Mandarin Melee

 After yesterday's rain it was nice to see plenty of sunshine this morning and that was enough to persuade me to venture out. Not for the first time in recent weeks I opted to visit Oundle and I boarded my bus round about mid morning. Once I'd reached the town I followed my usual route by visiting Barnwell CP before walking along the river.

Tufted Duck and Banded Demoiselle

Barnwell was predictably busy but despite the throng of people there was still some wildlife to enjoy. A Tufted Duck on North Lake was a site rarity, I'm trying to remember if I've seen one here before. My path then took me along the riverside nettle beds as I searched for early damselflies. I spotted a teneral Banded Demoiselle taking what might have been her first flight. She paused long enough for me to get some photos before continuing her journey, this was my earliest record and beats the previous one by a day. On my way to Kingfisher Hide I stopped to look at two pairs of Mandarins scrounging food from passers by. A flock of fifteen drakes and one duck then dropped in and began to tussle and squabble with each other. It looked to me very like an aquatic lek, the riot of colour probably resembled an explosion in a paint factory! This amazing spectacle lasted for several minutes before the flock departed again leaving the original two pairs to carry on in peace. Contrasting markedly with this technicolour dream was my first Garden Warbler of the year singing in willows next to the river.

Mandarins (with spectator)

By now the park was getting even busier and when I saw the relief car park being opened I knew it was time to bale out. My walk along the river was fairly quiet except for a noisy biplane flying low overhead and I didn't manage to see any more demoiselles. Butterflies that I did manage to see during my walk were Brimstone, Orange-tip, Green-veined White, Peacock and Small Tortoiseshell. The Oundle floods are now much diminished and very few birds were present, two Oystercatchers and a Lapwing were the only waders and joined about fifteen Teal on the narrow strip of remaining water. When I reached the town again I had a brief stroll around the churchyard but didn't manage to find anything interesting before I caught my return bus home.

Great Lakes biplane, G-v White and female Brimstone