It was my lieu day off work today and I decided to escape from the daily drudgery by taking a walk around some of our local sites. A bus journey took me as far as Upper Benefield and from there I began my slow return home. I headed back towards Corby via Deene and Deenethorpe and also a small stretch of the A427.
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| Common Darter and Willow Emerald |
The early part of my stroll was uneventful and apart from a Raven near Burnt Coppice I saw very little of note. Deene yielded a presumed migrant Reed Warbler but it wasn't long before I moved on. The main lake was pretty quiet and it was only the antics of the local Black Swans that kept me going. It looks as if two broods of cygnets are present, one with one and another with two. I could only detect three adults but there may have been another hid out of view. Generally I don't waste too much time looking at exotic wildfowl but I enjoyed watching the cob of one pair driving the other brood off. Black Swans do not raise their wings like the sails of a galleon as Mute Swans do but instead raise the feathers on their neck and intimidate others in that fashion - I took several photos. The inflow was quiet apart from a few Willow Emeralds and a Common Darter or two.
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| Black Swans |
Deenethorpe Airfield was again rather quiet but in sheltered spots adjoining Weldon Park Wood I saw a selection of butterflies and odes. Aside from the Common Blues and Small Heaths that made up the bulk of records I also added Brown Argus, Speckled Wood and Green-veined White to my day list. Migrant Hawkers and Common Darters represented the dragons, earlier I'd already noted individuals of Common Blue and Banded Demoiselle. With nothing of additional interest to hold me I caught a bus back into town.
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| Speckled Wood and Banded Demoiselle. |
