Masses Of Marbleds

 With tonight's entertainment already sorted it was a case of finding something to do with myself this morning. After some deliberation I opted to walk along to Priors Hall for a first visit in what seems like quite a while. For most of the morning I was blessed with blue skies and sunshine and this had a notable effect on the number of butterflies on the wing.

Distant Ringed Plover and Greenfinches.

Before I got to Priors I checked on the pair of Ringed Plovers and was pleased to see that they were still around. I couldn't see any young but one of the birds was calling anxiously suggesting that there could have been a chick or two hiding. Other wildlife noted included a Brown Hare grazing on a school playing field.

Rabbit and Common Darter.

At Priors Hall I was met by a fox on arrival though it disappeared pretty quickly before I could get a picture. What was immediately obvious was the large numbers of Marbled White butterflies flitting around. This site was only colonised recently but there were well over a hundred of them on the wing. Meadow Browns and Ringlets were also present in decent numbers and I saw my first Gatekeeper of the year. Lots of little skippers were seen of which most were Small though I think that there may have been a couple of Essex too. Far more clear cut were the half dozen or so Large Skippers which incidentally were considerably smaller than the Small Tortoiseshells that were on site! My butterfly list was rounded off with Small Heath, Speckled Wood, Small White and Common Blue. A Six-spotted Burnet was my first of the year, I expect more will follow.

Marbled White and Gatekeeper.

It was rather disappointing for odes though I did see my first Common Darter of the year. Few other dragonflies were seen with the commonest being Four-spotted Chasers while a few Black-tailed Skimmers and Emperors were also noted. Nothing unusual among the damsels, no sign of any emeralds and a Banded Demoiselle was perhaps the best. Not too many birds to report, a Raven passed overhead and a Tufted Duck with a brood of five ducklings were seen.

Small and possibly Essex Skipper and Six-spotted Burnet.

On my way home I took a diversion to the A43 pond at Weldon where the Mute Swans far from having deserted the site were raising five fairly well grown cygnets. Of more interest were three Gadwall ducklings which were my first for this pond though adults are regular. Three duck and one drake Tufted Duck were also present and I'm hoping for the pitter patter of more tiny webbed feet in the near future.

Gadwall ducklings.