A Parting Gift.

A nice autumnal day with some welcome sunshine making a change from yesterday. I spent the day walking on a squishy carpet of newly fallen leaves while others swirled and eddied in the gusts of wind. Plenty of colour around too with most of the trees now turning, hawthorns in particular looking a beautiful fiery orange. Lots of berries, haws and apples waiting for the arrival of our winter thrushes, that is if the locals don't get to them first.

Tufted Duck.

I headed along to Weldon on a quest to find an October Banded Demoiselle hoping that the reasonably mild conditions since my last visit might help. Stopping on the way at the A43 pond I noticed that most of the birds had gone though a young Dabchick and a Tufted Duck were still present. I think the latter seemed too small to have been from this year's first brood so I suspect a second brood hatched unnoticed by me though I haven't visited this site as often this year. A few Blackcaps and Chiffchaffs were seen too with several of the latter bursting into song.

Once I had got to the stream my search began and initial impressions were not promising as I walked along the stretch where they have shown most recently. Checking both the nettle beds and other waterside vegetation produced nothing apart from some Garden Spiders and a few wasps. The last little bit nearest to the weir came up trumps however with a male hunkered down next to the water, a little worn perhaps but then as a last survivor he's entitled to be, a parting gift from a Summer quickly fading into memory. This is my latest ever record of this species which this year has been on the wing (as far as I'm concerned anyway) since May the seventh.

Last man standing, a male or rather THE male Banded Demoiselle.

No other dragons were seen today but two butterflies showed briefly, a Comma and a Red Admiral perhaps delaying their hibernation a little longer while the temperatures hold up. I kind of hoped to get a first Redwing of the season but that will have to wait for another day.

Barnwell Birds

I had wanted to pop over to Weldon and have a look to see whether any Banded Demoiselles were still around but poor conditions made that an unlikely prospect. Plan B in this case was a trip over to Oundle and then to take a walk along the Nene.

View of Ashton Mill from across the river.

Things were very quiet along the river and for much of the time I found myself looking at Mallards, Moorhens and the odd Cormorant. A look around Ashton Mill and its surroundings did at least turn up a first Cetti's Warbler for what feels like months but highlights were few and far between. Around the marina the family party of Egyptian Geese were still present and a small party of Swallows passed over, I'd already picked out a few Meadow Pipits. Several singing Chiffchaffs may have been migrants or were perhaps birds looking to winter in the area.

Egyptian Goose doing a spot of maintenance.

Barnwell CP was busy with parents and dog walkers and I spent much of my time here sitting in Lowlands Hide from where a selection of passerines were seen around the feeders. This is a good spot for photographing Nuthatches and they did not let me down with at least two coming down to feed. A single Marsh Tit made a fleeting visit, too fast for photography though a procession of Great and Blue Tits were more accommodating. At least half a dozen Chaffinches were feeding on the ground, most appeared to have the foot condition that seems to affect this species. I don't know how detrimental this is to the long term health of an infected bird but they seemed to be able to behave normally.

A selection of images taken from Lowlands Hide, Barnwell.

The Mandarins were still in their usual spot but once again were well tucked away, a minimum of three were present but there could have been more hiding away. For the first time in ages Kingfishers proved to be difficult to find with only a single bird being heard.

Chaffinch showing the condition that affects their feet.

Not much other wildlife on view today with just a Small White and a Migrant Hawker to report.

What a Grey Day

Rain delayed play for most of the morning and I didn't get started until after twelve. Thinking that the conditions were far from ideal for insects I picked a route that would hopefully provide some birding interest. Taking the bus as far as Upper Benefield I then walked back via Deenethorpe, Deene and Weldon.

The picture's not great but the Tree Sparrows are pretty good.

The first part of the minor road between Benefield and Deenethorpe is one of my most reliable spots for Tree Sparrows and I'm happy to say that it did not disappoint me today. A flock of thirty plus included rather a lot of youngsters and they spent part of their time perched on the hedge tops. This area is also good for Brown Hares so it was not a surprise when I saw one racing across a ploughed field.

A trio of Teals.

Conditions at this point were still on the gloomy side and this may have prompted a Tawny Owl to hoot a couple of times from within Burn Coppice. Between here and the village two flocks of Lapwings totalling over a hundred birds were seen. Further small parties were seen elsewhere during the day including at the inflow of Deene Lake. A pair of Ravens were also noted here while the field margins seemed full of both partridges and pheasants, how many of these will survive the next few months?

It's evidently a tiring business being a Snipe.

At the Deene Lake inflow the water level remained high and duck numbers had increased with Gadwalls and a Wigeon joining the usual Teals and Mallards. As well as the Lapwings the Autumn's first Snipes had arrived with a brace of birds present. With time moving on I didn't visit the main lake and instead headed towards the airfield seeing the first of three Red Admirals on the way.

Red Kite.

The sun was beginning to appear and this encouraged a few Small Whites out but apart from a pair of Hornets menacing the smaller stuff around some Ivy flowers that was it as far as insects went. There were a few Meadow Pipits around but a large group of Swallows and House Martins passing through provided most of the migrant interest. Some warblers are still about with Chiffchaff, Willow Warbler and Blackcap being noted.

Buzzard.

Approaching Bears Lane a Buzzard perched nicely on the top of a hedgerow and another couple of Ravens could be heard croaking in Laundimer Woods. From the lane I scanned through a group of gulls but could not find anything too interesting though there were a few Lesser Black Backs associating with their smaller cousins.

The same Buzzard buzzing off.

Yesterday was spent at an airshow at Duxford where amongst the selection of aeroplanes I managed to find some moths, a couple of hawks and a wildcat. A few pictures feature below.

Demoiselles Dance On

Having spent the whole day at work peering out at blue skies I was more than relieved to find the sun still shining once two o'clock came around. Wanting to exploit the conditions for as long as possible I stayed local and so went down to Weldon to have a further gawp at the Banded Demoiselles.

Male Banded Demoiselle.
 

A female Banded.

Luckily enough there were still a few around the stream, seven in total and this included four males. Two pairs were coupled and showed rather well and it was also nice to see their territorial dance. Although I'm hoping one or two might linger into next month I was still pretty happy to see this gorgeous species today so late into the season.

Two different coupled pairs.

With the cycling event now well and truly over I was once again able to walk around the pond. An Emerald Damsel was my first for the site although I've long anticipated seeing them here. It did not hang around for long but while I was trying to find him again I located a Blue-tailed Damsel which is quite a late sighting. A female Southern Hawker flying around the margins was surprised by a male which snatched her out of the air and bore off with her to places unseen. Clearly dragonfly courtship is a little more abrupt than that of the Demoiselles.

A site first Emerald Damsel.

A Migrant Hawker was also found while a brace of Small Red-eyeds were seen, one of these showed very well. By this stage a light rain shower was falling so I took off and headed home.

A nice close Small Red-eyed Damsel.

Other wildlife highlights included both Heron and Kingfisher while butterflies seen where Small and Large White, Red Admiral and Speckled Wood.

Awful pic of a Blue-tailed Damsel.

Further Darter Deliberations.

 

Sunday saw me stringing darters yet again despite complacently thinking that I had finally cracked Common Darter identification once and for all. Having wiped the egg off my face I decided to have a closer look at what is an even more variable species than I initially thought. Hopefully my tiny bit of research may help anyone else struggling with these characters. I should point out that I'm primarily a birder who has a bit of a dabble in the dragonfly world and you may well want to back anything I say on the subject up with info from more learned sources.

The males are fairly distinctive, at least in a British context, though if you venture abroad you could encounter very similar species, let's just say that you're on your own with those! No it's those pesky females which present the real challenge and most of those problems, as so many things appear to be to me nowadays, are age related. Female Common Darters appear to undergo gradual colour changes as they grow older and the colour range appears to encompass everything from straw yellow to almost black. I know that individuals from northern populations (which I believe were once known as Highland Darter) are darker than more southerly populations but didn't know such dark specimens could be found here.

As I mentioned in my previous post on the subject it's the yellow on the legs which if seen should decide the issue and it looks as if I should concentrate on this feature if faced with an unusual darter. Both Ruddy and any unlikely Black (one confirmed county record so far) are smaller than Common, Black is the smallest British species of dragonfly but any individuals seen in isolation may be difficult to judge. It certainly seems as if a photograph is very useful when faced with a potentially confusing specimen and is probably essential if claiming a rare or vagrant species. The following pictures depict the range of colour forms that I've encountered this year, there may well be others out there waiting to confuse me, but as you may have already concluded, it doesn't take much to achieve that!


A fresh female showing the mainly yellow colouring on the body and also on the legs.

A more mature individual, a little darker and showing a greyish underside.

Another individual showing red along the spine.

A view from beneath, this individual has noticeably pale legs.

Sunday's "black" darter, an old female Common.

A crop of the previous picture showing red where the wings join the body which is not a feature of Black.

A male Common, relatively straightforward in the UK....thankfully!






 







Hawkers

Before I start banging on about today's offerings I must begin by saying that the possible Black Darter from yesterday was in fact a very definite darkly coloured female Common Darter. I've not seen one that dark before but should perhaps have considered this option before settling on Black. Never mind it just means that I'll have to go and look at some real ones.

Egyptian Geese.

The most visible of seven Mandarins.

Today I journeyed over to Oundle where I once again hoped to find some Willow Emeralds and once again failed. My walk along the Nene did not produce a single dragon though that may have had something to do with the early hour. It didn't take long to see the first of three Kingfishers speeding down the river and the marina had a small family group of Egyptian Geese. More Meadow Pipits and hirundines continue to pass through though they were the only signs of migration.

Comma.

Green-veined White.

By the time I had got back to Barnwell CP the sun was fairly warm and had brought out some Red Admirals to feed on the Ivy flowers, a nearby Comma ignored the nectar and appeared to be basking on some brambles. Other species of butterflies included the three common whites and Speckled Wood.

Male Brown Hawker.

....and a closer look at him.

Mill Lake still held three Small Red-eyed Damselflies and also a small number of Migrant Hawkers. A little further on a Brown Hawker posed well and while I was photographing this a Southern Hawker appeared and flew around me several times. Close scrutiny of the banksides revealed seven Mandarin Ducks which had concealed themselves pretty well amongst the vegetation.

A couple of views of male Migrant Hawker.

The largest lake, the one nearest Oundle had more Migrant Hawkers and several were very obliging with one even hovering long enough to let me grab a flight shot. A single Common Blue showed very well here too, I'm not sure how many more of those I'll see this year.

Common Blue Damselfly.

Black Sabbath?

A misty start to the day but a promise of some sun a little later in the proceedings was enough to convince me to head over to Priors Hall. Normally I walk  there but this morning I opted for the lazier option (blame it on a few beers last night if you must) and took the bus. A Jay in the village was nice but not too surprising as there are a lot around at the moment and it would seem that our Grey Wagtails are back.

Speckled Bush Cricket, probably common but my first.

Still a bit on the grey side at Priors so I concentrated on the birds though in truth there was not much to report from the quarry lake where a pair of Mute Swans were the highlight. Quite a lot of Meadow Pipits passing through and a few Swallows too but the highlight was an Oystercatcher flying through. Always a scarce species in the Corby area this is the first Autumn record that I've had. A Grey Wagtail, a site rarity, was probably a migrant too.

Face to face with a Speckled Wood.

By ten a few sunny spells began to develop and a few insects began to stir. A single Emerald damsel was found at one of the ponds while a Speckled Bush Cricket was found on the herpguard fence. This plastic shield is also popular with darters, I can only imagine that it retains heat for some time. A barking Muntjac made me jump a bit while I had a similar effect on a Brown Hare which raced away through the thistles. While looking for more dragonflies a Kingfisher zipped through, it's surprising how many I see nowadays.

Common Darters.

An ovipositing pair of Common Darters.

Around about midday the sunshine became more sustained and the number of darters, mainly Common though with a few Ruddies began to increase. Lots of mating activity noted and for the first time I managed to get some photographs. Migrant Hawkers began to appear in small numbers and these included an ovipositing female. One Southern hawker was also noted around the first pond.

Migrant Hawker.

With the the sun now beaming down I returned to the quarry where I checked the shallow puddles and pools for any signs of Red-veined Darters. No luck at all with this optimistic pursuit but I did get a picture of something which might be an old female Black Darter, I've put a picture on the Northants Facebook group's page and am keeping my fingers crossed!

Black Darter?.... I hope so!

A bit of spare time before my bus allowed me to head along to the Woodland Park but a cycling event prevented me from walking around the pond. I was able to walk along the stream though and found about half a dozen Banded Demoiselles which appeared to include a couple of newly emerged individuals amongst their number.

Banded Demoiselles, the red eyes suggest that the male at least is newly emerged.

A lot of Small Whites about today and Priors Hall had a few Speckled Woods and Small Heaths but otherwise butterfly numbers were low.

Another shot of coupled Common Darters.