A Change of Scenery

I ventured a little further afield today and had a look at a few sites in the Gretton area taking in Spanhoe Quarry and Harringworth Lodge Lake. Not for the first time recently the weather was glorious and I enjoyed a very decent day's nature watching.

Blackcap and Yellowhammer.

Plenty of Dingy Skipper were at Spanhoe with at least thirty flitting around. At the moment I don't know if this is a known colony but I will send the record in anyway. A single Small Heath was my first of the year which raised my year list to seventeen species. Walking around the several ponds in the area I disturbed rather a lot of teneral damselflies many of which flew off before I could ID them. Those few that did hang around turned out to be Azures. Several Large Red Damselflies were also noted and I had a brief view of a chaser before it disappeared. Another chaser flew into a nearby hawthorn and on closer inspection revealed itself to be a Broad-bodied Chaser which was my first for the year. Best bird in the area was a Raven while other wildlife was represented by a Brown Hare.

Small Heath and Broad-bodied Chaser.

A shortish stroll took me along to Harringworth Lodge Lake where a selection of common waterfowl were present. Although the lake itself was quiet the nearby woods had not one but two calling male Cuckoos, can't remember the last time that I heard that in Northants. Long grass near the lake held a large number of teneral damselflies, each step that I took seemed to flush several up. Most of them turned out to be Common Blues which were my first of the year, I think there were at least fifty seen. Another year first was Red-eyed Damselfly, there were not as many as there were Common Blues but I estimated that at least ten were involved as well as a couple more Azures.

Common Blue and Red-eyed Damselflies.

The pond in Gretton Pocket Park held several more Large Red Damselflies taking my total number of sites to nine for this species in 2020 and there were more Swifts screeching above the village.

Azure Damselfly.

First Dragon...Just!

Cloudless blue skies and a drop in the wind strength seemed to suggest that today might be a good day for insects and I felt pretty optimistic when I left my home this morning. I took a walk along to Harry's Park Wood where I hoped the wide sunlit rides would prove attractive to both butterflies and dragons.

Harry's Park Wood.

A calling male Cuckoo turned out to be the only bird of interest that I saw all day though there were plenty of warblers singing including both Lesser Whitethroat and Garden Warbler. There were no dragons and damsels and only a few butterflies which included a few Speckled Woods, noteworthy only because I didn't see any on my last visit.

Small Tortoiseshell and Banded Demoiselle.

Bears Lane added Brimstone and several Small Tortoiseshells to the day list, I'm still seeing a few of the latter though almost always in association with nettles now. At the Pocket Park in Weldon there were several male Banded Demoiselles but little else and I soon made my way over to the stream near the Woodland Park. Here I found more Bandeds and about seven Large Reds but it was a briefly glimpsed dragonfly that caused a bit of frustration. It flew up from the streamside vegetation into a tree but seemed to disappear from view. I took a few long range pics but it didn't look as if I'd caught it on camera. This was more than a little galling as it would have been a first for the year whatever the species and so at that stage I put it down as a chaser sp. When I checked my pics on the computer I was delighted to see that some of the dragonfly was in fact visible and that my mysterious chaser had been a Four-spotted. Just proves how important digital cameras are for the would be dragonfly spotter! I've included my record shot here so that you too can enjoy some top notch nature photography. Other damsels seen included another year first in the shape of a Blue-tailed Damselfly and there were also a few Azures about too. Best butterfly was a Red Admiral, I saw another on the way home near the steelworks.

Spot the Four-spot and a more clear cut Blue-tailed Damselfly.

From here I headed over to the A43 pond where I had a walk around the grassy area between it and the road. My efforts were rewarded by the discovery of a colony of Dingy Skippers, I saw at least six though there may well have been more. This is the third location that I've seen them in this year, I'm pretty lucky to have them so close to my home. A second Common Blue in as many days was also a good find, I think that I might be checking this area a little more frequently in the future.

Dingy Skipper and Common Blue.

Welland Walking

For today's walk I opted to take a stroll over to Gretton Weir passing through Willowbrook Industrial Estate, Brookfield Plantation and Gretton village on the way. Although it was cloudier than the forecast suggested it would be when I left home the sun did show through in the afternoon. Despite there being quite a stiff breeze I managed to see a few interesting insects in the more sheltered spots.

Peregrine

Both Peregrines were in their usual place, either they're not nesting this year or one was taking a break from incubation. Gretton supplied my first Swift of the year, there were also some Swallows about. At Gretton Weir a Cuckoo was the only other bird of interest.

Large Red Damselfly and Red Admiral.

Lots of damselflies were found though every one of them was a Large Red. Brookfield Plantation had seven or eight hunting over sunlit nettle patches while Gretton Weir had over thirty with most appearing to be newly emerged tenerals. I must admit that I was surprised not to see anything else but it is still early in the season still.

Large, Small and Green-veined Whites.

If variety in the world of damsels was somewhat limited then it was the opposite with butterflies. There may well have been an influx of Red Admirals as I saw three today. More than five Peacocks were observed and so too were a similar number of Small Tortoiseshells. Speckled Woods remain common in Brookfield Plantation, elsewhere Orange-tips are still the most numerous species. Lots of UIW's were noted and of the ones that I could I.D it was Small that outnumbered Green-veined, a single Large White was also seen. Willowbrook Industrial Estate delivered a quality quartet of species with year first Small Copper and Common Blue as well as a Dingy and a Grizzled Skipper. Sadly the copper did a bunk before I could get a pic but the Common Blue at least was quite obliging.

Common Blue and Grizzled Skipper.

The only other wildlife of interest seen today were some Fallow Deer in Brookfield Plantation, several small groups were present in the wood.

Fallow Deer.

More Damsels

Once I'd completed my essential shopping and equally essential painting I set out for Weldon where I hoped the promise of some sun might bring some insects out. For once my plan worked out and I managed to see quite a few.

Banded Demoiselle and Large Red Damselfly.

Walking along the stream near the woodland park produced a few damsels with Banded Demoiselles being the commonest, four males and a female were noted. Two each of Large Red and Azure Damselflies were also seen with one of the latter being my first male of 2020. For the second visit in a row I managed to find Variable Damselfly though in this instance it was just the one. This male was quite interesting in that it lacked two of the features associated with this species though of course as its name suggests it is prone to variation! It was clearly a different individual to last week's male so that means at least three Variables have emerged so far.

Azure and Variable Damselflies.

Butterflies as well as damsels were responding to the sunny interludes and once again Orange-tips were the commonest. Other species noted at Weldon were Peacock, Holly Blue and a Small White. Other types noted at the area near the STW on my way home included a male Brimstone and at least two Green Hairstreaks.

Orange-tip and Green Hairstreak.

The STW provided views of my first Fox of the year, it makes a change to see a native British mammal. A Muntjac which I flushed from some thick vegetation was rather more typical of my county mammal experiences. No birds of note other than a good view of a singing Garden Warbler at Weldon and a male Sparrowhawk which nearly parted my hair at the STW.

Peacock.

Skippers

A cloudy old day today which unfortunately meant that my weekly walk to Priors Hall was not as productive as I hoped it might be. Clearly whatever weather forecast I looked at was overly optimistic as I'd expected rather more sunshine.

One of many ponds at Priors Hall.

Best bird today was a male Cuckoo which was probably keeping an eye out on the many Reed Warblers that are on site. Plenty of Sand Martins were hawking over the ponds though pickings must have been fairly slim. Only other bird of note today was a singing Sedge Warbler up at the northern end near Kirby Lane.

Dingy (top) and Grizzled Skipper.

With the weather being cool and cloudy it was no surprise that very few butterflies were observed. In fact only two species were seen though thankfully they were good ones with ten plus Dingy Skippers and about six or seven Grizzled being noted. While having a socially distanced chat with Alan Shorrock (who I'm starting to think may live here!) I had an opportunity to photograph an excellently camouflaged Dingy that Mr S had picked out.

This Large Red had a lucky escape.

Only two species of damselflies were found though any were a bonus given the weather. A female Azure was found sitting out the conditions and I also saw two Large Reds. One of these came close to meeting a premature end as it got caught in an old spiders web whilst trying to escape from me. Feeling somewhat responsible for its plight I made an effort to free it from the sticky strands and happily was able to do so. It sat on the tip of my finger for a few seconds before flying up into a nearby alder.

A not so lucky crane fly and wasp mimic hoverfly

Other wildlife noted today included a Brown Hare, two Smooth Newts and a very convincing wasp mimic hoverfly.

Simply Reds

With the weekend upon us and the likelihood that Weldon would prove too popular with exercise walkers I chose instead to visit Brookfield Plantation where I met the grand total of one. Although I couldn't find any birds of interest there were a few other things to note down.

Small White.

My walk took me across the Charter Field in the village where a couple of Speckled Woods and a Small White were seen. Moving on to Cockerell Road I was pleased to find a Dingy Skipper, although I've seen them here before they are scarce. Near the power station I found a single Large Red Damselfly which made this my seventh site so far this year for this species.

Dingy Skipper and Large White.

At Brookfield I was greeted by a Large White which stopped long enough to let me take a couple of record shots, my first this year. Other butterflies seen in the wood included plenty more Speckled Woods, Orange-tips, Small Whites and a Peacock. Given that before this year I had not seen any in Brookfield the discovery of fourteen further Large Red Damselflies suggests that I must have overlooked them here in the past. Every one that stopped long enough to look at properly turned out to be a female, I wonder if the males were at the breeding ponds staking out territories?

Speckled Wood and Large Red Damselfly.

Plenty of other insects were present in the plantation and these included a species of hoverfly with the catchy name of Rhingia rostrata which is a rather long snouted creature with an obvious orange abdomen.

Rhingia rostrata.

There Aint Nothing Like A Dame(sel)

A little more sun than clouds today tempted me out again despite there still being a bit of a risk of getting soaked. Weldon was once again my destination of choice and I managed to visit both the pocket park and the pond at the woodland park without bumping into too many people.

Male Grey Wagtail and female Orange-tip.

Excellent views of a male Grey Wagtail was the only bird news of note, it looks as if we may have several local pairs this year. A few butterflies were also tempted out by the promise of some sunshine but they were all Orange-tips as far as I could tell. That was fine with me though as I love these attractive little butterflies.

Male (top) and female Variable Damselflies.

The pocket park provided me with my first damselflies of the day with two male Banded Demoiselles hiding in the streamside nettles. Another male and my first female of the year were seen a bit further along the stream at the woodland park. Without wishing to dismiss the demoiselles it was the sighting of two year first Variable Damselflies, a male and a female, that stole the show. Weldon has a small but viable population of this county scarcity and with lockdown in place I probably won't catch up with them elsewhere this year. Third species on the list was a male Large Red Damselfly and that was followed by two newly emerged Azure Damselflies. Four species in one day, it looks as if things are kicking off in the world of dragon and damselflies!

Banded Demoiselle, Large Red and Azure Damselflies.