Winning Start

 Quite a cool start this morning with plenty of clouds and a stiff breeze to contend with. I took a local stroll around Willowbrook Industrial Estate and Priors Hall enjoying a reasonable if not spectacular day.

Small White and Small Heath

Not surprisingly given the conditions insects proved to be a little hard to find. My first butterfly of the day, a Small White, flew into a spider's web and I watched on fascinated as the occupant set about the grim business of despatching and then trussing up its victim. A Small Heath was flushed out of cover and fluttered off in search of more shelter. Speckled Woods were the only butterflies that seemed able to cope with the conditions and there were quite a few on the wing here and around the ponds at Priors Hall. At this time of the year I always hope to catch up with migrant birds and today I managed to find a Whinchat. It was always distant but I managed a few record shots before it dropped down into cover. The arrival of some motorbikes made the decision to move on an easy one and I made my way to the neighbouring Priors Hall.

Whinchat

Neither of the gullets at Priors Hall produced anything of note and I walked on to the ponds. A few sunny spells interspersed with some showers were beginning to develop though I still managed to find a few more insects despite the rain. A Redpoll was the only bird of note seen during this part of my walk, I'd hoped to catch up with more migrants but it wasn't to be. Some Common Blue butterflies were noted and there were at least two Red Admirals too. One Six-spotted Burnet was found, it doesn't seem to have been one of their better years. On the ode front a female Emerald was the highlight, other damsels included a Blue-tailed and a few Common Blues. Commonest dragonfly was Ruddy Darter with half a dozen on show. Other dragons were Common Darter, Emperor, Migrant Hawker and a Black-tailed Skimmer. A lunch appointment with my wife was reason enough to leave earlier than normal and I made my way to Weldon to catch the bus home.

Emerald, Ruddy Darter and Rabbit