An evening at Stanford Reservoir, Leicestershire/Northamptonshire - June 29, 2017

David had visited Stanford Reservoir this morning and had a Grasshopper Warbler singing and so Roger and I decided we would pay an evening visit.

We had driven through some heavy drizzle on route but it was dry when we arrived and remained so for the whole visit.  After parking we scanned the inlet but like my last visit there were just Lapwing, Black-headed Gull and Carrion Crow on the mud.  A Little Egret flew in and landed in the mouth of the stream and there were good numbers of hirundine over the water that included Sand Martin, Swallow and House Martin.

We set off along the path on the Leicestershire bank and walked as far as the style and then stopped to view the reservoir.  We hadn’t seen too much as we had walked out with a single Whitethroat being the best.  We spent quite some time scanning the reservoir and eventually found an Oystercatcher on the Northamptonshire bank, four Little Ringed Plovers on the islands and a Green Sandpiper on the Leicestershire side towards the dam.  There were even more hirundines over the water and a good number of Swift were feeding over the trees on the Northamptonshire side where a Blackcap could be heard.

We went back to where we thought David had seen the Grasshopper Warbler this morning, where we had a Chiffchaff, another Whitethroat and at least two Sedge Warbler.  We spent quite some time there but there was no sign of the hoped for Grasshopper Warbler.  It was after 09:00 and with the light not good we decided to call it a day and started to walk back to the car.  As we walked back I heard the Grasshopper Warbler but wasn’t sure where it was and so we returned to our original position but there was no sign and I began to wonder if I did hear it.  As we made our way back again I heard it again and realised it was further along the path and so moved towards the car park.  It continued singing but appeared to be moving and we finished back where we had spent most of the time looking for it.  It had moved several hundred yards, which I thought was a bit unusual for a Grasshopper Warbler but having reached the original area it didn’t really move any further but continued singing intermittently.  My hearing isn’t what it used to be and I was having difficulty knowing where it was with Roger not hearing it at all.  We then spent quite some time scanning the bushes without any success, although I was certain I saw it on one occasion but only very briefly.  Whilst we were trying to locate the Grasshopper Warbler we heard a Tawny Owl call on several occasions from the wood to our left.

With the light now fading fast we made our way back to the car and left at around 21:40.

An afternoon in Leicestershire - June 27, 2017

With no sign of the forecast rain I decided to visit Stanford Reservoir hoping it wouldn’t arrive.  Stanford is only about a twenty minutes’ drive from home and I arrived and parked in the car park around 14:15 and then walked along the Leicestershire side.

Water is now being pumped in as well as flowing in from the stream but there was still plenty of mud near the inlet.  There was a single Little Egret in the mouth of the stream and there were plenty of bids on the mud but I could only find Lapwing, Black-headed Gull and Carrion Crow, which was a bit disappointing.

I continued walk along the Leicestershire path and was surprised to see quite a few Ringlet but only one Meadow Brown.  I stopped at several viewpoints to view the reservoir but hadn’t seen a great deal else as I neared the gate half-way along the path.  I stopped here as I had a good view into Blowers Lodge Bay where I found a couple of Shelduck with at least two young and I also an Oystercatcher on the Northamptonshire shoreline.  There was some island formed by the rising water and I dropped down onto the shore to get a better view.  I found three female Mallards escorting broods of young, two with ten and one with six young but initially didn’t see much else.  I then noticed a bird at the far end of the biggest island, which turned out to be a Greenshank and I then found four Little Ringed Plovers closer to me.

I had heard Chiffchaff, Willow Warbler, Blackcap, Sedge Warbler and Reed Warbler as I had walked out and could hear a Garden Warbler singing whilst I was on the shore.  As I started to walk back I found a Garden Warbler feeding a young bird and then saw a Chiffchaff, two Whitethroats and a Sedge Warbler in the same area and a Hobby flew over.  I stopped to view an area I had scanned on the way out and found three Green Sandpipers feeding along the shore.

I didn’t see a great deal else as I continued back but did add Large Skipper to the day’s butterfly list.  I went over the road to view the area near the sluice gate where I found two moths a Clouded Border and a Barred Straw.

With still some time on my hands I called at the lake in Great Glen where I had brief views of a Kingfisher and heard both Chiffchaff and Blackcap before heading off home.

A morning at East Leake, Nottinghamshire - June 27, 2017

With up to seven Bee-eaters being reported at East Leake yesterday but with five flying off during the evening we decided to wait for news before going.  David then called me just after 07:00 to say that three at least were still present and so David, Malcolm and I left my house at 07:45 and after picking up Roger headed for East Leake.

Car parking had been arranged on site at £5 a car and after parking we walked along the road to the bridal path to view the birds.  As we walked along the path other birders informed us that there were six still present and as we arrived we saw one through another birders scope.  We set up our scopes and over the next two-and-half hours saw at least four birds but there could easily have been more as they weren’t always visible and we only saw four at any one time.  It was quite remarkable at how successful they were in catching insects with their success rate being close to 100%.  We also had a pair mating and hopefully they might well breed and they have also been seen to fly into Leicestershire and we might yet get them on our county list, although they didn’t stray too far from the tree during our visit.

Bee-eaters

Bee-eaters

Bee-eater

Bee-eater

Whilst on site we saw distant Buzzards, a single Swift, a Green Woodpecker, two Raven, circa fifty Sand Martin and at least two Yellow Wagtail and heard a Chiffchaff and a Whitethroat.

An early morning in Wigston Magna, Leicestershire - June 25, 2017

The weather wasn’t too promising last night but I did put the trap out and caught and identified ninety-three moths covering thirty-five species, three of which were new for the year.

The following were recorded: Ermine species [1]; Red-barred Tortrix [1]; Light Brown Apple Moth [2]; Celypha Striana [2]; Celypha lacunana [1]; Leopard Moth [1]; Small Magpie [2]; Eudonia mercurella [2]; Chrysoteuchia culmella [5]; Crambus pascuella [6]; Crambus perlella [1]; Agriphila starminella [3]; Privet hawk-moth [1]; Riband Wave [18]; Small Blood-vein [1]; Garden Carpet [1]; July Highflier [1]; Foxglove Pug [2]; Lime-speck Pug [1]; Freyer’s Pug [1]; Willow Beauty [1]; Buff-tip [1]; The Snout [1]; Buff Ermine [1]; Common Footman [12]; The Coronet [1]; The Uncertain [7]; Marbled Minor species [2]; Bright-line Brown-eye [3]; Heart and Dart [4]; Heart and Club [2]; The Flame [1]; Ingrailed Clay [1] and Large Yellow Underwing [3].

July Highflier

Small Blood-vein

A day in Lincolnshire & Rutland - June 24, 2017

After the recent heatwave, it was now much more pleasant with fresher winds and lower temperatures.  It was quiet on the bird front and after some discussion David, Roger and I thought are best options was to go to Frampton Marsh, where there were at least a few waders and a couple of Spoonbills.

We left David’s and headed towards Stanford and then onto Spalding and arriving at Frampton marsh just before 09:00.  We had seen a Buzzard near Great Glen and a Red Kite at Tallington but not a lot else.

We drove down to the car park near the sea wall and began scanning the marshes both to the south and the north.  There were far more birds to the north, including good numbers of Avocet and Redshank, a single summer-plumaged Ruff and 100+ Black-tailed Godwit.  To the north there were smaller numbers of both Avocet and Redshank and a single Little Ringed Plover and another summer-plumage Ruff.

Having not found yesterday’s Spotted Redshank or Greenshank we walked to the sea wall and then north-east along the wall. We continued scanning the area but generally saw more of the same but did find two Barnacle Geese, a single Brent Goose and a Ringed Plover and there was a Red Kite over the saltmarsh.  David had gone on ahead and called to say there were two Spoonbills beyond the East Hide but Roger and I couldn’t see them and so joined David, when they became obvious but distant.

David had gone ahead of Roger and I again and when we joined him East Hide, he hadn’t seen much else and was trying to get photos of the Spoonbills, which was doing what they do best, which is sleeping.  We spent quite some time in the hide but the Spoonbills remained asleep as did a nearby Whooper Swan.  David and Roger then left the hide to look for a couple of Red-crested Pochard that were apparently visible further along the path back towards the visitor’s centre.

Spoonbills

Lesser Black-backed Gull

Lesser Black-backed Gull being harassed by a Black-headed Gull

After about ten minutes with still no sign of either the Spoonbills or Whooper Swan moving I followed David and Roger.  When I reached the end of the path leading to the hide there were a couple photographing a moth.  I though it looked a bit like a Mullein but having seen only one, wasn’t at all certain but my app suggested that it might be, although there were a couple of other potential species.

After taking a few shots of the moth, I walked on and found Roger looking across the marsh and indicating he had found a Spotted Redshank.  He gave me directions from the two Red-crested Pochard and there was a rather superb adult Spotted Redshank feeding just out from a spit.  Roger went to find David and whilst he was away a second bird appeared before they both disappeared behind an island.  When David and then Roger returned they still hadn’t reappeared but it wasn’t too long before we found them again and this time well to the left where they had been originally.  There was also a pair of Little Ringed Plovers with four tiny young and a Ruff and David found a Pintail.

We eventually continued around the circuit towards Reedbed Hide when we saw a Dunlin and a Snipe in flight and there was a first-summer Common Tern amongst small party of adults.  We entered Reedbed Hide and found the two Barnacle Geese bathing on the edge of one of the islands and another Ruff further back on the lagoon.

Barnacle Geese

Barnacle Goose

Female Pochard

As we were walking back towards the sea wall there was some disturbance with almost everything getting up, including the two Spoonbills.  Scanning the area, we found a Red Kite over the marsh but it then moved off south.  The Spoonbills continued flying towards and I eventually got some shots before they flew back to the north.

Spoonbills

Spoonbills

Immature Spoonbill

Immature Spoonbill

Immature Spoonbill

We drove to the main car park for lunch and then went into the visitor’s centre where we found the other birder that had photographed the as yet unidentified moth discussing it with one of the wardens and we eventually agreed that it was a Star-wort.

Star-wort

Having discussed several options for the afternoon we felt Blood Oaks Quarry would be the best place to go and set off back towards Stamford seeing several Kestrel on route.  Having reached Stamford, we had to do a detour through the town as there was a pageant through the streets.  We eventually got back on track for Bloody Oaks Quarry and arrived just before 14:30.

We walked through the gate into this small reserve and found a good number of Marbled Whites as we progressed down the track and then several Dark-green Fritillaries, particularly on the top section.  There were three Small Tortoiseshells on area where cuttings are placed and there were also plenty of Ringlets but we only saw a couple of Meadow Browns.  Further along the track we found at least four Large Skippers, a Common Blue and a Comma.  Normally we find a few of day flying moths at this site but today we saw just two Narrow-bordered Five-spot Burnets and a single Nettle Tap.

Marbled White

Dark-green Fritillary

Comma

Large Skipper

Nettle Tap

Marbled White

Marbled Whites

Marbled Whites

Clustered Bellflower

Common Centaury

Pyramidal Orchid

A day in Leicestershire & Rutland - June 22, 2017

The forecast for today was a cooler with a fresher feel than of late and with little bird news David and I decided to go to Rutland Water.  It was just after 09:00 when we left David’s and headed for Rutland Water seeing a Buzzard between Great Glen and Gaulby, a Red Kite near Wardley and two Kestrels between Uppingham and Oakham.

There was another Red Kite over the Manton junction and when we arrived in the car park at Egleton there were just a few cars.  As we walked towards the centre we checked out the Spotted Flycatchers and saw one of the adults leave the nest and we could then see three rather well-grown young in the nest.

We checked the book in the centre but there was very little for yesterday and so we went towards the southern lagoons, hoping that a Great White Egret reported on Lagoon Eight several times recently would still be there.  We hadn’t seen a great deal when we reached the ramp to the 360 Hide and on viewing Lagoon Eight from there we had brief views of what we thought was the Great White Egret but it disappeared behind and island.  We felt our best option to see it well was to go to Kingfisher Hide on Lagoon Eight but as we reached the gate in the north-east corner of the lagoon David saw it fly off towards Heron’s Bay.  I got the bins on it as it dropped out of sight I then realised that a second bird was following it.

We continued along the path to Heron Hide but there was no sign of either of the Great White Egrets in Heron Bay.  We could see both Ospreys near the nest in Manton Bay and there were three Common Terns flying over the water.  Closer there was a rather smart adult Yellow-legged Gull and David found a couple of Blackcaps and a Sedge Warbler just outside the hide but I only managed to see one of the Blackcap and hear the Sedge Warbler.  Two Little Egrets were observed but with no sign of the Great White Egrets we moved to Kingfisher Hide to get a better view of Lagoon Eight.  There was still no sign of the egrets and so we went back to the 360 Hide.

I saw four Oystercatcher flying over Lagoon Eight as I started to go down the path to the hide and on reaching the ramp, one of the Great White Egrets and two Little Egrets were back on Lagoon Eight.  There was another Oystercatcher on Lagoon Five and seven Little Egrets but with little else we returned to the car park for lunch, making a brief visit to Snipe Hide where we found yet another Little Egret.

After seeing a Hobby whilst having lunch we headed to Normanton as Steve had warned me that my car park pass wouldn’t work and I needed to get in reprogrammed at the fishing lodge.  When we arrived at the entrance there was a sign indicating the there was a problem and so I took a ticket and went to the fishing lodge.  I should have read the notice as the problem wasn’t effecting all passes and mine was ok and I had to be issued with a ticket to get out.

Steve had seen three drake Mandarin and a female with three young on his Tuesday visit and so we looked around the harbour but there was no sign.  We then walked the short distance to view the area between the harbour and the church and found the female on the bank with three young and another bird in the water that was probably a male in eclipse.

After returning to Egleton we went to the northern lagoons but we hadn’t seen anything of note as we entered Sandpiper Hide to view Lagoon Four.  As we scanned the lagoon we found three Shelduck, including a pair with four young, two Oystercatcher, four Little Ringed Plover, a Ringed Plover and four Redshank.  There were also a couple of Little Egrets, at least two Yellow-legged Gulls and at least twelve Common Terns and three Reed Warblers were observed briefly just in front of the hide.

We eventually moved onto Shoveler Hide on Lagoon Three seeing a Sedge Warbler briefly as we approached the hide.  I was surprised to find that the water level hadn’t dropped much, despite the recent hot weather and did wonder if water had been pumped into the reservoir, which is a little unusual at this time of the year.  Of note, there was a Shelduck with one young, three Pochard and a Little Grebe.

We called in Redshank Hide on Lagoon Two but saw very little and a further visit to the centre produced nothing new.

Whilst on the reserve we had seen a few insects that included a few Ringlet, Meadow Brown, Speckled Wood and a single Large Skipper.  There were also plenty of Common Blue Damselflies, with smaller numbers of Blue-tailed Damselflies and at least three Emerald Damselflies, along with a single Brown Hawker and two Ruddy Darter.  Five species of moth were also seen and identified that included a White Plume that was a county-lifer.  Others were Anthophila fabriciana, Pseudargyrotoza conwagana, Celypha lacunana and a Silver Ground Carpet.

We made a brief visit to Eyebrook Reservoir on the way home where there was now a small area of mud but the only waders we saw were Lapwings.  There were five Little Egrets on the mud and eleven Common Terns were observed over the water.  There was quite a bit of song at the bridge that included a Willow Warbler, two Blackcaps and a Lesser Whitethroat, which we saw several times and a Whitethroat was calling.

An early morning in Wigston Magna, Leicestershire - June 22, 2017

There was a severe weather warnings in place for tonight but the local forecasts suggested there wouldn’t be any rain and so I took a chance and put the trap out.  It turned out to be a good decision as it remained dry and warm and I trapped and identified 209 moths.  There were sixty-two species with nine being new for the year of which two were lifers and another new for the garden.  The lifers were Marasmarcha lunaedactyla (Crescent Plume) and Catoptria pinella and Sandy Carpet was new for the garden.

The following were recorded: Bird-cherry Ermine [1]; Brown House-moth [1]; Marasmarcha lunaedactyla [1]; Red-barred Tortrix [4]; Light Brown Apple Moth [4]; Green Oak Tortrix [1]; Pseudargrotoza conwagana [1]; Agapeta hamana [3]; Marbled Orchard Tortrix [1]; Celypha striana [1]; Celypha lacunana [1]; Notocelia trimaculana [1]; Codling Moth [2]; Bee Moth [1]; Phycitodes binaevella [1]; Gold Triangle [1]; Hypsopygia glaucinalis [1]; Small Magpie [9]; Eudonia mercurella [4]; Chrysoteuchia culmella [6]; Crambus pascuella [14]; Agriphila straminella [10]; Catoptria pinella [1]; Lime Hawkmoth [1]; Privet Hawkmoth [1]; Elephant Hawkmoth [16]; Riband Wave [22]; Barred Yellow [1]; Sandy Carpet [1]; Brimstone Moth [2]; Swallow-tailed Moth [4]; Willow Beauty [3]; Clouded Silver [2]; Common Emerald [3]; Buff-tip [1]; Straw Dot [3]; Buff Ermine [1]; Common Footman [14]; The Fan-foot [4]; Beautiful Hook-tip [1]; The Spectacle [1]; Silver Y [1]; Dagger species [1]; The Sycamore [3]; The Miller [1]; Poplar Grey [1]; The Coronet [10]; Marbled Beauty [3]; The Uncertain [6]; Rustic Shoulder-knot [1]; Dark Arches [3]; Marbled Minor Group [3]; Middle-barred Minor [2]; Bright-line Brown-eye [3]; Common Wainscot [1]; Heart and Dart [6]; The Flame [4]; Flame Shoulder [1]; Large Yellow Underwing [5]; Lesser Yellow Underwing [1]; Square-spot Rustic [1] and Setaceous Hebrew Character [1].

Catoptria pinella

Gold Triangle

Marasmarcha lunaedactyla

Sandy Carpet

Buff-tip

Common Wainscot

Lesser Yellow Underwing

Poplar Grey

An early morning in Wigston Magna, Leicestershire - June 21, 2017

It was a little cooler last and consequently there were few moths with just 131 trapped and identified, covering forty-six species and just seven new for the year, one of which, Homoeosoma sunuella, was a lifer.

The following were recorded: Blastobasis lacticolella [1]; Dark Fruit-tree Tortrix [1]; Light Brown Apple Moth [1]; Green Oak Tortrix [4]; Aleimma loeflingiana [1]; Pseudargrotoza conwagana [1]; Celypha striana [9]; Celypha lacunana [1]; Notocelia trimaculana [1]; Bee Moth [2]; Homoeosoma sinuella [2]; Phycitodes binaevella [1]; Small Magpie [1]; Eudonia mercurella [2]; Chrysoteuchia culmella [6]; Crambus pascuella [8]; Agriphila straminella [4]; Brown China-mark [1]; Eyed Hawkmoth [1]; Poplar Hawkmoth [1]; Elephant Hawkmoth [1]; Riband Wave [13]; Garden Carpet [1]; Small Rivulet [1]; Common Pug [2]; Clouded Border [1]; Willow Beauty [5]; Clouded Silver [2]; Light Emerald [1]; Common Emerald [1]; Pale Prominent [1]; The Snout [3]; Buff Ermine [3]; Common Footman [8]; The Fan-foot [1]; Marbled White Spot [1]; The Coronet [2]; The Uncertain [3]; Dark Arches [4]; Marbled Minor Group [7]; Bright-line Brown-eye [3]; Dot Moth [1]; Heart and Dart  [3]; Heart and Club [1]; The Flame [5] and Large Yellow Underwing [4].

Aleimma loeflingiana

Homoeosoma sinuella

Marbled White Spot

Brown China Mark

Clouded Border

Pale Prominent

An afternoon in north-west Leicestershire - June 20, 2017

David and I made a trip to Rough Hill in Charnwood where we were hoping to find The Forester moth.  The forecast was for sunny periods but when we arrived it was overcast but warm.   We weren’t sure exactly where to go but Andy Mackay was able to send us a map, which gave us precise directions and after a short walk we were in the right meadow.  We had seen quite a few Ringlets and a few Meadow Browns as we walked to the meadow and we found more when we reached the meadow.

It was a lovely wild meadow where we also found a single Small Tortoiseshell and several Burnet moths flying around.  I managed to photograph one of the burnets, which was a Six-spot Burnet and presumably they were all of that species.  We walked along a narrow path thorough the meadow several times with no sign of a Forester and with still no sign of the sun we thought we were going to be unlucky.  David then said he thought he had one and sure enough there was a single Forester feeding on some clover but it was in poor conditions with wings very worn, but at least we had found one.

During our stay, we saw at least three Buzzards, a Kestrel and two Lesser Black-backed Gulls and heard Jay, Chiffchaff, Blackcap and Nuthatch.

Needless to say, when we got back to the car the sun appeared and remained out for the rest of the afternoon.

The Forester

Six-spot Burnet

Small Tortoiseshell

Ringlet

An early morning in Wigston Magna, Leicestershire - June 20, 2017

There were 237 moths trapped and identified last night, covering sixty-eight species with fourteen new for the year of which three were new for the garden.  The moths new for the garden were Nemophora degeerella, Chequered Fruit-tree Tortrix and Wax Moth.

The following were recorded: Nemophora degeerella [1];Argyresthia bonnetella [1]; Crassa unitella [1]; Chequered Fruit-tree Tortrix [2]; Light Brown Apple Moth [1]; Green Oak Tortrix [27]; Pseudargrotoza conwagana [3]; Agapeta hamana [7]; Marbled Orchard Tortrix [1]; Celypha striana [5]; Celypha lacunana [1]; Codling Moth [2]; Bee Moth [1]; Wax Moth [1]; Hypsopygia glaucinalis [1]; Pyrausta aurata [2]; Anania coronate [1]; Anania perlucidalis [1]; Small Magpie [5]; Udea olivalis [1]; Eudonia mercurella [3]; Chrysoteuchia culmella [13]; Crambus pascuella [9]; Crambus perlella [1]; Agriphila tristella [1]; Agriphila straminella [4]; Peach Blossom [1]; Figure of Eighty [1]; Lime Hawkmoth [1]; Eyed Hawkmoth [1]; Privet Hawkmoth [1]; Elephant Hawkmoth [9]; Small Dusty Wave [3]; Riband Wave [14]; Garden Carpet [2]; Common Carpet [1]; Barred Yellow [2]; Common Marbled Carpet [1]; Green Pug [3]; Foxglove Pug [1]; Lime-speck Pug [1]; Common Pug [1]; Brimstone Moth [9]; Scalloped Hazel [1]; Swallow-tailed Moth [2]; Willow Beauty [5]; Clouded Silver [3]; Straw Dot [4]; Red-necked Footman [1]; Common Footman [5]; Scarce Footman [1]; Burnished Brass [1]; The Coronet [7]; The Shark [1]; Marbled Beauty [2]; The Uncertain [11]; Rustic Shoulder-knot [1]; Dark Arches [5]; Marbled Minor Group [2]; Middle-barred Minor [6]; Bright-line Brown-eye [3]; Dot Moth [1]; Heart and Dart [15]; Heart and Club [1]; The Flame [3]; Flame Shoulder [1]; Large Yellow Underwing and Lesser Yellow Underwing.

Hypsopygia glaucinalis

Wax Moth

Peach Blossom

The Shark

Burnished Brass