Hazy Days Of Summer

 An after work stroll didn't quite live up to expectation as the anticipated sunshine was fairly hazy and not as bright as I'd of liked. The conditions seemed to have been caused by dust from the Sahara but having seen on the telly the torrential rain in south east Europe I suppose it could have been worse!

Peregrine and Red Kite

I began by checking on my local Peregrines and was rewarded by views of the two adults. In recent visits I'd only seen one of the pair and had some concerns about the other, it's good to have any fears allayed. Neighbouring Brookfield didn't have many birds on show though I did catch up with a Marsh Tit. Dragonflies were represented by Ruddy and Common Darters as well as Migrant Hawkers. Not for the first time I was surrounded by many of the latter as they hawked insects close to the ground. Their precision manoeuvres and deft flying skills are always entertaining but seeing the hazy sunshine glinting on gossamer wings added beauty to the spectacle. Butterfly numbers are a shadow of their July boomtime and several Speckled Woods, a pair of Small Whites and a knackered looking Common Blue provided a meagre haul.

Ruddy and Common Darters

Willowbrook Industrial Estate did not add much to the day's tally, some further views of Common Darter and some roosting Small Heaths were the only things of note. Rather disturbingly it looks as if yet more of the land off Cockerell Road may be about to be developed, our council really seems to have an aversion to green spaces.  

Speckled Wood and Small Heath

A Taste Of India?

 The weather guessers on the tele seem to think that next week is going to be something of an Indian Summer and today was certainly warm and sunny. I headed off to Willowbrook Industrial Estate this morning before continuing on to Priors Hall. Nothing too spectacular to report but some good birds, a selection of butterflies and a few odes made for an enjoyable day.

Small Tortoiseshell, Whinchat and Migrant Hawker

My walk began at the A43 pond where an adult Dabchick feeding a youngster was the highlight. At Willowbrook a couple of Red Admirals and a Small Tortoiseshell were active in the morning sunshine. More species began to appear as my stroll continued with Small Heaths being the commonest. Other butterflies in the area included two tatty looking Brown Argus, a few Small Whites and one Green-veined White. At the pond a male Emperor was patrolling and there were a few Migrant Hawkers too. Plenty of Common Darters, many of them females, were active around the site. What might have been last week's Whinchat was noted in much the same area though on this occasion it had been joined by a second bird. Once again they were too distant for good pics though I grabbed a few record shots.

Yellow-legged Gulls

After drawing a blank last week I decided to skip the gullets at Priors Hall and spent most of my time around the ponds. The quarry lake had a goodly sized group of gulls present and I managed to pick out a juvenile and adult Yellow-legged Gull in amongst them. At he ponds my first Siskins of the year flew over and I also saw a Kingfisher. My butterfly list grew a little as I added Common Blue, Speckled Woods and a Brimstone to it, in all I saw ten species. Not to be outdone my dragonfly list expanded a bit too with a Brown Hawker and plenty of Ruddy Darters being joined by a Banded Demoiselle, some Common Blues and half a dozen Willow Emeralds. For the first time I noticed the latter species on both the reed fringed pond and its smaller neighbour, after several years of checking it was about time too! With time drawing on and the day getting hotter I set off back to Weldon where a couple of pints went down very well before I caught my bus.

Common Blue, Brimstone and Willow Emerald

Sunny Frampton

 Alan Shorrock and I popped over to Frampton today for a spot of birding. With an easterly breeze and some warm and sunny conditions we were hopeful of seeing some decent waders. A Pectoral Sandpiper which had been present here for the last couple of days eluded us but we still managed to catch up with some interesting stuff.

Wheatear and Little Stint

Initially things were somewhat slow and it took some time before we began to catch up with some good stuff. An unseasonal Whooper Swan on the main lake aside we had to wait until we reached the sea wall before things began to pick up. A distant Peregrine provided a first glimmer of hope and then a sighting of some Yellow Wagtails added a bit more interest. Next up were a couple of Little Stints which showed distantly, a cracking Whinchat was a little closer but my attempts to photograph it were feeble. Not that far away from the chat there were two Wheatears which proved to be a little more approachable.

Curlew Sandpiper and Dunlins

From the East Hide we were treated to further views of Little Stints and also at least half a dozen Curlew Sandpipers. The sandpipers were difficult to see as they often fed behind cover but during a half an hour vigil we did get some good views. Other waders on the reserve included plenty of Dunlins, a few Knot and lots of Black-tailed Godwits and there was a smattering of Ruff and Ringed Plovers too. Of the other birds at least 29 Spoonbills were perhaps the most interesting even though they're regular at Frampton now. Other wildlife seemed few and far between with nothing beyond the norm to report.

Spoonbills and Whooper Swan

Winning Start

 Quite a cool start this morning with plenty of clouds and a stiff breeze to contend with. I took a local stroll around Willowbrook Industrial Estate and Priors Hall enjoying a reasonable if not spectacular day.

Small White and Small Heath

Not surprisingly given the conditions insects proved to be a little hard to find. My first butterfly of the day, a Small White, flew into a spider's web and I watched on fascinated as the occupant set about the grim business of despatching and then trussing up its victim. A Small Heath was flushed out of cover and fluttered off in search of more shelter. Speckled Woods were the only butterflies that seemed able to cope with the conditions and there were quite a few on the wing here and around the ponds at Priors Hall. At this time of the year I always hope to catch up with migrant birds and today I managed to find a Whinchat. It was always distant but I managed a few record shots before it dropped down into cover. The arrival of some motorbikes made the decision to move on an easy one and I made my way to the neighbouring Priors Hall.

Whinchat

Neither of the gullets at Priors Hall produced anything of note and I walked on to the ponds. A few sunny spells interspersed with some showers were beginning to develop though I still managed to find a few more insects despite the rain. A Redpoll was the only bird of note seen during this part of my walk, I'd hoped to catch up with more migrants but it wasn't to be. Some Common Blue butterflies were noted and there were at least two Red Admirals too. One Six-spotted Burnet was found, it doesn't seem to have been one of their better years. On the ode front a female Emerald was the highlight, other damsels included a Blue-tailed and a few Common Blues. Commonest dragonfly was Ruddy Darter with half a dozen on show. Other dragons were Common Darter, Emperor, Migrant Hawker and a Black-tailed Skimmer. A lunch appointment with my wife was reason enough to leave earlier than normal and I made my way to Weldon to catch the bus home.

Emerald, Ruddy Darter and Rabbit

Migrant Makes The Morning

 I was having a pre work and post shopping trip sit in the garden when I was distracted by the arrival of a Hummingbird Hawkmoth popping in for a sip of nectar. Attracted as usual to the Buddleia flowers it hung around long enough for me to grab some photos. This is the second one to call by but I didn't have my camera to hand for the first one. A scarce but regular migrant from the Med it's always a pleasure when our paths cross. makes even the prospect of work a little less dreary!

A Dip At Pitsford

 Sunday's crew reunited for a visit to Pitsford Reservoir where the targets were any of the Lesser Emperors that have been reported recently. When we first arrived we were greeted by cloudy skies and even a light rain shower - far from promising weather for would be dragonfly spotters! Happily the weather picked up and we were treated to long spells of unbroken sunshine, unhappily we were not treated to any views of Lesser Emperors.

Emperor, Migrant Hawker and Black-tailed Skimmer

Our hike to the Birdclub Hide produced sightings of Common and Ruddy Darters and also a Black-tailed Skimmer while damsels included plenty of Common Blues and a female Banded Demoiselle. Best butterfly was a Small Heath, we didn't see any birds of interest. Our Lesser Emperorless vigil from the hide did add Emperors and Migrant Hawkers to the day list and also Small Red-eyed Damselflies while two Great White Egrets provided the avian highlight. After a couple of hours we threw in the towel and made our way back towards the causeway. On the way Phil found a Small Copper and we also saw a couple of tatty looking Common Blues of the butterfly variety.

Small Heath, Small Copper and Common Blue.

We spent some time on the bank near the moored fishing boats with no success before moving to Goosander Hide. Not much to add from here other than a Brown Hawker and we left soon after. Red Admirals, Commas and a Peacock were nectaring on buddleia next to the car park and they were the last things of interest that we saw before heading back to Corby.

Red Admiral

Sussex Gives Me The Blues

 Last week's A-team of butterfly twitchers set off once again this morning as Phil, Alan and I headed south to West Sussex in search of Long-tailed Blues. There had been quite a few encouraging reports coming out of Lancing Ring near Shoreham and with the weather looking promising we decided to roll the dice. Things worked out in our favour, a hassle free journey down the M1 and the M25 providing the perfect start. Sunny skies met us on our arrival and we set out with grounds for optimism.

Wall Browns

It did not take too long for things to kick off with several Wall Browns a very welcome sight indeed. I'm old enough to remember seeing them in Northants but they've been gone from us for far too long. On our way to the spot where the blues had been reported we met two fellas that had some positive news to share, they had seen at least one Long-tailed already. We checked the area where the butterfly had been seen with no result though two other lepers reported having seen one too. In a spot sheltered from the breeze a Long-tailed Blue was seen flitting around but was constantly drawn into conflict with another. At first it didn't look as if they would settle and so I amused myself by going off to look at a Brown Hairstreak that someone had found close by. After enjoying some good views I returned to the area where the LTB's were performing and settled in for a potentially long wait.

Brown Hairstreak

Our wait actually proved to be a short one as a male appeared and then delighted us all by settling down on a grass stem. For the next quarter hour we were treated to great views of him, he occasionally rose up to fight off interlopers but always returned to the same area. Eventually we decided that it was time to move on towards an area of open country nearby. Luck seemed to be on our side as shortly after we found another territorial LTB that had adopted a patch of nettles as his territory. This scruffier individual jostled with at least one other Long-tailed as well as a few passing Holly Blues and we had some great views. The breeze was too strong to enjoy the open area and so we decided to head back to the car. In all five Long-tailed Blues were seen and they were a new UK species for all of us. A celebratory pint was called for in a local pub and after a good lunch we began the journey home. 

Long-tailed Blues