Spending The Morning With The Peregrines

 Family commitments meant that my time was rationed this morning which meant I stayed fairly local to my home. I hadn't been to Brookfield Plantation for quite a while and this seemed an ideal opportunity to reacquaint myself with the place. Initially sunshine was in short supply so on my way to the wood I stopped for a while to admire the local Peregrines.

Peregrine

Two birds were present in the area and one showed well if a little distantly. Although I'm reasonably certain that these are a pair there doesn't appear to be any evidence of breeding this year, perhaps the birds are still too young yet. Having satisfied myself with my views I set off for the plantation as an increasing amount of sunshine raised my chances of seeing some insects.

Broad-bodied Chaser and Hairy Dragonfly.

A female Broad-bodied Chaser was my first sighting of note, a male was seen later. Brookfield is a good spot for this species which does seem to favour woodland. Other odes noted today included plenty of Common Blue Damselflies, an Azure Damselfly and a site first Hairy Dragonfly. Few butterflies were noted today other than numerous Speckled Woods with just a Meadow Brown and a Common Blue breaking their monopoly. Not too many birds to report other than a Marsh Tit and Nuthatch.

Meadow Brown and Speckled Wood.

Downies Doing The Business

 A return to Priors Hall this morning to check on the Downy Emeralds that I caught up with last week. The weather was a mixture of sunny spells and clouds underpinned by a stiff breeze but luckily the emerald pond was fairly sheltered and hosted a good variety of dragons.

When I first arrived the focus was on butterflies as I added Meadow Brown and Large Skipper to my county year list. Other species noted included both Small Heath and Speckled Wood though the breeze appeared to be keeping most of the butterflies out of sight. As I approached the ponds damsels began to appear with Azures seeming to be the commonest. Large Reds are still showing in decent enough numbers while Common Blues continue to increase. Other species noted today included Red-eyed, Blue-tailed and Banded Demoiselle, I may visit the stream at Weldon to see if any of the latter are present this year. Hopefully a few survived the pollution and perhaps a few White-leggeds did too?

Four-spotted and Broad-bodied Chaser and banded Demoiselle.

Most of my time was spent around the emerald pond where both male and female Cuckoos were heard calling. It didn't take too long before a male Downy Emerald appeared though it was far less obliging than last week. It didn't spend any time hovering and its appearances were subjected to constant harassment from the gathered Four-spotted Chasers. Some exciting news came when I discovered a female Downy ovipositing. Up to that point I did not know that Downies employed the chaser egg laying strategy in which a single females dips the tip of her abdomen in the water whilst in flight. Had I not seen her eyes I may well have passed her off as a Four-spot! The pond had attracted quite a selection of other dragons too and the list included Emperor, Hairy, Scarce Chaser and Black-tailed Skimmer. A Kingfisher made a brief visit before flying off while a Heron croaked as it flew over.

Common Blue and Speckled Wood.

Having left the pond I made my way back towards Weldon, a Muntjac barked as I did so. Further butterfly sightings included at least three Dingy Skippers as well as Common Blues. Two Broad-bodied Chasers were a welcome addition to my ode list and the male in particular showed well. By now I'd reached the gate at the A43 and it was time for the trudge back along the roadside and into Weldon.

Bee and Common Spotted Orchids.

Paxton Perfection

 Today's destination of choice was Paxton Pits near Huntingdon where Alan Shorrock and I hoped to catch up with some Norfolk Hawkers. With the weather looking to be sunny for the most part we were optimistic about our chances and I'm glad to say that the hawkers did not let us down.

Norfolk Hawkers

Our walk along the Meadow Trail of the reserve provided sightings of Scarce and Four-spotted Chasers as well as a hunting Emperor. A check of the damsels produced an eventual total of six species of which Variable was probably the highlight. Stopping at Rudd Lake produced our first sightings of Norfolk Hawkers with at least two territorial males being present. It's encouraging to note that this lake doesn't have any of the Water Soldier plant with which this species is usually associated and this could make the colonisation of nearby Northamptonshire a little more likely. I managed to get some decent pics for the first time as these and several others posed obligingly. Several Common Darters in the same area were my first of the year while a few Black-tailed Skimmers rounded of the day's dragon list.

Scarce and Four-spotted Chasers and Emperor

There were new additions to my butterfly year list too with a Large Skipper near the visitor centre being the first. It was sharing some Red Valerian flowers with a new brood Small Tortoiseshell, at least one new brood Comma was also noted. The other newbie was Meadow Brown and at least two were seen. Best birds were a Cuckoo and a Hobby while a Cetti's Warbler actually showed briefly as it flew between cover. 

large Skipper, Meadow Brown and Comma.

Another Decent Day

 I was out once again in the company of Alan Shorrock as we braved a cold northerly breeze and grey skies to do a bit of nature spotting. Our first couple of stops were far from interesting and it was left to our third site to provide the interest. A slight brightening of the conditions prompted us to pop into Glapthorn Cow Pasture where we hoped to catch up with the Black Hairstreaks for which this site is known.

Black Hairstreak

Initially things looked far from promising but they did improve slightly as the sun broke through the cloud cover. Several hairstreaks were glimpsed as they flitted around the tops of Blackthorn bushes but they seemed reluctant to land. While waiting for the hairstreaks to become more cooperative I picked out the call of a Turtle Dove which though distant at first gradually got closer. It's been a few years since I last saw one in the county and it's crazy to think that they're now rarer than Black Hairstreaks in Northamptonshire. Though difficult to see I eventually had a couple of brief sightings as the bird displayed but sadly couldn't get a pic.

Southern Marsh Orchid and Bullfinch

A spell of sunshine tempted more Black Hairstreaks out and at least two settled down to nectar on bramble blossoms. Both Shozzer and I were able to get a few pictures before they flew up into the neighbouring Blackthorns. By now the skies were becoming cloudy again and there was even a little bit of rain in the air so we decided to bring things to a halt and head for the car.

Wow, That Could Have Been Worse!

 A post by Mark Tyrrell, our county dragonfly recorder, on the Northants FB page alerted me to the presence of Downy Emerald(s) at Priors Hall. Any plans forming in my mind were promptly changed and I duly pitched up at Priors with a view to seeing if I could find one. Some may recall that a Downy Emerald was photographed here in 2020 so these further sightings raised some intriguing possibilities. Sadly I dipped in my efforts to see the one two years ago but held my fingers crossed for more success this time.

Downy Emerald.

A mixture of sunny spells and clouds were the order of the day weatherwise but thankfully there was enough sunshine to prompt some insects out. On arrival I checked the grassy areas for butterflies and was rewarded with sightings of a faded looking Grizzled Skipper. Both these and Dingies look to be coming to the end of their season and they should be gone soon. Other species active here included Small Heaths as well as many Burnet Companion moths. At this relatively early stage there was not a great deal of ode activity and just a few damsels were noted. A male Cuckoo was calling and I later heard a female that was probably paying the nests of the local Reed Warblers an unwelcome visit.

Chaser trio.

I passed the first couple of ponds on my way to the first one set in amongst the alders where I hoped the Downy might be present. A shiny winged teneral Black-tailed Skimmer was my first of the year, I saw several more as well as a couple of more mature examples during my walk. With the sun now  beginning to make its presence felt a few Four-spotted Chasers and several Hairy Dragonflies began to show. My eyes were drawn to one of the dragons patrolling the pond and a squint through the bins showed it to be a Downy Emerald! It ranged up and down the pond fighting several battles with the Four-spotted Chasers in the process for about twenty or more minutes. I took a couple of record shots which while not great at least show most of the pertinent features. As more chasers joined the fray it became harder to pick the emerald out though I did see a site rarity Scarce Chaser sparring with its commoner cousins.

Black-tailed Skimmer, Grizzled Skipper and Small Copper

I checked some of the other ponds out though varying amounts of cloud made my search more difficult. Five of the commoner damsel species were noted, a sixth on my way out was Banded Demoiselle suggesting that the stream in Weldon may still harbour a few despite the pollution incident during the winter. Plenty of new brood Speckled Woods are now on the wing and I saw at least two Brimstones while a Painted Lady was also observed. My butterfly list was rounded off by a few Common Blues and a first Small Copper of the year while other wildlife included a Brown Hare and Common Toad. There's a saying that " It aint over till the fat lady sings" and while a female Broad-bodied Chaser did not break into song she did at least bring things to a satisfactory conclusion.

Painted Lady, Brimstone and Scorpion Fly.

Chequing In

 Another trip in the company of Alan Shorrock today and this time we visited Fineshade Wood. It turned out to be a popular destination for butterfly watchers with people from many spots in England joining us on our walk along the rides. We all shared one goal and that was to find the Chequered Skippers that I missed on my previous visit. With plenty of blue sky and prolonged sunny spells on offer things seemed quite promising and I felt more than a little optimistic about our prospects.

Old and new, Speckled Wood and Small Tortoiseshell

It was a slow start with just a few Common Blue damsels and a Speckled Wood or two attracting our attention. Somewhere in the distance a male Cuckoo was calling but it was the only bird of  note today. As we reached the main ride more species began to show and these included Grizzled and Dingy Skippers in small numbers. Whites noted today were Green-veined and Small while singles of both Orange-tip and Brimstone were seen. New brood Small Tortoiseshells are looking superb at the moment and we saw at least half a dozen. A group of people were gathered next to a large bramble bush which is apparently favoured by the skippers. I joined the throng and was rewarded with several views of my first ever Chequered Skipper before it flew off. Frustratingly it disappeared before Shozzer could hobble up on his crutches or before I could get a pic and so we settled in a for a wait.

Common Lizard and Grizzled Skipper.

A file of hopeful observers passed through and these included several groups on organised walks. The Chequereds remained elusive and several hours passed in which a Green Hairstreak and a Common Lizard were the highlights. Things were beginning to look a bit dippy for Alan but a lady spotted one and alerted the would be fans. I got great views and a couple of OK pictures while Alan managed to see one well, there were at least three in the area but they disappeared almost as fast as they arrived. We didn't hang around for much longer and made our way back to the car noting a Common Blue butterfly near the car park.

Chequered Skipper.

Nott Too Bad

 My brother David and I took a trip up to Nottinghamshire to chance our arm at the raptor watchpoint near Wellbeck. Our principal target were the Honey Buzzards which have been making this area their home for many years now. With three birds having been seen recently we set out with with some optimism and were not to be disappointed.

Orange-tip and vole

Plenty of other would be observers were gathered on site and we joined them in their search. Common Buzzards caused a few false alarms, at least two pairs were in the area and a Red Kite drifted past. After a while a Honey Buzzard did do a flypast though it was distant and the views were far from ideal. Deciding to hang on in the hope of seeing the Honeys a little closer we added Sparrowhawk to our raptor list while there were a few Yellow Wagtails flitting around the cereal field in front of us. Realising that the HB's were not going to cooperate we left after a couple of hours but not before a female Orange-tip passed by.

Tree Pipits

Our next stop was in Sherwood Forest area visiting Nottinhamshire's largest heath at Budby. An increasingly grey sky was now delivering a few showers though they were light and didn't spoil our walk. The heath was host to at least six singing Tree Pipits and it was good to catch up with this sadly decreasing visitor. A Woodlark showed briefly as it flew up from some nearby grass while several Stonechats were also seen. Not a lot else to report other than a male Cuckoo while Small Heaths and Speckled Woods were also found.

Stonechats