I was supposed to making my annual pilgrimage to Norfolk in search of Nightjars with my brother today but some concerns about the weather meant that our jaunt was postponed. A more than acceptable alternative was found when I joined up with Shozzer for a trawl around some local sites on the hunt for interesting insects. In the morning at least it was warm and sunny with just a hint of a breeze and we began our day at Deenethorpe Airfield.
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| Auster aeroplane and Emerald damselfly |
In truth it was all a bit on the dull side at the airfield, an Auster aeroplane taking off was my highlight. An Emperor dragonfly was the best of the odes while the top butterfly was a Painted Lady. We moved on to Priors Hall where Alan wanted to check out the site where we saw Southern Migrant Hawker last year. It turned out to be a good idea as we saw two males patrolling their territories and I enjoyed watching one for over half an hour before it eventually landed allowing us to get some pictures. Also of interest in the general area was a male Emerald damselfly, I sometimes struggle to see this attractive species. Nearby at a new pond near the Kirby Woodlands housing development I saw Small Red-eyed Damsel while a Four-spotted Chaser was also seen.
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| Southern Migrant Hawker |
By the time that we reached the southern gullet at Priors Hall the clouds had rolled in and obscured the sun but we hung around for a bit nonetheless. I had brief views of a fly by Clouded Yellow which was my first of the year while at the quarry lake there was a Little Ringed Plover with a juvenile suggesting that local breeding took place. A few Ruddy Darters were flying around and we also saw a few Brown Argus butterflies before we headed off to the 'spoons for a welcome pint.
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| Small Red-eyed Damselfly and Little Ringed Plovers |
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