A pretty quiet day at the usual haunts by comparison! I began at Napton Reservoir but no sign of the recent
Redstarts during my visit. A
Sedge Warbler was singing in the reedbeds and a
Lesser Whitethroat over on the sheep field but they were the only species of note other than the now established Warblers.
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One of the many Jays at Brandon Marsh |
Next Brandon Marsh and despite trolling most of the reserve over a few hours the only new addition to my Brandon list was a
Common Tern.
Cuckoo heard and a
Lesser Whitethroat was singing near the Sheepfield gate, the lack of
Common Whitethroat on the reserve, normally well established by now, is a worry! What did save the day were the butterflies, with several on the wing in the relatively warm conditions. However, you had to find the sheltered areas, with the persistent easterlies dropping the temperature and blowing directly into East Marsh Hide.
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Large White in Horsetail Glade |
Species recorded: (2)
Orange Tip, (1)
Large White, (6)
Small Tortoiseshell, (4)
Brimstone and (5)
Peacock.
A stop at Stockton Cutting on route home in search of more butterflies was a little disappointing, with the cold easterly whistling right through the cutting. Best I managed were a couple of
Brimstone.