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.
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| 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.
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| Lesser Whitethroat ~ Regular breeding birds at the marina |
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| 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!
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| 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'.
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| 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: S
mall tortoiseshell,
Red Admiral,
Brimstone,
Green-veined White and
Orange Tip.
More Images of the last few days....
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| Sedge Warbler ~ Brandon Marsh |
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| Tiger Green Beetle ~ Stockton Cutting |
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| Grizzled Skipper ~ Stockton Cutting |
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| Dingy Skipper ~ Stockton Cutting |
