All White?

Took Minnie out for a bit of a walk this lunchtime as I needed to post a letter… you still can, for a limited time only if this ConDem Govt. gets its way. I took her along Tom Long’s Meadow, a fantastic bit of wet woodland and scrub (that the local allotment society want to plough up and turn into allotments) that parallels the Loughborough Rd through Quorn. A once regular site for Lesser Spotted Woodpecker – after successful breeding nearby I hope they will be there again soon. I hope Quorn Parish Council veto the idea.

Plenty of Butterflies in evidence, indeed, every nectar source seems filled with Butterflies at the minute. This year is turning into one of the best for many a year. Large numbers of Small White and Large White as well as good numbers of Peacock and signs of a recovery for Small Tortoiseshell after the poor years previously.

A fresh Southern Hawker and a few Brown Hawker on the wing – both hunting Butterflies!

The ‘poor quality’ photos were using the Doris lens and Sussex film in Hipstamatic on the iPhone 4S.

taken un

Lady Garganey

After work I decided to make the best of the weather by heading up into the extreme NE bit of Leicestershire… that pointy bit right at the top that eats into Nottinghamshire. The purpose – try and finally nail a few decent Garganey photos.

As I arrived Rod Baker and Roger Davis were just packing up  and informed me the birds had flushed and flown SE down the canal. I set off passing not a lot in the way of Garganey or decent Garganey habitat. I did pass plenty of butterflies with one Comma, two Peacock and a handful of Small Tortoiseshell seen. I decided after no luck to try the original site.

As I approached the feeding station a male Sparrowhawk dropped in for a Bunting takeout.

About 200m NE of the bridge I heard a familiar low, crackling call… got you! A superb drake Garganey.

Garganey

Garganey

The birds were quick to flush at any passing dog walker, the female was always much shyer preferring to stay in the rushes. They stayed pretty faithful though to a 500m stretch of water.

Garganey

Garganey

Back at the road the feeders were pretty busy with plenty of Yellowhammer and Reed Bunting joining the Chaffinch, House Sparrow and Tree Sparrow.

Reed Bunting

Yellowhammer

Yellowhammer

Yellowhammer

Snakes On A Train

With the skies over Europe empty of planes thanks to the cloud of volcanic ash coming from Iceland, any snakes wanting to travel this week will need to take the train. Arriving in good time at Ketton Quarry it seems that most snakes have buggered off… has the cold winter hit them? Mark Rossell, Steve Houghton and a few others were already there and between us we managed to see a couple of Adder and a couple of Grass Snake but none were posing for photos.

A bit more obliging but always staying partially hidden was this splendid Common Lizard. The photos don’t do justice to just how green it was.

A few butterflies were also on the wing, it was probably a few weeks too early for the Green Hairstreak. The only new species for the year was a distant Comma but this Small Tortoiseshell was a bit more obliging but not very well lit.

In spring Brimstone are an absolute bugger to photograph, rarely settling. This female was probably egg-laying and allowed a close approach. She was still flighty though and the final shot was a lucky one with the insect taking flight.

Adder Enough?

Better weather this morning combined with a later start than yesterday meant I was back at Ketton Quarry when the Adder were a bit warmer and a lot less sluggish. I still had three males, including a pretty big boy that crept up behind me as I was preoccupied trying and failing to photograph a Common Lizard.

Female Adder

After the snakes had all moved off including another Grass Snake I started to think about insects. As I was watching a Common Heath I noticed a pristine Grizzled Skipper. There were definately three on the wing, probably five, feeding mostly on Wild Stawberry. Grizzled Skippers are very underated but definately not understated and news of their emergence had Andy Mackay getting his TARDIS over to the quarry. Well, that’s how it seemed as he arrived minutes after his text message said he was leaving home. I think he was messing with my head though, sending a message as he arrived!

Grizzled Skipper

Grizzled Skipper

A quick look around the Blackthorn and two male Green Hairstreak  were dueling for the favours of a lone female and occasionally settling.

Green Hairstreak

Green Hairstreak

The Hairstreak soon attracted the attentions of the www.markswildlife.com sponsored Melton Boys who were themselves lapping up the butterflies with all their fancy lenses and stuff.

Melton Boys

Given the sunny conditions there were plenty of other butterflies on show including Holly Blue, Common Blue, Brimstone, Green-veined White, Comma, Small Tortoiseshell and Peacock.

Brimstone

Brimstone

Comma

Common Heath