Rose Tinted Binoculars

 I had a fairly enjoyable if uneventful walk around Priors Hall this morning where in the bright sunshine a selection of insects were on offer. The need to go shopping and the prospect of a pub lunch meant that my time was limited and I got back feeling reasonably satisfied with my bread and butter saunter around the area. Little did I know at the time that events at Eyebrook Reservoir would lead to a post prandial twitch for a bird that I really was not expecting to see here!

Common Blue and Peacock

Back to the humdrum first though, the quarry lake is looking promising for waders but today there were just a few Sand martins hawking insects over the water. Very few birds were seen at Priors today though a female Tufted Duck with a youngster on the biggest pond was a welcome sight. On the butterfly front a Small Copper was my first of the year though I didn't manage to get a picture before it flew off. Common Blues are now emerging again while numbers of Peacocks are beginning to increase. Commas are still doing well though numbers of both browns and skippers are on the wane. There were no surprises amongst the odes with just the usual array of species on offer. I was however pleased to find a new pond near the houses on the east side of the quarry where a number of Small Red-eyed Damselflies were in situ. Plenty of teneral Common Darters were emerging from this pond which suggests it's been here since at least last summer. With time ticking on I made tracks for home and headed off to Weldon for my bus home.

Emperor and Small Red-eyed Damselfly

I'd finished lunch and enjoyed a pint or three when I checked my phone messages on the way home in the car. A message on the Eyebrook WhatsApp said that "the Roseate is back on the mud". Cue copious amounts of swearing as I went on to the group's site and found that a Roseate Tern had been present at the res for over an hour! Now I have seen very few of these in nearly fifty years of birding and they've become so rare that I did not expect to see one locally. Needless to say a few phone calls and texts ensued and I was soon on my way to Eyebrook in the company of my brother David. Happily the tern was still sitting on the mud at the sharp end and was being admired by a growing band of tern twitchers. Although it did move off at one point it returned soon after and had a little snooze. The requisite rubbishy record shots were duly taken before I gave up my spot in the viewing bunker to allow new arrivals to see the bird. What an excellent way to round off the weekend!

Roseate Tern