Not A Wash Out

 This morning's weather had more than a hint of the traditional Bank Holiday feel to it being a rather grey affair with occasional heavy showers interspersed with the odd spell of sunshine. I was limited by time constraints to what I could do and headed over to Barnwell where I hoped the hides would offer shelter if the heavens opened. The park was much quieter than usual, it seemed most people were waiting to see if the weather was going to improve or not.

Dunnock, Oystercatcher and Blue Tit

I had several brief glimpses of Kingfishers as I walked around the park but none settled. A family of Mandarins was also noted but the nervous mother kept her brood in the waterside vegetation, Barnwell's becoming one of the best places to see this species in summer. Both male and female Cuckoos were heard in the park and also along the river where a pair of Oystercatchers are still present. Conditions were for the most part rather insect unfriendly but the nettle beds at Barnwell and in the wider area did yield some ode sightings. At least three Scarce Chasers, my first of the year, were seen between Herne Road and the river where two Hairy Dragonflies were also noted. There were no surprises amongst the damsels with just five of the commoner species on view.

Scarce Chaser, Hairy Dragonfly and Red-eyed Damselfly

At first there was no sigh of any butterflies but as the morning progressed the sun emerged and a few things began to stir. A male Brimstone was first and he posed quite nicely as he nectared on thistle. Next a white flew past but was too quick for me to identify, a Small Heath posed fewer problems. There was a Speckled Wood too but the highlight had to be my first Large Skipper of the year. My first sighting was frustratingly brief but it did eventually settle long enough for me to get a pic. By now the weather was looking promising but chores and a lunch date meant that I had to head back into town to catch my bus home.

Large Skipper, Woundwort Shield Bugs and Brimstone.

Wood You Believe It?

 A much better day weatherwise than the forecasters suggested but I didn't know that until after the event. Alan Shorrock and I started our day at Harry's Park Wood where I hoped to find a Wood White or two before the predicted rain came in. We started at the Bears Lane end of the wood before making our way through the rest of the complex.

Wood Warbler

We had only just entered the wood when Alan stopped in his tracks and said that he could hear a Wood Warbler singing. I struggled to hear anything over the clamour of singing Wrens but did eventually hear Shozzer's songster. We took a deer path into the neighbouring trees from where the singing came and managed to see the warbler after a few minutes of searching. A frustrating few minutes followed as we tried to grab a record shot because it took some time before my camera would focus on the bird rather than the surrounding shrubbery. Satisfied we left the bird to its own devices and moved on but not before we released the news to the wider birding community, Wood Warblers are pretty rare in Northants. With the unexpected birding excitement behind us we explored the wider wood in search of insects.

Large White and Broad-bodied Chasers.

To a soundtrack of calling Cuckoos we set off along the many rides and it wasn't long before I saw my first Large White of the year. Sharing the same area were several Broad-bodied Chasers while nearby was a Four-spotted Chaser, Small numbers of other butterflies were on show of which the commonest was Speckled Wood. After an unproductive spell our luck improved quite a bit when I spotted a Wood White flitting along one of the rides. After a short pursuit the butterfly obliged us by nectaring on Dewberry and other flowers which allowed us to get some record shots. Cloud cover was beginning to increase by now and we started to walk back towards the car, a small group of birders were by now looking for our warbler which was still singing with vigour in the same area.

Wood White

Our day's spotting concluded at Eyebrook where a relatively short session began at the island where a Little Ringed Plover and a fly over Osprey were the highlights. Best birds at the reservoir were a pair of Garganey at the sharp end, we enjoyed distant though pretty decent views of them before we left. I had a dinner appointment with my wife and bird spotting is not an adequate reason for being late!

Osprey and Garganeys

Monday Blues

 The weather was pretty decent when I left work today and that made my decision to go for an after work saunter a relatively easy one. I began in the village where I took a stroll along the stream, not much on offer other than some Azures and a Large Red Damselfly. Moving on I headed towards Willowbrook Industrial Estate and the railway embankment accessed from Cockerell Road. Common Blues and Small Heaths were the most obvious species on view though I did see but didn't manage to photograph a Green Hairstreak. Not much else of interest was seen so I headed off towards Brookfield Plantation.

Large Red Damselfly, Common Blue and Peregrine

I took a little diversion on the way to check on my local Peregrines, luck was with me as I managed to see the female. Brookfield held a small selection of butterflies of which the pick was Dingy Skipper. Amongst the other species a Comma and a male Orange-tip were probably the best on show. I had several brief views of a likely Four-spotted Chaser but couldn't confirm it and the only ode that I could I.D with certainty was Azure Damselfly. On my way home I added Holly Blue and Speckled Wood to my day list near to the power station but did not see much else worthy of note.

Dingy Skipper, Comma and Holly Blue

Up The Butts'!

 A morning excursion to Priors Hall this morning delivered some quality butterfly watching in the sunny conditions particularly in those spots that were sheltered from what was a pretty stiff breeze. Having got off the bus at Weldon I walked past the quarry lake where the grebes are still present and the Sand Martin colony appears to thrive. On arrival at the ponds I could hear both male and female Cuckoos calling which provided my birding highlight of the day, I'm not so sure that the local Reed Warblers were quite so appreciative however!

Great Crested Grebe, Small Heath and Dingy Skipper

The grassy area near the entrance provided my first views of Small Heath and Dingy Skippers while just a little further along I noted a Grizzled Skipper. I had further sightings of all these species with Dingies in particular putting on a good show. My first odes were Azure and Large Red Damselflies, there were large numbers of both species on site. Commonest dragon was Four-spotted Chaser, many are still maturing away from their breeding ponds but more and more are returning to those same ponds and trying to defend territories. Joining them were a few Hairy Dragonflies while a single male Broad-bodied Chaser was at a pond in the quarry. The only other ode on show was a Blue-tailed Damselfly. Speckled Woods appear to be increasing again and there were over ten on show with many battling their neighbours as they look to establish their own territories.

Grizzled Skipper, Four-spotted and Broad-bodied Chasers

Whilst leaving the site I spent a little time looking for Green Hairstreaks and was lucky enough to find several egg laying females. With the discovery of Brown Hairstreak eggs in the south of the county by Brian Laney and Dave James we now have the chance to see all five species of British Hairstreak in Northants so I was glad to get this attractive species under my belt. While trying to get a pic of one of the hairstreaks I was distracted by my first Common Blue of the year, a further three were seen before I bailed out. I made my excuses at around noon as I had a lunch date with my wife and the promise of good food and a pint or two was just too good to pass on.

Green Hairstreak, Common Blue and Speckled Wood.

Dipping But Not Too Disappointed

 A pretty cold and grey start to things this morning at Summer Leys where Alan Shorrock and I spent some time wandering around hoping to find some interesting birds. We failed for the most part in our attempts though Shozzer did pick out a couple of Hobbies which were far and away the best birds that we saw today. As the morning progressed there were growing signs that the sun might break through the clouds and this brought some hope that insects might become more active. A selection of damsels showed at Mary's and also around the Toad Pond and these included my first county Common Blues of the year. The only dragonfly on the wing was a Hairy which did several circuits of the Toad Pond. Not many butterflies to report with just Peacock and Orange-tip doing the business.

Common Blue and rufescens form of Blue-tailed Damselflies plus Peacock

Yesterday an exciting report came through on the Northants Dragonflies Facebook page of a sighting of a Downy Emerald dragonfly at Quarry Lake, Earls Barton. With the weather showing distinct signs that it was getting better Al and I set off hoping to see this great county scarcity. We failed in our attempt though the visit was far from being a failure, I added Red Admiral and Brown Argus to my county butterfly year list and also got more pics of Brimstone. Dragonflies were represented by Hairy and several Four-spotted Chasers but it was the damsels that caused the biggest surprise. As we walked from Station Road towards Quarry Lake a female Beautiful Demoiselle put in a brief appearance before disappearing into the tree tops. A little later on two males showed near the lake while a further one was seen nearby from the public footpath. This may be a new county location for this species but for the moment I'll have to await confirmation. These was a decent enough number of other damsels flitting around and these included a Large Red in their number. Other wildlife showing in the general area included a Hornet while the best birds were several calling Water Rails. Having concluded our spotting activities we headed to the Saxon Tavern in Earls Barton where a pint brought things to a very agreeable close.

Beautiful Demoiselle, Brown Argus and Red Admiral

Wild* Goose Chasing

 * I hope it was wild!

Regular nature spotting pal Alan Shorrock and I spent a very productive day wandering around a hot and sunny Frampton Marsh. There was a good selection of birds on offer and we even managed to find a few insects too. Highlight for me was a Red-breasted Goose and while you can never be sure whether potentially rare wildfowl is genuinely wild or if it's escaped from a collection this one was associating with Brents and was unringed.

Black-winged Stilt and Orange-tip

Good stuff started happening as soon as we arrived with a female Black-winged Stilt showing near the visitor centre before it flew to the opposite side of the road, While enjoying views of the stilt Shozzer picked out several distant Bearded Tits, I managed to see a female but Alan saw more. Also on view though it was distant was the Red-breasted Goose, we resolved to head off in its direction a little later on. An Orange-tip, the first of several seen today was seen near the centre while a Holly Blue was noted nearby.

Spoonbill, Broad-bodied Chaser and Red Admiral

We set off for better views of the goose and managed to pick some good stuff up on the way. A Spoonbill was perhaps the best bird though had we had better views of what looked like the Lesser Yellowlegs things may have been different. Four Greenshanks were more clear cut while Alan had views of another stilt which I somehow missed. Interesting insects here included at least three Broad-bodied Chasers, a Hairy Dragonfly, Azure Damselflies and a Red Admiral.

Red-breasted Goose

Our wanderings eventually provided us with some reasonable views of the Red-breasted, if there's a finer looking goose on the British List I'd be surprised. Once we had taken some pictures we moved on towards the sea wall which turned out to be more productive than it usually is! A flock of forty or so Black-tailed Godwits were put to flight by some unseen menace and I also heard a couple of Whimbrels passing by. Other waders noted from here included a non breeding Curlew Sandpiper and three stunning looking sum plum Turnstones. Gulls provided some interest as at least ten Mediterranean Gulls were mixed in within the breeding Black-headeds and there was also an immature Little Gull. Two Peregrines caused widespread panic as they flashed past, I suppose they may be the birds from Boston Stump. On the way back to the car park we saw the long staying Whooper Swan and also a drake Pintail. Frampton usually provides good birding and today was no exception, I'm already looking forward to my next visit.

Whimbrel, Curlew Sandpiper and Little Gull