking deep within a bush on the East coast on some dreary Autumnal day was a definite bonus!

If only all rare warblers were so obliging!

Yucky Duckies With Matching Weather

 Last week's hot spell has done something of a disappearing trick leaving grey skies and damp conditions in its stead. I ventured out today more out of habit than anything else, I certainly wasn't expecting to find anything of note and I wasn't to be proved wrong either sadly! Late June is normally very quiet on the birding front (no exotic starlings or orioles around here) and with most of the insects other than tough as nails bumble bees keeping a low profile it was quite a struggle finding anything to write about.

Mallard and Buzzard

A stop at the A43 pond at Weldon produced a small number of ducks going into eclipse plumage. I'm not a great fan of yucky duckies but summoned up just about enough enthusiasm to look at the assembled collection of Tufted Ducks and Mallards. There was no sign of the Mute Swans that had built a large nest on the island and I'm not sure what might have driven them off. Leaving the village behind I checked the quarry lake at Priors Hall as I passed but couldn't find anything of interest.

Cinnabar and Blood-vein moths

The ponds at Priors Hall were quiet too though there was at least a little bit of stuff to look at. Despite the dreary conditions I found four species of damselfly of which the cloud tolerant Blue-taileds were the commonest. Not too far behind in the numbers game were Azures while there were a few Common Blues and a single Red-eyed too. Butterflies were a little on the elusive side though Meadow Browns and Small Heaths were braving the gloomy conditions and I saw a single very fresh looking Small Tortoiseshell. Cinnabar moths were quite common today and while most were sheltering down amongst the grass stems I did get a good view of one. Another day flying moth showing well was a Blood-vein.

Small Tortoiseshell and Red-eyed Damselfly

Best birds today were a couple of combative Cuckoos fighting a running battle as they flew across the largest pond, a male was heard calling later. Plenty of Sand Martins were hunting low of the area while my total of four raptor species included a Sparrowhawk. Realising that my day was not going to improve I decided to cut my losses and head for home.

Azure Damselfly and Bee Orchid.

Winning 'streak

 Another after work sortie in the company of my brother taking advantage of the continuing hot spell. We went over to Glapthorn Cow Pasture to look for the reserve's Black Hairstreak which have begun to emerge this week. We found about ten in all but they seemed supercharged by the sun and spent most of their time corkscrewing around the tops of the Blackthorn bushes. A few settled briefly but they were often obscured or in shade and I only managed one half decent pic. Other species noted included my first Meadow Browns of the year and also singles of Red Admiral and Comma. Satisfied with what we had seen we left the butterflies and their growing collection of admirers to it and went off to our next stop.

Black Hairstreak and Meadow Brown

A look for Ospreys at their nest site produced no sightings and I'm not sure if the platform is being used this year. We saw a single Hobby by way of compensation and nearby insects included a Broad-bodied Chaser and a Common Blue butterfly. After another drive we called in at the weir near Gretton where despite a large number of swimmers, divers and boaters we found a few odes to look at. Commonest were the glittering hordes of Banded Demoiselles, mainly males were on view but there were a few females too. Also present in good numbers were White-legged Damselflies with over forty being noted, I suspect there may be many more but it was quite late when we arrived and many may have gone to roost. Other damsels showing today were Red-eyed, Large Red and Blue-tailed while an Emperor was the only dragon. Only one butterfly was seen and that was a very fresh looking Small Tortoiseshell.

Red Admiral and Broad-bodied Chaser.

Our final port of call was at the Peregrine site where one bird was in situ, I'm not sure of the resident pair are breeding or not but I suspect they're not - happy as ever to be proved wrong though!

White-legged damselflies and Peregrine.