Willowbrook Wheatears

 I'd just got back from a short break in Norfolk when a text from Alan Shorrock alerted me to the presence of some Wheatears at Willowbrook Industrial Estate. Luckily I was able to blag a lift and so was able to get there while Shozzer was still on site. Armed with his up to date information I headed to the spot where he had last seen them and began to scan. Fortune favoured me as I found about half a dozen of them feeding on the short grass. Occasionally one or another would hop up on to a perch giving me an opportunity to take some pictures. Although the birds were flushed at one point by a dog they returned to the same area where I left them to continue feeding.

Wheatears

The sun was by now beginning to break through which prompted me to take a walk along to Weldon. There was nothing much to report from the A43 pond where the return of the Mute Swan pair looks to have persuaded the Canada Geese to move on. A walk along the stream was livened up by a sighting of two Large Red Damselflies though I couldn't find any of the hoped for Banded Demoiselles. Nearby at the Woodland Park a female Variable Damselfly was a welcome addition to my year list and also the first that I've seen in April. Also of interest here was a Grass Snake that slithered off into the undergrowth as soon as it saw me. I wasn't paying as much attention to butterflies as I should but was still able to record Holly Blues, Orange-tips. Green-veined Whites and a Peacock.

Variable and Large Red Damselflies and Holly Blues.