Red For Go!

 A beautiful warm and sunny day today which was made even better by the fact that I was off work! I chose to set off early and headed towards Priors Hall by way of Willowbrook Industrial Estate and Weldon. Although things were a little on the slow side to begin with it turned out to be a decent day with some interesting birds and insects noted.

Skylark and wary Wheatear

Walking along past the steelworks towards Weldon revealed that Willow Warblers have arrived in numbers and I saw or heard many today. There was nothing else to report from my travels for a while, I drew a blank at Willowbrook Industrial estate and it only got better when I reached Priors Hall. My first Sedge Warbler of the year was singing in the north gullet, I saw another around the ponds a little later in the day. Next up was a female Wheatear which gave frustratingly brief views before a dog walker flushed it. The dog walker in question chose to bellow at her hapless hound with a volume akin to a foghorn and I'm sure that the harridan's haranguing must of had mutts in Weldon whimpering in fear. Sadly for me the Wheatear did not like what it heard one bit and promptly disappeared before I could get a decent picture. A third new species for the year was added soon after this when I reached the Sand Martin nest site where a good number were present.

Sand Martins and Willow Warbler.

My walk then took me along the A43 for a bit until I reached the entrance to the ponds. Butterflies were beginning to appear now as the day warmed and I saw my first Green-veined White soon after I arrived. This and a second seen later turned out to be rather camera shy and I couldn't get a picture. Brimstones were out in force and I saw my first females of the year while Orange-tips were about in good numbers too. While checking around the ponds for any early Large Red Damselflies I heard and then saw a Grasshopper Warbler which was my first of the year. My search for those damselflies took me around most of the ponds but turned out to be worth the effort. After several false alarms I saw a shiny winged teneral weakly fluttering towards some vegetation where it settled and took a rest. Two further damsels were seen during the next hour and all looked newly emerged. These were my joint earliest records and helped to erase the memories of last year's tardy start to the season. Another new insect for the year was Speckled Wood as half a dozen were flitting around the site.

Large Red Damselflies

On my way home I passed again through Weldon where I was pleased to see only my second Holly Blue of the year. After their dreadful showing last year it's good to know they're doing better now. Eight species of butterfly made this my best day so far and the other species making it on to the day list were Small Tortoiseshell, Peacock and Comma. A brief stop near the town's STW did not add anything new to report and the rest of my walk passed by uneventfully.

Speckled Wood and Brimstone