An early start this morning began with an unproductive stroll around Willowbrook Industrial Estate. Similarly the gullets at Priors Hall were far from exciting while the quarry lake hosted the usual pair of Great Crested Grebes and plenty of Sand Martins. It was only when I reached the ponds that things began to pick up a bit.
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| Red Kite and Willow Warbler |
With the weather once again playing ball I hoped to catch up with some insects in the warm sunshine. A Four-spotted Chaser was my first of the year, during my walk I was to see over ten more which included several newly emerged ones in their number. My first Grizzled Skipper of the year showed soon afterwards and I was delighted to see a further three during the morning. Dingy Skippers appeared to be doing well with thirty plus on view. Other butterflies showing included G-v White, Speckled Woods, a Peacock and a Holly Blue while another year first in the shape of a Small Heath was seen in the quarry on my way back to Weldon.
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| Grizzled Skipper, Small Heath and Dingy Skipper |
Joining the Four-spots on my ode list for 2024 was a Broad-bodied Chaser, I had good views but my camera just did not want to focus on it so I couldn't get any pics. The only Hairy Dragonfly that I spotted was rather camera shy but it was still good to see three dragons today. Damsels seemed under represented with just Large Red, Azure and Blue-tailed on show. Best bird around the ponds was a distant Cuckoo which was presumably keeping a close eye on the many Reed Warblers in the area. I've got a gig tonight so I couldn't hang around for long and so headed back to Weldon for my bus home.
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| Four-spotted Chaser and Blue-tailed Damselfly. |
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