Worth Leaving the House For.

Yesterday (the 20th) I'd treated myself to another day off and began my day by taking the bus as far as Upper Benefield. From here I began my walk home via Deene, Deenethorpe, Priors Hall and Weldon. Tree Sparrows were seen in several of the trees on the edge of the village and more were seen along the lane.

Tree Sparrow and Yellowhammer.

The hedgerows alongside the road were alive with birds, many Whitethroats appear to have arrived and there was also a single Lesser Whitethroat too. Yellowhammers and Chaffinches filled the air with their song with Skylarks and Linnets also adding their voices to the chorus. A Brown Hare provided some none bird interest.

Kestrel and Red Kite.

Deene Lake inflow was rather lacking in birds and it seems as if the large number of Teals have moved on leaving only a few behind. A pair of Shelducks were bathing in the shallow water but sadly there were no waders. Not too much apart from a further four Shelducks on the main lake though there was a flock of about thirty five Fieldfares feeding in a field next to the water. By now the day was heating up and several butterflies were found with two Orange-tips, a Speckled Wood and a Small Tortoiseshell noted.

Brown Hare and Linnet.

Kirby Lane provided sightings of a further eight Orange-tips and a male Brimstone but little else. At Priors Hall Alan Shorrock had seen a Grasshopper Warbler and also a Wheatear but I was unable to catch up with either one. I did manage to see a pair of Mandarins on one of the ponds and there were the usual Sand Martins over the quarry lake but there was nothing out of the ordinary birdwise. Happily there were plenty of insects to watch with butterflies in particular showing well. My first Large White since an extremely early one in March was a welcome find and I finally managed to catch up with my first female Brimstone of the year. The other species seen on site were twenty plus Orange-tips, several male Brimstones, eight Speckled Woods, a Comma and seven Peacocks. As well as the butterflies I also found nine Large Red Damsels and unlike yesterday's individual several of these posed for pictures.

Orange-tips.

Once I'd got back to the Old Village I was pleased to see a Holly Blue flying around the garden, while they're by no means common I usually manage to record a couple every year.

Large Red Damselfly.

Welcome Back.

Yet another half day off (thanks work) and not for the first time I headed along to Weldon. My continuing search for damsels finally paid off as I managed to find a single example at the Weldon Woodland Park pond after a great deal of looking.

Small White and Brimstone.

My nature spotting began with a selection of butterflies near the steelworks. Commonest were four Orange-tips which for the first time this year included a female. Other species included a Brimstone, a Small Tort and two Small Whites. From here I made my way to the A43 pond where there was the usual selection of birds including Dabchick and Tufted Ducks.

Orange-tips and Holly Blue.

At least four Holly Blues were showing well near the pond and these were joined by further Orange-tips and examples of both Brimstone and Speckled Wood. Walking around the edge of the pond did not produce any sightings of damsels but this pond is probably a little too polluted. Making my way to the other pond at the Woodland Park produced some of the day's best sightings.

Green Hairstreak and Speckled Wood.

A Reed Warbler was the best bird find, one was singing rather half heartedly from the rushes while several Swallows were hawking insects overhead. What was presumably the same Willow Warbler from my last visit was still singing away while a pair of Gadwalls and Canada Geese were present on the water. Further Holly Blues were joined by a Green-veined White and a Peacock though all thoughts of butterflies were forgotten when I finally saw my first damsel of the year.

Peacock and Comma.

I'd been approaching some brambles close to the entrance when a Large Red Damsel took off and headed towards a tall Hawthorn. Briefly I hoped that it might settle where I could get a picture but unfortunately it didn't oblige. Shaking some branches to try and roust it from its perch did not produce any results though it did scare up my first Green Hairstreak of the year. Although I continued looking for more damsels I sadly could not find anymore, perhaps tomorrow I'll be luckier.

Small Tortoiseshell.

On my way home I popped into my old patch near the STW where the Willow Warblers have arrived. No other birds of note but there were a few more butterflies to enjoy. Three Commas were my ninth species of the day while at least five Peacocks were also present. Other species included more Orange-tips, Brimstone, Small Tortie, Speckled Woods and another Green Hairstreak. There was not a great deal of other wildlife on view though I did see a vole of some sort or another.

Magpie and Willow Warbler.

Returning to the village I saw three more Orange-tips and also noted that the first House Martins had returned.

Afternoon at Weldon.

My continuing quest to find Large Red Damselflies for the first time this Spring took me down to Weldon for an after work look around. Not for the first time the sun retreated behind some clouds but while the damsels did not show I was lucky enough to see some butterflies.

Holly Blue and Small White.

My first butterfly of the day was a male Orange-tip near the Old Village but he did not hang around, this is fairly normal for these active little butterflies when they first emerge. One next to the steelworks did settle briefly but sadly not quite long enough for me to get a picture. As well as this and a third Orange-tip the steelworks also provided a sighting of two male Brimstones and a Speckled Wood. One of the Brimstones was noticeably smaller than the other, barely Small White sized and may have been the result of accelerated development during the drought conditions of last Summer.

Peacock and Comma  + friend.

Close to the A43 pond I found my first Holly Blue of the year, a male that allowed me to take a record shot. This area turned out to be fairly productive and further sightings of Orange-tip (2) and Brimstone were joined by Peacock (3), Comma (1), another Speckled Wood in addition to my first county Small White of the year. On my walk between here and the other pond I found a Small Tortoiseshell basking in the last of the rays before the sun's disappearance. Eight species in one day counts as my best result of the year so far and hopefully is a taste of things to come.

Brimstone and Small Tortoiseshell.

While, as I've already mentioned, there were no damsels around the other pond I did see a few other butterflies notably another Comma, two or three Peacocks and yet another Orange-tip so my time was far from wasted. Not too many birds to report today, several Tufted Ducks continue to linger on the A43 pond and there was a vocal and obliging Willow Warbler around the other pond.

Two views of Willow Warbler.

Getting Better

After the relative dullness of yesterday's sortie I was relieved to enjoy a rather better session today. As has become my habit of late I headed over to Oundle for my customary wander along the Nene and around Barnwell CP.

Sunrise.

Having been treated to a lovely sunrise I made my way to the park where a singing Willow Warbler was making itself heard. Chiffchaffs were present in very good numbers and so too were Blackcaps while the Cetti's Warbler was still singing. Several House Martins were my first in the county this year having had them earlier at Rutland Water. A drake Mandarin was my third of the morning as I'd already seen two more drakes at the north bridge. Although I enjoyed my stroll around the park it was beginning to get a little busier and so I headed off towards the river.

Chiffchaff, Blackcap and Wren.

A good sized flock of hirundines over the river near the mill contained all three of the commoner species with Sand Martins making up the bulk of the numbers. My first county Common Tern called loudly as it did several circuits of the marina, it's certainly starting to feel a little more like Spring. There were echoes of the Winter though with a Redwing noted as it fed in the horse paddocks.

Dunnock and Redwing.

The floods near the A605 had the same birds as on my last visit with the Little Ringed Plover still there though Redshanks were represented by only a single today. All of the birds were flushed by a passing Osprey which had the Lapwings racing skywards to intercept their unwelcome visitor. Whether it was due to the hostile reception or perhaps just because it had things to do the Osprey did not hang around and flew on along the Nene.

Green-veined White and Arum Lily.

Other wildlife today included a single Green-veined White but little else though I did see my first Arum Lilies of the year. Whilst waiting for my bus I was treated to my final highlight of the day when I noticed a tiny, possibly Peregrine shaped blob on the side of the church spire. The zoom on my camera confirmed my initial thought and I was able to get a few pictures. I'd assumed that this bird had moved on so it was a pleasant surprise to see him still holding court from his lofty perch.

Still about, male Peregrine.

Not Much to Report

Rather a long walk today, not as long as the one last week but then nowhere near as interesting either. I walked out through Weldon and on through Deenethorpe and Deene before returning via Priors Hall. Early sunshine gave way to clouds putting paid to any hope of seeing interesting insects with the continuing north easterly wind bringing quite a chill to the day.

Sunny scenes

I stopped at Ironpit Wood in Corby where I enjoyed the display of Bluebells, this is the best local wood that I know of to see them. The verge and the very edge of the wood appear to have been disturbed by construction machinery but thankfully the rest appears to be surviving well. Walking along Kettering Road towards Weldon produced at least four Willow Warblers with  more seen or heard later in the day at Priors Hall.

Bluebells and male Chaffinch.

Very little of note between Weldon and Deenethorpe with a Brown Hare near Harry's Park Wood being the sole highlight. Deenethorpe had a Swallow while the nearby inflow at Deene Lake had about fifty Teal and a Shelduck but little else. A further four Shelduck were seen on the main lake where a pair of Black Swans were also seen. I can't say with absolute certainty but it looks as if the swans may nest this year which would be interesting even if they are escapes. A group of eleven Cormorants were on the spit near the dam and were of the British race and possibly migrants.

Cormorants and friend and a Red Kite.

Winter was still in the air at Priors Hall with eight Redwings on site while several Teal and three Snipe were seen around the ponds. A drake Mandarin did a flypast over this area, I saw it or another with its mate in flight over the quarry lake. Little else to report, a Muntjac was seen around the ponds while a double figure count of Sand Martins were flying around the quarry lake. With the weather promised to improve over the next week it's to be hoped that the wildlife sightings will improve a little too - hopefully!

Black Swan and nosy calves.

There Goes The Sun

Yet another day off work and the morning was beautiful but a little on the cold side. Once the chill had gone off (a bit anyway!) I took a walk down to Weldon. Early damsels were again my target though not for the first time I was unable to find any, next week's looking quite a bit warmer so fingers crossed it won't be too much longer.

Small Tortoiseshell

Not too many insects about particularly as the sun soon disappeared behind some pretty thick cloud cover. A Small Tortoiseshell was the only butterfly that I could find and even that spent most of the time with its wings held firmly shut. Over the last few days I've seen a few of the smaller solitary bees but have only just realised that two different looking ones were male and female of the same species - Tawny Mining Bee. One day I may eventually learn a few of the commoner bee species but I wouldn't put money on it!

Tawny Mining Bees male and female.

Not a great many birds around, the A43 had both of the commoner goose species as well as a trio of Tufted Ducks and Dabchick while the other pond had a couple of Greylags. No signs of any new migrants having arrived with just Chiffchaffs and Blackcaps being seen.

Goldfinch and my first Hawthorn blossom of the Spring.

On a different note it looks as if I'm going to have some trouble with the new neighbours. A pair of Magpies have set up home in a nearby hawthorn bush and seem to want to tell everyone about it, as loudly and as often as possible it would appear. When not squawking or chacking or fighting with a neighbouring pair they seem to be squawking or chacking just for the pleasure of it, theirs not mine! Now I'm very much a live and let live sort of fellow but if I could persuade one of the many local cats to accept a contract on them....

Noisy neighbour