Bootiful

My brother was kind enough to give me a lift to the Brampton Valley near Hanging Houghton today where I hoped to add Beautiful Demoiselle to my county year list. With the weather looking decidedly dodgy at one stage it seemed as if my goal was far from being a sure thing though while sunshine was indeed very much in short supply it did brighten up a little. During these brighter spells we were able to find five males and two females though no other damsels were recorded this morning. There were a few more butterflies however and of these Ringlets and Meadow Browns were the commonest with a few Essex and Large Skippers and a few whites for company too.

Female and male Beautiful Demoiselles.

Once we had seen some decent views of the demoiselles we moved on and my brother dropped me off at Gretton Weir before going his own way. Banded Demoiselles were the dominant species here with hundreds being seen. White-legged Damselflies were also present in good numbers and I saw several pairs in cop. One other damsel seen here was Blue-tailed and while they were not as common as the other two species there were still quite a few. A single male Emperor was the sole dragonfly noted here. New butterflies observed here for the day were Green-veined and Large White, Comma, Small Tortoiseshell, Small Skipper and Small Heath.

White-legged and Blue-tailed Damselflies.

My walk along the Rockingham road did not produce too much of interest, only a pair of Common Blue damsels in cop were of note. Taking the public footpath up towards Brookfield Plantation added Marbled White and Red Admiral to the day's list while individuals of Banded Demoiselles and White-leggeds proved these species' power of dispersal.

Silver-washed Frit and Gatekeeper.

Brookfield added a little more to enjoy with two male Silver-washed Fritillaries and a similar number of Gatekeepers being the highlight. A female Southern Hawker hunting along the rides was my first since the trip to Yardley last month. I surprised a few Fallow Deer as I made my way through the wood but the encounters were brief and I didn't manage a picture.

Essex Skippers and Ringlets.

Willowbrook Industrial Estate was my final stop of the day where many Marbled Whites and a couple more Gatekeepers were seen as well as a Common Darter. A barking Muntjac was typically noisy while I also had untypically good views of a Common Lizard. Three Peregrines were noted during the day at one of their regular sites suggesting that successful breeding had taken place.

Common Lizard and Peregrine.

Seeing Red

I took a trip down to Weldon this afternoon, once I'd finished work, where a decent amount of sunshine meant that there were a few interesting insects to enjoy. My primary goal was to see if Small Red-eyed numbers had built up but it looked as if the main emergence has yet to begin. Happily there were at least a few around to admire and one provided a better photographic opportunity than on my previous visit.

Small Red-eyed and White-legged Damselfly.

Dragon numbers were down on my last visit with singles only of Emperor, Four-spotted Chaser and Black-tailed Skimmer. There were a few more damsels of which Common Blue and Red-eyed were the commonest. A few Blue-tailed were also noted while about ten Banded Demoiselles were seen along the stream. Once I'd left the stream behind and walked along to the woodland park I managed to find three immature White-legged Damselflies.

Gatekeeper and Marbled White.

Best butterfly today was Gatekeeper, I saw seven or eight and they were my first of the year. As is often the case in July there were quite a lot of browns about and I saw Marbled Whites, Meadow Browns and Ringlets. Two species of skippers were on view and these were Small and Essex with the former being commonest. Apart from a single Small White the only other butterflies on view were a Red Admiral and several Commas.

Small Skipper and Ringlet.

Little else to report though the local Red Kites put on quite a show.

Banded Demoiselle and Comma.

Sting In The Tail.

Once again I ventured out with Alan Shorrock though this time we headed over to Fermyn Wood with the hope of seeing some butterflies. Hope seemed to be the operative word too as the cloudy skies looked far from promising. Indeed it took before we got to Lady Wood before we saw so much as a sign of a butterfly and that was a Meadow Brown. Ringlet and Large Skipper soon followed but thing got a little static after that.

Variant Purple Emperor and standard one for comparison.

Continuing on with what appeared to be a bit of a fruitless trek our attention was diverted by a chap ahead pointing to something nearby. That 'something' turned out to be a resting Purple Emperor with its wings firmly closed, an unexpected treat on what was still a pretty dull day. We walked on as far as the orchid meadow which had lots of Pyramidals growing. Conditions by now did appear to be brightening and a few other species were becoming active with Small Skipper and Small White being seen. Returning to the wood the same fellow drew our attention to the Emperor once more as it had now opened its wings. It turned out that this was a rare colour variation lacking most of the white markings and a little band of four admirers took lots of photos.

Silver-washed Fritillaries.

As we walked further along both Silver-washed Fritillaries and White Admirals put in brief appearances and two male Purple Emperors teased us by flying around but did not settle. Other species were now being seen with Red Admiral and Comma as well as Speckled Wood showing. An attempt to find White-lettered Hairstreak sadly failed but we did catch a couple of Purple Hairstreaks a little later on though rather distantly at the top of an Ash tree.

Comma.

Acting on a tip from one of the other visitors we followed the edge of the wood and were treated to good numbers of Silver-washed Fritillaries many of which showed well. As well as seeing a pair in cop we also had views of a very heavily marked female as well as other more standard ones. It was probably my best day for this species with perhaps as many as fifty being seen during our walk.

Peacock.

Once we were back in the wood we paused to admire a new brood Peacock though when Alan went to grab a pic he realised that he had lost his camera. Anxiously retracing our steps did not produce the missing Nikon unfortunately despite a thorough search. If it dropped in the undergrowth or long grasses it could likely remain hidden for some time. If you should happen to find a Nikon camera while wondering around could you please take it to the visitor centre at Fermyn CP?

Small Skipper, Speckled Wood and Ringlet.

Heading back to the car feeling a little deflated we were treated to excellent views of a male Purple Emperor on the path. I guiltily took a few shots before we returned to the motor prior to going home. A decent day out but we could have done without the unpleasant little bit on the end.

Long Walk Amply Rewarded.

I took quite a hike today and although my feet hurt just a little by the end a quick stop in the George in Weldon restored me to some sort of normality! Beginning at Bears Lane I popped into Harry's Park Wood for a quick look. Within ten yards of the entrance I'd already seen my first of two Silver-washed Frits and also the first of six White Admirals. There were a lot of butterflies active here and these included a Black Hairstreak in a different spot to the others that I've seen here but sadly no Emperors.

Silver-washed Fritillary and Black Hairstreak.

Walking along the footpath towards the A427 did not add much to the list though at Deenethorpe Airfield there was a good number of Marbled Whites and Small Heaths. The village itself had a Raven croaking from one of the trees and several damselflies of which the pick was a White-legged. A short walk took me to the inflow at Deene Lake where two Green Sandpipers were the highlight. Near the dam at the main part of the lake another White-legged damsel showed well but this was overshadowed by a somewhat surprising discovery. I'd caught a glimpse of a large damselfly flitting away from me and was glad that I saw it land. An inspection through the bins revealed a totally unexpected Willow Emerald which was confirmed by responsible adults later. Not only was this an early record but it was also a site first. I've now seen a total of five Willow Emeralds in the county at a total of four sites.  Joining this pair of damsels were Common Blue, Blue-tailed, Red-eyes and Black-tailed Skimmer.

White-legged Damselfly and Willow Emerald.

From here it was a reasonably short walk to Priors Hall where a truly staggering number of butterflies were seen. Meadow Browns, Marbled Whites and Small Heaths were present in very high numbers and I really couldn't attempt to count them. Several Speckled Woods and a Ringlet or two were noted though my favourite species here was a Silver-washed Fritillary. Red Admirals were present throughout the day in reasonable numbers and there are still a few Painted Ladies coming through too. Plenty of fresh looking Commas were observed and so too were a decent quantity of Small Tortoiseshells. Both Small and Large Skipper were noted but I couldn't find any Gatekeepers. Small and Green-veined Whites rounded off the list.

Red Admiral, Small White and Small Tortoiseshell.

Among the dragons and damsels on site I liked a pair of Emerald Damselflies most while dragons noted today were Emperor, Black-tailed Skimmer, Four-spotted Chaser and both species of darter. Of the latter Ruddies were much the commonest but at least one Common was confirmed too.

Emerald Damselflies, Ruddy Darter and Marbled White.

Several interesting birds were seen on site and these included a pair of Ringed Plover, Little Ringed Plover, Sand Martin and Mandarin. The only other wildlife of note today was a Brown Hare at Priors.

Ringed Plover.

Bobby Dazzlers

Yet another after work outing though this time I went a little further afield in the company of Alan Shorrock. Alan had not seen a Dark Green Fritillary and so we set out for Robert's Field in Lincolnshire near Stamford. Not only did we manage to find some frits but they treated us to some good views too.

Dark Green Fritillaries.

Of course frits were not the only things in view and there were plenty of Marbled Whites and Meadow Browns. Smaller quantities of other species were present and these included Large White, Small and Essex Skipper, a Common Blue and Ringlets. A few Burnet moths were seen though I couldn't see which species. Also of note today was a good number of Pyramidal Orchids.

Common Blue and white Pyramidal Orchid.

Once Alan had had his fill of Dark Green Fritillaries we returned to the county for a look at the disused quarry near Spanhoe Airfield. I'd hoped that there might be some DG Frits here too but if there were we couldn't find any. Marbled Whites were common and so too were Meadow Browns and Small Heaths. At least two faded looking Painted Ladies were seen and so too was a Small Tortoiseshell. Skippers were well represented with Large, Small and Essex being noted while both Small and Large White were noted too.

Small Heath and Essex Skipper.

Three shallow ponds held a selection of dragons and damsels of which eight first for the year Common Emeralds were the highlight. Also noted were several Azure and Blue-tailed Damselflies as well as a couple of male Banded Demoiselles. Three species of dragons were observed and these were Emperor, Four-spotted Chaser and Ruddy Darter. Not a great deal else to mention though there was a good sized group of Pyramidal Orchids here too.

Common Emeralds and aeroplanes at Spanhoe.

Another Post Work Stroll

It was far too sunny after work for me not to go out so that was exactly what I did with a short stroll over to the pond near Eurohub. While it was far from being the most exciting excursion that I've done it was still a worthwhile effort.

Four-spotted Chaser and Black-tailed Skimmer.

Three species of dragon were noted and these included several Emperors, at least one Four-spotted Chaser and a male Black-tailed Skimmer. I particularly enjoyed the latter as it was my first record for the site. Damsels fared a bit better and I recorded six species of which Common Blue was the most numerous. Still quite a few Azures around and also a male and female Large Red. Several Red-eyeds were sitting on vegetation out on the pond while amongst the Blue-tailed present were examples of both the rufescens and the violacea forms. A couple of female Banded Demoiselles were also seen and these no doubt had made their way over from the nearby stream.

Large Red, Azures and Banded Demoiselle.

Of the butterflies seen the Marbled Whites were probably the best, half a dozen included one mating pair. A Small Tortoiseshell was the most colourful species though this one looked a bit tattier and more faded than other recent ones, could it be a survivor of the hibernating generation? Other species noted were Large Skipper, Meadow Brown and Ringlet. Not a great deal else to report though there seemed to be a lot of toadlets around the margins of the pond.

Blue-tailed Damselflies and Marbled Whites.