They Glide, They Swoop and They're Very Fond of Poop

 I took a precautionary day off work today just in case I drank too much watching last night's football though I awoke this morning clear headed and ready for action. My brother and I spent the morning covering a few of the local sites and like yesterdays game it was Harry's performance that provided the main highlight.

The youth of today, Wren and Green Woodpecker.

Beginning at Deene Lake we made a brief stop at the inflow where we found a couple of Green sandpipers despite the high water levels. From there we moved on to Barnwell CP where our main target was seeing one of the park's Kingfishers. Unlike on my last visit the birds were very elusive and in the end I had to settle for a very brief flight view. That was still better than my brother however as he didn't see it at all. Despite the dip we managed to find a few birds to enjoy with the local Mandarins in particular showing well. Also appreciated were great views of newly fledged Wrens and Green Woodpeckers.

Purple Emperors

Once we'd enjoyed an indifferent breakfast (and I'm being generous here!) at Asda's cafe we pootled along to Harry's Park Wood for a wander. Plenty of tiny froglets were hopping across the path when we first arrived and it was a case of watching our feet to avoid any unfortunate squishing events.  Having withheld its goodies for the most part on my previous visits I was pleased to see a fine looking Purple Emperor which proceeded to land briefly on my leg. It then moved on to the path where we had some excellent and prolonged views. My brother had to leave to do a shift at work but I continued my stroll.

Silver-washed Fritllary and White Admiral

I had to walk most of the way through the wood before I found the next decent butterflies, a Silver-washed Fritillary feeding on bramble blossoms was first. Flitting around that same patch was a rather tatty looking White Admiral while a second Purple Emperor was found on the path nearby. After this superb burst of activity I began my walk back seeing the usual selection of butterflies on my way back.

Froglet