Not Quite The Emperor I Hoped For

 With the weather looking promising I took a walk around Harry's Park Wood in the hope of seeing some good butterflies. There have been a few reports of both Silver-washed Fritillaries and Purple Emperors this year though I didn't manage to catch up with any of these beauties today. That's not to say that the day was a complete failure however as I did manage to see some interesting wildlife.

Large White and White Admiral

Walking along Bears Lane produced a sighting of two Brown Hares chasing each other across the grassy landing strip near the farm while a Red Kite was chased off by a pair of Kestrels who were presumably nesting nearby. My first county Large White was also noted, this seems to be a very poor year for this normally common species. 

Emperor with Meadow Brown and Southern Hawker

Arriving in Harry's Park Wood I found a pristine looking White Admiral close to the entrance which lingered long enough for a photograph, the other two that I saw today did not settle. The wood's rides played host to Meadow Browns and Ringlets and it was one of the former that fell prey to a female Emperor. Speckled Woods were fairly common too while several Commas, a Small Tortoiseshell and Red Admiral were also seen. Another species present in reasonable quantities was Large Skipper with at least ten on the wing.

Fox and Great Spotted Woodpecker

Away from the butterflies a freshly emerged Southern Hawker was my first of the year and I was lucky that it settled long enough for a photo. A distant Fox was watched as it ambled along one of the rides while a young Great Spotted Woodpecker provided great views as it pecked away at the branches of a dead tree. Not much else to report, I'll have to pop back soon if I want to see those Emperors, the Purple ones that is!

Small Tortoiseshell and Yellowhammer.

Oh You Beauties....Eventually!

 Checking the weather forecast as I waited for the week to end was no help at all as it changed on a daily basis. Everything from rain to sunshine had been thrown into the mix and thus it was with a sense of uncertainty that Alan Shorrock and I ventured over to Burton Latimer Pocket Park on the hunt for Beautiful Demoiselles. Initially things looked far from promising as wall to wall clouds dominated the scene but eventually the sun did peek through and things picked up a little.

White-legged Damselfly, Painted Lady and Kestrel

A White-legged Damselfly was the first and for some time only highlight as the weather dented our efforts to find the demoiselles. Gradually conditions improved slightly and a few Meadow Browns began to venture out. Both Blue-tailed and Common Blue Damselflies were found sheltering in the grass but it wasn't until the sun began to break through that things really began to pick up. A female demoiselle aroused some curiosity as its brownish wings looked good for Beautiful but regardless of what it actually was a sparrow snatched it out of the air as it fluttered weakly away. Banded Demoiselles began to show in reasonable numbers and there were several Red-eyeds settling on the lily pads. Best butterflies were Painted Lady and Small Skipper though in truth there were not that many on the wing. Having failed to catch up with the hoped for Beautifuls Alan suggested a trip to the Ise between Great Harrowden and Finedon for another attempt.

Banded Demoiselle, Blue-tailed and Large Red Damselflies

This proved to be a good idea as our arrival coincided with one of the few longer sunny spells which brought out a decent number of damselflies. At first it was Banded Demoiselles that showed well and they had a Large Red keeping them company. After a short time a male Beautiful was found resting on streamside vegetation and we had some decent views. It turned out that it wasn't a solo performance either as at least two more were noted soon after. Also seen in the same area was a adult male White-legged Damsel while Alan saw an Emerald briefly on two occasions and glimpsed what was likely to have been a female Beautiful. Not much else to report though several Kingfishers were heard moving through suggesting either a pair or a family party. Clouds and a few drops of rain persuaded us to bring things to a close and we headed off to a local pub for a well deserved pint.

Beautiful Demoiselles and Catalina

Marbled Whites On The Up

 I'm on late shifts this week which gave me enough time yesterday (the 20th) to take a stroll near the Eurohub before experiencing the joys of doing the weekly shop at the town's Tesco. The area is sandwiched between the store and the warehouses and includes a pond as well as grassland. While it can't lay claim to being one of the county's premier nature spots it does attract a reasonable selection of species. Today's weather was a mixture of sun and clouds with a fairly strong breeze but it did at least stay dry.

Azure and Red-eyed Damselflies

Only some of the pondside is accessible, there is some thick vegetation blocking off much of the shore. Several Four-spotted Chasers and a male Emperor had taken up territories though none posed for pictures. A total of four damselfly species were noted with Azure being the commonest, the others were Common Blue, Red-eyed and Blue-tailed. Commonest butterflies were Marbled Whites and it's good to see this attractive species seemingly doing well. I saw more a little later on as I made my way to work as several were seen next to Cockerell Road on the Willowbrook Industrial Estate. Back to the Eurohub and it was the browns that continued to dominate proceedings with Meadow Brown, Ringlet, Speckled Wood and Small Heath all being noted. Several Small Tortoiseshells were found and there were two Painted Ladies showing as well. While many of the browns are at the beginning of their season the Common Blues are reaching the end of theirs with only two tatty looking specimens still lingering.

Marbled White, Speckled Wood and Painted Lady

Not a huge amount of other wildlife to report with a Fallow Deer fawn being scared up from a patch of thistles being the only mammal of note. Few birds showed though Willow Warblers were in fine voice and were one of the commonest species today.

Small Tortoiseshell, Small Heath and Common Blue

Paint It Brown

 After yesterday's long distance jaunt I decided to stay closer to home and so headed off to Priors Hall. The weather was much better than had been predicted in the long range forecast during the week and I treated today as something of a bonus. A mixture of sunny spells and cloud greeted me and there was a fairly strong north west breeze but I still managed to find some good stuff.

Marbled White, Small Skipper and Ringlet

My initial highpoint was finding a first for the year Ringlet on the verge of the A43 near Weldon, there were quite a few around Priors Hall too. They always look so good when they first emerge, velvety chocolate perfection, but it doesn't take long before the argumentative little beggars start looking much rougher. Almost as soon as I'd arrived at Priors I added another species to my county year list with the discovery of a Marbled White. There must have been quite an emergence as they were the commonest butterfly today. Another species making its way on to my county year list was Small Skipper, at least five or six were observed today. Mid summer is a great time for brown butterflies and plenty of Meadow Browns and Speckled Woods were joined by several Small Heaths, it shouldn't be too long before they're joined by Gatekeepers. Other species on site included two Painted Ladies and a couple of Large Skippers while moths were represented by my first Six-spotted Burnet of the year.

Hairy dragonfly and violacea and rufescens Blue-tailed Damselflies

My search for Downy Emeralds drew a blank but there were still dragons to enjoy. A veritable swarm of Four-spotted Chasers were present and they spent their entire time either fighting or mating, it reminded me of Mr Bips on a Friday night! Other species putting in an appearance were Black-tailed Skimmer, Emperor and an ovipositing Hairy Dragonfly. No surprises amongst the damsels though it was good to see several different forms of female Blue-taileds.

Six-spotted Burnet, Large Skipper and Painted Lady

Best bird today was a site rarity Peregrine which flew in from the north and circled several times before it moved on. Male and female Cuckoo were heard calling and so too was at least one Water Rail. Other wildlife in the area included a Brown Hare and a Fallow Deer which crashed off into the undergrowth when it caught sight of me.

Peregrine, Green Woodpecker. Grey Heron and Linnet

Sheppey Shines

 Alan Shorrock and I journeyed south with Phil Rogers today into the wilds of Kent or rather the Isle of Sheppey. Our hope was to find some of the Dainty Damselflies which have been present here for over a decade. This species has an interesting past in the UK, a small population in Essex were wiped out by coastal flooding in the early 1950's leading to their extinction. Attempts to reintroduce them failed meaning that it was left to the damsels themselves to take care of the situation. Small numbers appeared on the Isle of Sheppey in 2010 while larger numbers have since been found at several other sites in Kent including Sandwich Bay We chose to try the Sheppey ones because the site is open to the public and getting there is a fairly straight forward business.

Dainty Damselflies and their breeding pond.

We arrived at the site to find the weather was holding out for the time being at least, some sunny periods interspersed with cloudier spells. Our search took us around a series of ponds situated below the new road bridge. Blue-tailed Damselflies were the commonest and indeed the only species for the first hour or so, the brackish nature of the water may have been unsuitable for other species. I noted my first Ruddy Darters and Small Red-eyed Damselfly of the year and some Black-tailed Skimmers while both Phil and Shozzer saw an Emperor. One of the ponds had quite a lot of vegetation emerging from beneath the water seeming to match the preferred habitat choice of Dainty and we settled down to give it a good grilling. A pair of ovipositing blue damsels aroused our curiosity and on closer inspection proved to be Dainty Damselflies, a British first for all of us. Record shots were taken and prolonged views obtained until a rain shower brought things to a close.

Small Red-eyed Damselfly and Ruddy Darter

There was some other wildlife to enjoy in the general area of which a Cattle Egret seen by Alan was perhaps the highlight. Quite a few butterflies were on the wing too and I added Small Skipper and Large White to my year list. Other species included Common Blue, Small Heath and Meadow Brown as well as a Small Tortoiseshell. The area holds a population of Marsh Frogs which were heard calling and seen once , a Common Lizard was also found. By now the weather was starting to look more threatening and a stop on the way home at Darlands Bank was brief, I saw my first Marbled Whites of the year but that was all I managed before we set off home.

Large White and Small Skipper.

Little Gull

 An after work trip to Frampton in the company of my brother David did not produce any sightings of the hoped for Long-tailed Ducks but did provide a few interesting sightings. Highlight was a second summer Little Gull, my first of the year. First seen feeding we later discovered it preening in the company of some Black-headed Gulls. Another decent bird was a Spoonbill which true to form was sleeping when we first saw it but the bird clearly woke up soon after as we saw it flying off towards the saltmarsh. Last bird to make the shortlist was a drake Red Crested Pochard which although distant showed well enough through the scopes. Leaving the many noisy Avocets and the quieter Black-tailed Godwits behind we set home for home after a couple of hours watching.

Little Gull, Spoonbill and Red Crested Pochard