Spring butterflies

The recent stunning weather may not have brought too many migrant birds, but it has allowed me plenty of opportunities to see some of the butterflies out at the moment.

The main highlight in the last couple of weeks was a short visit to the Wildlife Trust's Ardley Quarry nature reserve just a few miles away from Brackley and just into Oxfordshire.
I I went in the hope of seeing my first Grizzled Skippers of the year and perhaps some Green Hairstreak too.

As it turned out, the Green Hairstreaks really stole the show, proving unusually easy to find. What's more of the 7 or so I saw, all of them were really fresh. A couple of them I think had in fact emerged that very morning.









One in particular was very placid and chilled, quite happy to wander onto my finger. Very cool!



I did also get to see probably around 8 Grizzled Skippers too, so a top visit!



Due to the cold start to the spring, many species such as Dingy & Grizzled Skippers and Green Hairstreak have been quite late coming out. One of my favourite local sights near the village of Croughton, usually holds a few Dingys & Grizzled, however this year they were quite late to emerge here, however thankfully, in the second half of May, I've been able to find quite a few.

There's also been an impressive supporting cast with several Small Heath, Small Coppers, Brown Argus & Common Blues too!

Dukes & Snakes

Sunday 13/05 was forecast to be a pretty decent day of weather. I was at a loose end for the day with Em away and so after a bit of a think, I decided to head to Prestbury Hill near Cheltenham. It's a stunning location, home to a nice range of butterflies and with any luck, some Adders too. My previous visit back in 2014, will certainly live long in the memory, having encountered two dancing adders which has to go down as one of the most amazing wildlife encounters!

I arrived about 10:45am, to be greeted to the sight of a cowslip laden hillside with the town of Cheltenham laid out below. What's more the sun was out!



I began wandering down to the area I knew held numbers of the beautiful Duke of Burgundy, a species that reaches it's peak around mid-May.

Other than a load of day-flying moths, I failed to track one down. Walking back along the 'Happy Valley' part of the reserve, I bumped into the Rich, someone else looking for butterflies who kindly pointed me towards 2-3 Dukes on the slopes a short way along the path. After a few minutes, I duly connected with a couple of cracking, fresh Dukes.









Having enjoyed these for a while, Rich and I went looking for Green Hairstreaks, which were more difficult to find than we anticipated. At least 2 vocal Cuckoo were about though, as well as a lovely singing Tree Pipit.

In the other side of the reserve, the mast field, we did see one briefly, as well as two clumsy Duke of Burgundy drying out, having just emerged! We also came across a Small Blue closeby, which was an added bonus.







A Dingy Skipper showed itself and Rich then departed. I carried on looking for Green Hairstreak and eventually found 2 or 3, relatively worn ones. I carried on further up the hill to look for Adders, encountering another Duke and a very fresh Small Blue.







The Adder search proved amazingly fruitful, and within 5-10 minutes, I heard one slithering through the dead leaf litter under a large stretch of bramble. With a bit of patience, I was able to get fantastic views of it, plus another closeby. One of them almost ran over my foot at one point! My highlight of a very enjoyable day out. A brilliant reserve, well worth a visit!

Devon Bank Holiday

Spent a lovely couple of days with Em down in Devon on the Sunday / Monday of the Bank Holiday (06/05 - 07/05).

There was of course time to squeeze in a little birding. Having travelled down early on Sunday, we spent much of the day around Topsham, on the Exe Estuary. I had a look at Bowling Green Marsh and the adjacent estuary watchpoint for a couple of hours.







BGM was relatively quiet, however there was a reasonable flock of waders, mostly made up of c150 Black Tailed Godwit, along with a Whimbrel, a single grey Knot and a couple of Ruff coming into summer plumage. A male Pochard was about too, as well as a 2-3 Wigeon.



The Estuary Watchpoint & the Goatwalk provided several further Whimbrel, 11 smart Grey Plover, c150 Dunlin and a late Avocet.





We stayed at a perfect Airbnb overnight just outside Exeter. The next morning, on what was another glorious, hot day, we drove 20 minutes to Yarner Wood near Bovey Tracey, on the edge of Dartmoor, for a morning walk about.



It's a stunning, unspoiled wood, with a fantastic array of woodland species, some of which I don't get to enjoy back home in the Midlands.



Five or so minutes into our walk I heard the distinctive ki-ki-ki call of a Lesser-Spotted Woodpecker and after a bit of patience, revealed itself to be a male. We watched it busy around for a while, calling frequently and drumming a couple of times too. Great start to the morning!



A short way down the path I managed to get onto the first of many Pied Flycatchers, eagerly holding territory. I ended up seeing them constantly on our two our walk with the air filled with their song.

I also came across 1-2 singing male Redstarts, (however they were of course typically elusive) and I also heard the same or a second Lesser-Spotted Woodpecker drumming constantly some distance away.

After a good 2 hours, that concluded the birding for the weekend. We then went off to enjoy the rest of the day elsewhere before heading home.

A day in the Shire

Just like last year, I decided to have a go at seeing how many bird species I could find around Northants in a day, again within the first week of May seemingly the best bet. Just like last year, I certainly didn't intend on getting up for first light or anything silly like that, however a relatively early start and late-ish finish was still the plan!

Last year, this proved to be an insane day of birding, culminating in finding a summer plumaged Black-Throated Diver and totting up an impressive 103 species! See here.

The forecast was for a scorcher of a day for Saturday 05/05. It was therefore never going to hit the dizzy heights of a year ago, however still promised to be a goodun. This year too, I had company, with Gareth coming along to enjoy the delights of the county.

We started at my local Bucknell Wood, near Silverstone for all the general woodland species. We didn't encounter anything out of the ordinary, although there were a good few Garden Warblers singing their hearts out and there were quite a few early-rising butterflies on what was a very mild and bright morning.



Next was the safe bet of Summer Leys, knowing that it should produce a good amount of species. There wasn't anything too crazy about, however as is usual here in Spring, it was a hive of activity. A couple of very smart summer plumaged Black-Tailed Godwits were about from the Pioneer Hide, as well as a couple LRP, a Shelduck & 1-2 Cuckoos, my first of the year.



Walking around the rest of reserve and around Mary's Lake it was getting really hot, with not a cloud in the sky and the temperature into the 20s. Time had flashed by and it was already lunchtime! Best birds on our walk included distant views of a 1st-summer Little Gull on Gull Island, up to 7 Hobby high overhead, a couple Egyptian Geese and a confiding Wheatear by the Feeding Station.





We hit the A45 once again and travelled further north to the Polebrook area, near Oundle. We had no luck in finding any Nightingales - presumably due to the heat of the day, but we did hear a rather hoarse-sounding Cuckoo! We drove around the local farmland in the optimistic hope of finding some Northants Dotterel. To be honest most fields were heavily vegetated and any that looked vaguely promising were just into Cambridgeshire! In fact the best birds we did see on this drive were some 500m or so into Cambridgeshire as Gareth picked out a singing Corn Bunting and we had some nice views of a few Yellow Wagtails too. A worthwhile stoppage!





We decided, having missed out on Nightingale so far, we would head to Thrapston as I knew there was at least one singing bird there. It was also a great little area for birds and there was always a small chance that the previous day's Wryneck may re-emerge!

Just like everywhere else on the day, Thrapston was alive with warblers, particularly Garden Warblers - presumably there had been quite a push of them overnight.



We passed the sailing club and soon approached the footbridge over the river. We we were soon hearing a Nightingale in full song...fantastic! It sounded like it was the other side of the river, however having crossed the footbridge, we realised it was back on the other side...and what's more, it was sat right on top of a Hawthorn bush. Crikey!



I purposefully made my way back across the bridge, hoping I may get close enough for a decent photo and to actually appreciate one in full view for once! What I didn't anticipate as I slowly crept towards it, is that it didn't move and soon I was stood right under it! The most insane views of a singing Nightingale ever!!

It was nice strolling around in the evening sun here, enjoying another Cuckoo in full voice, as well as some Reed Warblers nest building close to one of the hides. A Common Sandpiper also appeared for a short while too on Aldwinckle Lake. We then departed, again having a quick peek at Summer Leys on the way back, adding a late male Goldeneye and a Black Swan of all things, to the day total which closed at not a terrible, however fairly meagre 83! Still, a great day out in the lovely hot sun, with top company to boot!