Wednesday, May 01, 2019

πŸ“– #20/2019 ~ April End

Since arriving back from Scotland last Thursday, where spring seems at least 3 weeks behind the Midlands, the final week of April was spent back on the patch and of course at Brandon Marsh for more hedge-bashing. With the exception of Storm Hannah on the 27th, the weather since returning has been a mixture of sunshine and cloud with chilly mornings and warm afternoons.

1st Whitethroat of the year for me at Brandon Marsh on the 26th
After my first visit to Brandon on the 26th, I'd notched up no less than (8) year firsts: Whitethroat, Lesser Whitethroat, Reed Warbler, Garden Warbler, Grasshopper Warbler, Cuckoo, Hobby and even a Swift! Add to the list Willow Warbler, Chiffchaff, Blackcap, Swallow, House Martin, Sand Martin and Little-ringed Plover and I think I'm pretty much up to speed with all the regular summer visitors having now been recorded.

Lesser Whitethroat ~ Regular breeding birds at the marina

Common Whitethroat ~ Another regular around the marina grounds
Closer to home Whitethroats, Lesser Whitethroats and Reed Warblers, regular breeders at the marina are back, the latter already starting to drive some of the other boat owners to despair, as they tend to sing quite often well into the night!

Female Ring Ouzel at Newnham Hill, Northants
On the 29th a Ring Ouzel was reported just a short distance from the marina and so a drive across counties early evening into Northants quickly produced a female bird at Newnham Hill. There was plenty of debate as to the sex of this particular individual and an excellent piece relating to this can be found HERE on 'Northants Birds'.

Green Hairstreak ~ Stockton Cutting
On the 30th I visited Stockton Cutting for the first time this year. The temperature had risen a little in the afternoon and with sunny periods I was interested to see what butterflies could be found. I was rewarded with a good selection, despite the chilly wind and these included Green Hairstreak and both Dingy and Grizzled Skipper but a little too early for any Small Blues. Others noted: Small tortoiseshellRed Admiral, Brimstone, Green-veined White and Orange Tip.

More Images of the last few days....

Sedge Warbler ~ Brandon Marsh

Tiger Green Beetle ~ Stockton Cutting
Grizzled Skipper ~ Stockton Cutting

Dingy Skipper ~ Stockton Cutting