Normal Summer 2024 Service Has Resumed

 The weather returned to its mediocre norm this morning as grey skies and a stiff breeze dominated proceedings though on the plus side it did stay dry. I only had limited time available and so chose to visit Brookfield Plantation and parts of the neighbouring Willowbrook Industrial Estate. It was not my most interesting wildlife watching experience of late though it was by no means the worse either.

Peregrine and Fallow Deer

Both of my local Peregrines were present and correct at their usual spot, I don't think they've bred this year but I may yet be proved wrong. At Brookfield Marsh Tits and Nuthatches were the best birds, there were several small parties of both. Not surprisingly odes were in short supply with just a single Azure Damselfly showing. A Fallow Deer provided some mammalian interest while butterflies were represented by three species of brown. Commonest were Ringlets though Meadow Browns and Marbled Whites also showed in good numbers.

Marbled White and Common Blue Damselfly

At Willowbrook the same three species of browns dominated but they were joined by a trio of Small Heaths and a Small Skipper. Somewhat embarrassingly I didn't actually see the skipper at the time, it was only when I reviewed my pictures of a Small Heath that I saw the skipper. I'll have to pop back when it's a little sunnier when perhaps I can add to the single Common Blue Damselfly that I saw too. 

Pair of smalls, Heath and Skipper

Purple Patch

 I've been enjoying a pretty good run of late with lots of decent wildlife having been observed, happily today continued that trend and I saw a bevvy of butterfly beauties on my walk around Harry's Park Wood. With plenty of sunshine and not too much wind the conditions were good for insects and I had one of my best butterfly days of the year so far.

Purple Emperors

Bears Lane had lots of Meadow Browns and a new brood Comma while several Yellowhammers were singing from the roadside bushes. A Large Skipper was seen just within Harry's Park but it was overshadowed by the next sighting. A male Purple Emperor, one of my target species, was found feeding on the ground, it's always good to photograph an emperor that isn't licking a Dame Thora! I watched it for a while before it flew up into the canopy, the pain of my loss was compensated for by the first of thirteen White Admirals that I saw. Ringlets and Meadow Browns were common along the rides while numbers of Large Skippers have increased dramatically, a few tired looking Speckled Woods persist too. Singles of both Purple and Black Hairstreak were found on my stroll though I didn't get a picture of either. The other species that made up today's tally were Red Admiral, Large White and a possible Small While. Two further Purple Emperors made it on to my list before I moved on, it could be a good year for them.

White Admirals

Six species of dragon were present in the wood of which my first Common Darter of the year was the highlight. An old looking female Broad-bodied Chaser provided some contrast with an immature Black-tailed Skimmer while the hawkers were represented by Southern and Brown Hawkers as well as Emperors. Not many birds of note other than a male Cuckoo and Ravens were seen but it's not the best time of the year for birding. Once I'd finished at Harry's I walked back to Weldon where I made tomorrow's lunch reservation in the George and also enjoyed a couple of pints before catching my bus.

Red Admiral, Common Darter and Broad-bodied CChaser

More Twitching

 Regular twitching pal Alan Shorrock and I were at it again this afternoon when we headed along to Pitsford after I'd finished work. Today's target was a Lesser Emperor spotted last week near the boat jetty beneath the fishing lodge by the county recorder. With the weather finally delivering some warm and sunny conditions I was quite optimistic about our chances.

Emperors and Beautiful Demoiselle

From the shoreline near the jetty we saw several Emperors and lots of Common Blue and Red-eyed Damselflies. From a little closer to the causeway a possible candidate was seen but the light wasn't helpful and we couldn't get any conclusive views. We decided to move on and check a little more of the reserve before returning later. Shozzer found an Osprey that attracted some unwanted attention from the local Common Terns, the other bird of note was a Kingfisher. Butterflies are slowly increasing with the species on the wing being Ringlet, Meadow Brown, Speckled Wood and Large Skipper. Several Scarlet Tiger moths were seen but I didn't get any pics of this attractive species. Top odes in this part of the reserve were the several Beautiful Demoiselles that we encountered, I'm having a good year so far for this species.

Speckled Wood and Large Skipper

Returning to the area near the jetty we found our possible Lesser Emperor again and this time got better views. I saw enough to be happy with the identification and managed to take a fairly awful record shot which I think supports the I.D. This is only my second Northants (and UK) Lesser Emperor following another at Pitsford several years ago. We left soon after having had a third successful twitch in a row, I hope the run continues!

Lesser Emperor

Marbled Whites

 After my last two outings it was a return to more humble fare this afternoon as I had a short walk around Eurohub on my way home from work. 

Marbled Whites

Today's target was a little more mundane though still an attractive species nonetheless. I've noticed several Facebook posts recently showing pictures of Marbled Whites and I wanted to get in on the action. Weather conditions were cloudy but warm though that wasn't an issue in this case as browns are fairly tolerant of cloud. I found over ten Marbled Whites and eventually several settled allowing me the chance to take a few pics. Joining the Marbleds on the wing were good numbers of Ringlets and Meadow Browns as well as singles of Large Skipper and Speckled Wood. At the pond my  first Brown Hawker of the year was sharing the airspace over it with an Emperor while there were plenty of Common Blues around too.

Ringlet and Meadow Brown

Having A Butcher's Over The Border

 I was just getting ready this morning with a view to popping down to Priors Hall when a message on the Eyebrook Whats App group alerted me to the discovery of a female Red-backed Shrike between Bringhurst and Cottingham. Regular Eyebrook birder Andrzej had found the bird and released the news promptly even including a video in his post. A brief exchange of texts with Alan Shorrock followed and we were soon on the road in search of this rare visitor.

Red-backed Shrike

We'd just left Cottingham when we encountered a small group of birders near the car boot sale site adjacent to the Welland. Seems that the shrike had now moved into Northants as several people had apparently seen it here. We spent quite a bit of time looking for it in the company of the small but growing band of birders, sadly none of us struck lucky. Shozzer and I moved on to check the wider area when a message from Phil Rogers reported that the shrike was still at its original spot over the border in Leicestershire. Needless to say we headed there as fast as poss and were getting distant but decent views of it soon after. Given that this bird had been present here since its discovery it's difficult to know whether there were two Red-backeds in the valley or if this one made a quick but unnoticed foray into Northants. Whatever the truth I managed a few record shots before other commitments brought the mini-twitch to a halt. I'm sure that Priors would have been productive but also equally sure I wouldn't have found a Red-backed Shrike - cheers Andrzej!

A further view.

The Green-eyed Monster

 Northants had its first record of Norfolk Hawker several weeks ago when Dave Holden saw one near Thrapston. While this sighting was welcomed by county ode watchers it's fair to say that few anticipated developments over the last couple of days. Several more were reported from Wicksteed Park yesterday and it's safe to say that this news got a few tails twitching! Several people popped in this morning and met with success which meant my wait for work to finish today seemed like quite a long one!

Norfolk Hawkers

Two o'clock did eventually come around and it wasn't long after that happy event that Alan Shorrock and I made our way over to the fishing lake at Wickies. I have a poor record twitching uncommon odes in the county so I was not over brimming with confidence when we arrived but any doubts that I harboured were soon put to rest. The hawkers revealed themselves within minutes of us getting there and they were very obliging too when it came to posing for pics. As someone that has been looking for Norfolk Hawkers in the county for several years it was great to see them at what looks to be a new colony - exciting times indeed.

Black-tailed Skimmers, Beautiful Demoiselle and Variable Damselfly

The hawkers were great of course but it was not a solo performance and they had a good supporting cast. Foremost amongst them was my first Beautiful Demoiselle at the site, a freshly emerged male. Variable Damsels are still showing and I was also pleased to see my first Black=tailed Skimmers of the year. Other odes on show were Four-spotted Chaser, Large Red, Azure, Common Blue and Red-eyed Damselflies and also Banded Demoiselle. Other wildlife was scarce, the obly butterfly was a Meadow Brown while the best bird was a Cetti's Warbler.

Green-eyed monster!

Wood Warbler Still Singing.

 Some warm sunny spells after work saw me taking the bus down to Weldon from where I walked to Harry's Park Wood. Although my main focus was on insects I could not resist taking a look at the long staying Wood Warbler which continues to perform near the entrance to the site. I'll say one thing about birds that Shozzer finds - they sure have sticking power! Both the Priors Hall Waxwings and this character must have been seen by loads of admirers during their respective stays.

Wood Warbler and Southern Hawker

On the insect front things were marginally better than on recent outings though only just. Meadow Browns and Ringlets are beginning to appear while Speckled Woods remain active. Other sightings included a Green-veined White and a Large Skipper though the highlights were three Black Hairstreaks. These were present in a new part of the wood for me and included an egg laying female amongst them. Odes were a little under represented though the only one that I saw was pretty good as it was my first Southern Hawker of the year. Aside from the celebrity warbler the only birds of note were Raven and Tawny Owl.

Meadow Brown, Large Skipper and Black Hairstreak

It Got Better!

 Alan Shorrock and I began our day at the old Kettering road where we looked for the Black Hairstreaks that Al discovered here several years ago. In truth we were probably a little too early in the day and the reward for our efforts was a solitary Speckled Wood. Realising that things were unlikely to improve in the short term we headed off towards Eyebrook where a Spotted Redshank had been reported.

Speckled Wood and Banded Demoiselle

No luck attended our efforts to find the 'shank and it was in truth a rather hard slog. A Common Sandpiper was the pick of the waders while Shozzer saw an Osprey from the car which I managed to miss. At the bridge there were plenty of Banded Demoiselles and a couple of Large Red Damselflies as well as a single Hairy Dragonfly. Only one butterfly was noted and that was a Green-veined White. News that there were Spotted Flycatchers and Turtle Dove at Medbourne decided our next port of call and we headed off in that direction once we had concluded that Eyebrook was not going to improve.

Egyptian Geese and Common Sandpiper

The Spotted Flycatchers did not do the business and we failed to see them despite spending time in their favoured spot. Better luck with the Turtle Dove however and we were treated to some good views of this increasingly scarce summer visitor. A celebratory pint in the Neville Arms lead to further sightings of the dove as it displayed around the village. Decent beer, a dam good bird and a pleasant chat with some affable fellas from the Rockingham Wheelers cycle club made for a very pleasant experience indeed.

Turtle Dove

Our final stop was at the River Welland near Middleton where we hoped to connect with some White-legged Damselflies. It took a bit of effort but we did find several, an immature female proved to be camera shy but a young male was far more obliging. Other species noted included Banded Demoiselle, Large Red and Azure Damselflies. We left the area soon after as I had a Fathers Day meal with the family to attend, it was nice to get out and about without seeing any rain!

White-legged Damselfly

Will We Ever See Summer?

 Some morning sunshine was enough to tempt me into taking a walk around Priors Hall though in keeping with this year's summer so far I didn't have too long before the rain rolled in. While I did not see that much of interest it was just about enough to keep me going.

Ringed Plover

Not that many butterflies were on the wing though they did include my first Ringlets of the year, at least two fresh looking individuals were noted. Also showing were several Common Blues, a Dingy Skipper and quite a few Speckled Woods. Odes seemed to be rather scarce too with only Large Red and Azure Damselflies present in good numbers. One unidentified dragon was seen but other damsels included Blue-tailed, Common Blue and Red-eyed. Best birds were two Ringed Plovers at the Quarry Lake and several Cuckoos around the ponds. By half ten rain was beginning to fall and I made my way back to Weldon for a lunch date with my wife.

Butterflies

Lucky Break

 An after work visit to Glapthorn in the company of Alan Shorrock looked like it might be a bit of a duffer as cloudy conditions seemed to rule out the chance of any butterfly activity. Our hope was to catch up with the Black Hairstreaks for which this reserve is well known but this seemed unlikely as we entered the site. Well trampled patches of grass indicated the best spots to look for them but we needed better conditions to stand a realistic chance.

Black Hairstreaks

Luckily for us the sun did break through at one point and the results were almost instantaneous. At least six hairstreaks flitted down from the surrounding blackthorn to nectar on bramble blossoms. We enjoyed great views of them before the clouds moved back in sending the hairstreaks back up to the tops of the bushes. With the threat of impending rain looking more than likely we beat a hasty retreat and headed back towards Corby. A brief stop at Deenethorpe failed to produce anything of note.