Not One Of My Best.

 A less than spectacular day began at a grey and breezy Blatherwycke Lake where a Raven was the only thing of interest. Not a great deal to report between here and Deene either though at least by the time that I arrived there the sun had at least began to emerge. Another Raven was observed here and so too was the resident Black Swan while a Kingfisher was heard. I couldn't find any Willow Emeralds here and the ode highlight was male and female Small Red-eyed Damselflies.

Small Red-eyed Damselflies (m top)

Priors Hall provided the only dragons of the day with Common and Ruddy Darter being the commonest. A few Migrant hawkers are beginning to appear though the only Southern noted was sadly a dead female floating in one of the ponds. Several Emperors included ovipositing females as well as males and singles of Four-spotted Chaser and Black-tailed Skimmer.

Migrant and unfortunate Southern Hawker.

I bumped into Priors regular Alan Shorrock and it was perhaps just as well because Shozzer managed to pick out two male Emerald Damselflies. Few other damsels were noted with just Common Blues and Blue-taileds being added to the list. No surprises amongst the butterflies with the most numerous being Gatekeepers, Meadow Browns and Small Heaths. Plenty of whites were seen and a growing number of Common Blues. Other species on the wing were Brown Argus, Ringlet, Large Skipper, Speckled Wood, Peacock and Small Tortoiseshell.

Emerald Damselfly and Emperor.

I checked the quarry on the way past and found at least twelve adult Yellow-legged Gulls in amongst the many Lesser Black-backeds and a solitary Herring. There may well have been immatures present too but in truth it was now too hot to bother trying to find them!

Yellow-legged Gull.

Late Show Saves Day

Monday morning and I unwisely chose to return to Barnwell CP where hoards of other people had apparently made the same decision. With noise levels rising as the morning shift of joggers and dog walkers gave way to kids I beat a hasty retreat and walked across to the stretch of river next to the marina.

Comma and Gatekeeper.

Before my departure I had time to note several Mandarin Ducks and a Kingfisher and also took the time to watch a Common Tern fishing in Mill Lake. Few butterflies were found with Commas and Gatekeepers making up most of the sightings. Dragons were few and far between too so it was a far from difficult decision to throw in the towel and move on.

Rufescens-obsoleta form of Blue-tailed Damselfly and Banded Demoiselle

There were quite a few Small Red-eyed Damsels on the lilies at the Nene and a few of their larger cousins at the nearby Princess Lake. A thorough search of the trees and vegetation around the lake did not produce any Willow Emeralds and the lack of anything else interesting coupled with the onset of a shower sent me heading for home.

Mandarin Duck and Hummingbird Hawkmoth

My less than spectacular day was saved by the arrival of an uncommon visitor to my garden in Corby. Looking out of the window at my Buddleia I was delighted to see a Hummingbird Hawkmoth visiting the flowers. Happily my camera was close to hand and I was able to get a couple of shots of this southern migrant. This was only the second time that this species has paid me a visit and it was perhaps lucky to escape the attentions of a hunting Brown Hawker which was my first garden record. Next week may well see me dragging the chair out again for some good old fashioned lockdown style garden nature spotting!

Walk Around Priors

A mainly sunny if rather breezy day and after yesterday's twitchy pleasures I settled for a more sedate sort of affair at Priors Hall. No surprises today with the usual sort of suspects on show including the near resident Mr Alan Shorrock.

Emperor and Brown Hawker.

At the large and reed fringed pond a Kingfisher was a welcome sight as they're a fairly scarce visitor here. Dragons and damsels were a little hard to find today which was no doubt due to the wind though Emperors appeared to take it in their stride as quite a few were seen. Commonest species were Common and Ruddy Darters with the former now present in growing numbers. A few Four-spotted and Black-tailed Skimmers were noted while two ovipositing Brown Hawkers were also observed. Best odes were a couple of Willow Emeralds one of which posed nicely in typical Willow fashion. One male Small Red-eyed Damselfly was a site year tick while an immature male Azure Damselfly was a little unexpected as it's quite late in their season.

Common and Ruddy Darters

Best butterflies were a couple of Brown Argus and a growing number of new brood Common Blues. At the other end of their flight season were various browns and Large Skippers, Ringlets should be disappearing soon. Few other species were recorded with just a few whites and a few Peacocks on the wing. Amongst the Six-spotted Burnets noted  was one that looked like a Five-spot though I'm more than likely to be wrong!

Willow Emerald, Small Red-eyed and Azure Damselflies

Three Mandarins were flushed up from one of the ponds and there were five Yellow-legged Gulls in the quarry, Priors is a traditional spot in late summer for these gulls.  Not much in the way of other wildlife apart from a Brown Hare.

Rubbishy record shot of Y-L Gull and a Brown Argus.

Result at Pitsford.

There have been several reports and some amazingly good photos emerging of Lesser Emperors being seen at Pitsford reservoir. This news was reason enough for Alan Shorrock and I to pop over there and chance our luck. So far I've dipped on every single rare dragonfly that I've gone for in Northants so it really was a case of keeping those fingers crossed!

Holcott Bay.

Having purchased our permits from the fishing lodge we set out for the nearby Holcott Bay which has been the focus for Lesser Emperor activity over the last couple of days. Unfortunately our arrival coincided with a cloudy period and our first attempt ended in failure. Mention should be made of the vast numbers of horse flies that blighted our visit as both of us fought a running battle against them for the duration of our visit. Feeling that a lack of sun would lead to a lack of dragons we went for a bit of a wander around the reserve before returning to the LE site.

Southern Hawker and Common Blue Damselfly.

A period of sunshine was bringing out an increasing number of dragons which included Southern and Brown Hawkers as well as several Emperors though there was no sign of our hoped for quarry. Our vigil was not a total waste of time however as first a Yellow Wagtail and then a Clouded Yellow went past. Several Red-eyed Damselflies were noted at this point which made a nice change from the myriad of Common Blues swarming over the water.

Ruddy Darter and Small Red-eyed Damselfly.

Having been moved away from the water side by a warden we went for another walk looking as we went for Willow Emeralds as this part of the res looked to have clear potential for this recent county arrival. While a couple of possibles were noted we couldn't get a confirmed sighting. No doubt however about the Migrant Hawker that perched obligingly for us and which was my first of the year. From here we headed back to Holcott Bay where our patience finally paid off.

Brown and Migrant Hawkers.

Standing with another observer Shozzer picked out a Small Red-eyed Damselfly before our target arrived. A cracking male Lesser Emperor gave great flight views as it passed in front of us patrolling along the edge of the reeds. It made several passes and showed very well though sadly it did not land which means that I got no photos of this historic event. As this was both my first county sighting and also a first for the UK I'm not going to complain.

Red Admiral.

Of the other wildlife noted today included several Kingfishers which were nice and also a small selection of butterflies that included Brimstone, Ringlet and red Admiral.

Local Wanderings

After getting a lift over to Deenethorpe Airfield I began my walk back towards Corby taking in Deene, Priors Hall and Weldon. Although there was quite a lot of cloud about during the day it did at least stay dry and I saw a few things of interest.

Wheatear.

Still plenty of brown butterflies on the wing though some of the Meadow Browns and Ringlets are beginning to look a little tatty. Gatekeepers on the other hand are still looking pretty sharp and they were one of the commoner species seen today. Other browns in the area included a Speckled Wood and several Small Heaths. Whites were fairly numerous too and I saw all three of the commoner species. Peacock numbers are certainly on the rise and I saw my first of many here. Perhaps my best butterfly was an Essex Skipper, they've not been that common this year. Only one dragon was seen and that was a Brown Hawker. Best bird was a Wheatear, in recent years I haven't seen many autumn birds so it was good to catch up with this one.

Tatty twosome, Meadow Brown and Ringlet.

At the village itself a White-legged Damselfly was the most interesting species while nearby Deene Lake inflow held a good sized flock of Lapwings. Highlight on the main part of the lake were two immature Shelducks which suggests local breeding. A quick look at the vegetation near the dam produced two male Willow Emeralds, there may well have been more but I didn't spend too much time searching.

Willow Emerald and Ruddy Darter.

Best bird at Priors Hall was a female Mandarin, this is becoming a regular site for them. Several Silver-washed Fritillaries were seen though they didn't land while a single Marbled White may prove to be my last of the year. Other butterflies added to my day list included Common Blue and Large Skipper. Not many odes about today and certainly no Willow Emeralds unfortunately but it is still early in their season. Ruddy Darters were the commonest dragon as more and more take up territory at the ponds. Plenty of Common Darters continue to emerge but they still appear to be maturing away from the water. Apart from these there were only a couple of Emperors, Common Blue and Blue-tailed Damselflies.

Marbled White, Lapwings and juvenile Wren.

Another Barnwell Monday

It was a very busy Barnwell CP that I returned to this morning as parents and grandparents had flocked there with their sprogs to enjoy a decent spell of weather. Despite the increase in noise levels and footfall I did find the odd interesting thing both here and at the nearby Princess fishing lake.

Female and male Brimstone.

Not that much to report from a bird point of view with just those Barnwell regulars, Kingfisher and Mandarins putting in an appearance. No surprises amongst the butterflies though I was pleased to see my first of the new brood of Brimstones, it's amazing to think that these butterflies might still be alive in ten or eleven months. Whilst watching some butterflies nectaring on thistles I saw a Red Admiral escape the clutches of a Hornet hunting around the flowers. Having seen in the past one pluck a wasp out of the air I'd say that admiral had a lucky escape! Good numbers of Commas and an increasing number of Peacocks joined the whites and browns observed today

Southern and Brown Hawker.

Quite a few species of dragons and damsels were found though there were few individuals of each. Commonest dragon was Brown Hawker while Banded Demoiselle was the commonest damsel. A mature female Scarce Chaser was a nice find as it's getting very late in their season, Four-spotted Chaser and Black-tailed Skimmers still have some time to run on theirs. One male Southern Hawker and a few Emperors were noted while numbers of both the darters remain low at the moment. Most are probably still maturing away from the murderous intentions of those larger dragons.

Small Red-eyed and Blue-tailed Damselflies.

I had hoped to see some Willow Emeralds but couldn't find any though it is still early in their flight season. Just one Small Red-eyed was seen though there were more of their larger relative Red-eyed as well as Common Blue and Blue-tailed. No other wildlife of interest was found today, I'd like to know where those local otters spend their summer!

Scarce Chaser.

The Second Half

For the second part of my nature spotting today (the19th) my brother David, Shozzer and I headed over to Norfolk for our annual Nightjar spotting session. We allowed a bit of time before hand to give us a chance to take a look at Titchwell.

Great White Egret and Spoonbill.

Titchwell didn't let us down and we enjoyed a decent couple of hours birding. First bird of note was a Great White Egret though it wasn't the only tall and leggy white bird on site as there were ten Spoonbills as well. The Spoonbills stayed true to their nature as most were enjoying a sleep apart from the odd preening bird or the occasional departee. We heard the pinging of several Bearded Tits but didn't manage to catch a glimpse of one.

Knots and Black-tailed Godwits.

Given the large number of waders on the reserve it was evident the tide was in as a mass of Knots joined a decent sized flock of Bar-tailed Godwits. Plenty of Black-tailed Godwits too and Dunlins while the usual mass of Avocets were also noted. Apart from these and the usual waders we found an adult Yellow-legged Gull and at least four and probably five Mediterranean Gulls.

Titchwell selection.

With the sun beginning to dip towards the horizon we set off to look for those Nightjars where we all had a spell of midge swatting as we waited. Birds began to churr at about quarter to ten and we began to see them soon after. While it wasn't their best showing it was still an enjoyable session (midges not withstanding!). As dusk gradually gave way to night we bid the Nightjars au revoir and headed back towards home.

Let the churring begin!