The Late Show

 Sunshine made a welcome return today after a couple of days when it was all but absent. My walk around Willowbrook Industrial Estate and Weldon was certainly all the better for it and as a result I enjoyed quite a decent day.

Stonechat and Tufted Ducks

A Woodcock was a surprise sighting as I  flushed it from next to the footpath that runs along the eastern edge of the steelworks. This or another was similarly disturbed a little later on in the same general area.  At Willowbrook Industrial Estate the male Stonechat was showing very well for a change and I got several decent pictures. There were not that many other sightings to report apart from several Siskins and an overflying Grey Wagtail. I'm not sure if Siskins are on the move at the moment as I also saw them later at both Weldon and the Old Village in Corby. Not much other wildlife on view here apart from a single Fallow Deer.

Willow Emerald and Southern Hawker

The A43 pond had Weldon had lost its Canada Goose flock but gained a trio of Tufted Duck in exchange. After here I headed along to the pond in the Woodland Park where I hoped that the sunshine would bring out some late Common Darters. My hopes were more than realised as over ten were active and these included several ovipositing pairs. One of these pairs met with some sort of mishap that resulted in both ending up in the pond. Having fished them out with the aid of a long stick I placed them in a position where they could dry out and warm up. I'm happy to report that both patients made a full recovery and flew off a few minutes after their rescue. While I half expected to encounter some darters I was delighted and surprised to find a single male Willow Emerald which was my latest ever sighting of a damselfly. At one point it landed on my leg but for all too brief a moment and I didn't manage to get a pic of it there. Another welcome surprise was my latest ever sighting of a Southern Hawker, a male was patrolling a stretch of the pondside. Three species of ode this late in the season is unprecedented for me, I wonder how long they can go on for?

Male and female Common Darters drying off after their mishap.