Signs Of Life

 So far this Spring has been far from ideal for insects and has been particularly poor for dragon and damselflies. After the chill of April we've had the monsoon of May but this morning at least seemed to offer a few more possibilities. I began at Priors Hall before taking the short stroll to Weldon. Apart from one brief and light shower I managed to avoid any rain.

Azure Damselfly, Banded Demoiselle and Large Red

Best birds at Priors Hall today were a female Cuckoo calling from the reedbed at the large pond and five drake Mandarins. A Brown Hare was the only mammal of note, one made a typically brief appearance before speeding off. During the sunnier spells a good number of Dingy Skippers were seen as well as a single Grizzled. Speckled Woods were common and other species noted included Brimstone and Orange-tip. Large Red Damselfly numbers are beginning to build and they were joined today by at least half a dozen Azure Damselflies. Hopefully a bit more decent weather will encourage other species to emerge.

Dingy Skipper and Speckled Wood.

From Priors Hall I wandered along to the stream at Weldon where I searched the vegetation for more odes. My efforts were rewarded with my first Banded Demoiselles of the season with several of each sex on view. More Azures were noted here too as well as a few more Large Reds but I couldn't find any dragons. A newly fledged Grey Wagtail was very obliging as it sat on a rock  presumably waiting for one of its parents to bring some food and there were a few tadpoles seen in the nearby pond. I'm hoping that the next week or two may bring a few Variable Damselflies out but the way this Spring is going nothing is certain!

Grey Wagtail and tadpoles

Damp Squib?

 On my extra day off today I took the bus over to Earls Barton from where I walked along the Nene to Summer Leys. My stroll was blighted to a degree by some persistent if rather light rain and a lack of much to see. One benefit that the rain did bring was a reduction in the number of people wandering about which meant that I could take shelter in the hides without neglecting any social distancing responsibilities.

Redshank and Oystercatcher

First bird of note was a male Cuckoo calling near Mill Lake where I suspect the local Reed Warblers might wish he moves on before finding a mate. A singing Cetti's Warbler was the first of several noted and there seemed to be a decent sized population of Garden Warblers too. Not too much else was seen before here and the reserve, a large flock of Swallows feeding just above the water of Hardwater Lake being the pick.

Common Tern and Chiloe Wigeon/Crested Duck hybrid

Summer Leys was rather dull, a single Common Sandpiper was the only passage wader, I had hoped that the weather might drop something more interesting in. The scrape had high water levels though this didn't appear to effect the local Redshanks as at least three pairs were showing. A single Yellow Wagtail appeared briefly adding a welcome dash of colour to the proceedings. My stroll back along the old track added a dodgy looking wigeony type duck that seemed to include at least some Chiloe in it but there was not much else. Despite the disappointing haul I was still pleased with my visit and in particular the large number of Swifts feeding over the site.

Green Woodpecker and Whitethroat

My return walk added a drake Shoveller which had appeared on Hardwater Lake in the company of two Little Egrets. Mill Lake added a nice little flourish as I passed by with up to five Hobbies hawking insects over the water. I spent almost an hour watching these dashing falcons deftly plucking small insects out of the air before transferring them from their talons to their beaks. Hopefully the weather's going to improve before too long and provide them with some more substantial fare. Having left Earls Barton behind I made a brief stop at Kettering where I was lucky enough to catch up with one of the local Peregrines.

Peregrine.

Bit Of A Breeze

 Today's weather was dominated by a very strong breeze which blew in a few showers during the morning but these happily were replaced by longer spells of sun during the afternoon. Alan Shorrock and I paid a visit to the Nene Valley where we began at the reserve at Aldwincle before carrying on to Stanwick Lakes.

Aldwincle and Stanwick

Aldwincle was fairly quiet though I did see my first county Cuckoos of the year, both a male and female were present. After yesterday's single Swift there were twenty plus feeding over the reserve and it was good to hear their screaming calls again. High water levels meant that there was little chance of seeing many waders though we managed to pick out a single Common Sandpiper which showed distantly from the hide. Not much else to report from here, any thoughts of seeing damsels or dragons were scuppered by the gale.

Egretless cattle and wader double.

One very good side effect of the less than brilliant weather was that it kept the crowds away from Stanwick! On our walk around we heard a Chiffchaff sing an interesting variation of the usual song in which it appeared to repeat each note twice, in effect it became a Chiffchiff-chaffchaff! More Swifts were seen here though a potential danger to them in the shape of a Hobby was also observed. Best birds were all noted on the main lake. My first Cattle Egret of the year made a flying visit, I'd hoped that it might be tempted to stop in amongst the cattle in front of the hide but it wasn't to be. Also noted here were a couple of Little Ringed Plovers, another Common Sandpiper and a Dunlin. Fans of dodgy record shots may well appreciate the photo of the latter! With the gale showing no signs of easing we made our excuses and left, it would be nice to have a sunny day with no showers or wind or is that too much to ask?

Tufted Ducks

Magnificent Seven

 A mainly grey and rather blustery day saw me staying in my local area where I began my day by checking on our local Ringed Plovers. I'm happy to say that the pair are still present and will have benefitted from the recent rain which has replenished the pools around their favoured area. Hopefully the warming weather will provide a reliable supply of invertebrates for them and any young that they may have.

Wheatears

Moving on from the plovers I checked Willowbrook Industrial where I was delighted to find at least seven Wheatears. The small flock made up of three males and four females were fairly obliging at times and gave me some excellent views. Several Meadow Pipits were frequenting the same area and at least one was songflighting. My walk then took me to Priors Hall where two Sedge Warblers could be heard singing in the quarry. Near the ponds a Brown Hare was noted briefly as it sped away while a distant Sparrowhawk was spotted. Other birds of interest included a drake Mandarin, Grasshopper Warbler, my first local Swift and I also had decent views of Garden Warbler. Lesser Whitethroats seem to have arrived in force as they were heard at at least three sites.

Garden Warbler and Large Red Damselfly.

This Spring has been a poor one so far for insects but there seemed to have been an emergence of damselflies this morning with at least twenty five of them being Large Reds, the others had to go unidentified. My first dragon of the year was briefly glimpsed, a Four-spotted Chaser that flew straight up when accidently disturbed and then out of sight. Pick of the butterflies were my first Dingy Skippers of the year with about half a dozen showing. Two Grizzled Skippers also put in an appearance and there was a good number of Speckled Woods around. Not much else to report though I saw another Large Red Damsel at Weldon.

Dingy and Grizzled Skipper

Reddy, Steady Go!

 I'd hoped that I might be able to get over and see the Wryneck which has been present at Borough Hill for the last few days after I finished work this afternoon. Sadly there was to be no high jynx for me as this relatively long staying goodie decided to do a bunk prompting a change of plan on my part. With a little bit of sunshine on offer I took the shorter trip  down to Weldon where I hoped once again to see a damselfly or two.

At last! Female Large Red Damselfly.

My walk along the stream failed to deliver the goods and that may well have been down to a chilly north wind blowing across the area. The area around the nearby pond was much more sheltered and i was a little more optimistic as I strolled around. Peering intently at the vegetation finally brought a reward when I sighted a female Large Red Damselfly - an overdue but very welcome sighting! I've never had to wait this long before for a first confirmed damsel or dragon of the season but this Spring has been very cold indeed. Hopefully with the weather set to warm up a tad this tardy pioneer will soon be joined by many more. Not much else to report, a Lesser Whitethroat was singing near the pond and an Orange-tip represented the best of a meagre haul of butterflies.

Male Orange-tip.

Rain

 Just a brief outing today and only as far as Priors Hall, I felt like a break after what has been a fairly busy couple of days. While I didn't see too much to report I did at least manage to avoid the forecasted rain. After what seems like a very dry April I'm sure the countryside could do with a bit of a drenching though I for my part was more than happy to avoid it!

Here be dragons...just not today sadly!

With the weather being far from insect friendly I had to concentrate my efforts on other wildlife. A Brown Hare was seen near the large pond where it did well to avoid the attentions of a Fox. Not too many interesting birds about though a Grasshopper Warbler was a welcome record. A single Sedge warbler added its voice to the many Reeds and there was a healthy sounding population of Garden Warblers. Not much was seen in the quarry though a single Little Egret was quite a rare visitor at this time of the year. On my way home through Weldon I heard a Lesser Whitethroat singing near the woodland park.

Canada Geese

While my damselfly finding attempts have been less than inspiring Alan Shorrock has met with some success finding a teneral Large Damselfly at Priors Hall yesterday. The little beggars are out there somewhere, it's just a question of finding them!

Nene Valley Travels

 My brother David and I had an early start as we headed off for a day's birding along the Nene Valley. Kicking off at Clifford Hill and moving on through Summer Leys, Ringstead and Aldwincle we enjoyed a decent day with several first for the year sightings. While it remains a little on the chilly side it stayed  dry and sunny for the most part.

Whimbrels

I don't visit Clifford Hill very often as it seems to suffer quite a lot of disturbance due to human activity but that is perhaps no surprise given how close it is to Northampton. Today there seemed to be a running race of sorts though in fairness the runners appeared to have little or no effect on the birds. Of far more concern were the idiots walking along the water's edge with their dogs off the lead. Apparently although there are signs telling people to keep those mutts on the lead it evidently does not apply to all. Despite these moronic interventions we had a good spell of birding beginning with a sighting of five Whimbrels. The birds gave good though distant views and while they were disturbed on occasion by those selfish dog walkers they did appear to remain in the area. While I was watching the Whimbrels David found both a female Wheatear and a female White Wagtail. Other species seen or heard were Lesser Whitethroats, Oystercatcher and Sand Martin.

Ruff and Hobby

Our next port of call was Summer Leys where some of the best birds were fairly distant with a Greenshank, Spotted Redshank and a drake Garganey showing on the opposite shore to Rotary Hide. The scrape produced sightings of several Ruff, at least a trio of Snipe and a few Redshanks. Two Hobbies treated us to something of a flying display as they hawked insects over the water. Other decent birds seen included my first Swift over Mary's Lake and we heard a Grasshopper Warbler reeling near the carpark. One of our highlights had to be a family of four Fox cubs being looked after by a vixen while I also saw my first Holly Blue of the year.

Foxes

Ringstead added little to the day's sightings while Aldwincle was a little dull too. At least we did see a Common Sandpiper while my brother enjoyed excellent views of a Cetti's Warbler from North Hide. Other than that there was little else to report but we couldn't complain, while this Spring is proving to be poor for insects it's been a great one for county birds.

Great Crested Grebes and G-V White