Barnwell

 With the kids now having gone back to school I decided to give Barnwell CP a bash hoping that I might get a view or two of a Kingfisher. For the second day in a row the weather was lovely with plenty of sunshine to enjoy and I had a pleasant stroll around.

Kingfisher and Wren.

It only took a short while for a female Kingfisher to grace the lake in front of its namesake hide. She stayed rather distant unfortunately but did hang around so I had prolonged views through the binoculars. At least one other bird was present, I could hear plenty of calling going on. Barnwell's Mandarin population is now coming out of eclipse bringing a welcome end to the yucky ducky part of the year. Not many other birds to mention either here or along the Nene at Oundle.

Mandarin and Grey Squirrel.

Butterflies were a little thin on the ground with Speckled Woods and Green-veined Whites being just about the only species seen. Dragonflies did not fare much better, there were plenty of Migrant hawkers, a few Brown Hawkers and some Common Darters but that was it. My search did not reveal any Willow Emeralds and the only damsels were a couple of Small Red-eyeds on Mill Lake.

Migrant Hawker and Willow Emeralds.

A walk around the Princess fishing lake did supply a pair of Willow Emeralds and some Ruddy Darters but little else. Time by now was getting on so I decided to call it quits and return home.

Small Red-eyed Damselfly and Green-veined White.