Letchmire Pastures, Allerton Bywater

On our first trip to Letchmire Pastures Local Nature Reserve a wetland and grassland site on a former coal area, we spotted a few firsts of the year, including our first dragonfly sighting. I have to admit that I'm out of practice but we think this is a female Four Spotted Chaser, broad tail,black tip & spots on wings. Below the same dragonfly a little closer.

In a South facing sloped patch of grassland I spotted my first Common Blue (Polyommatus icarus) of the year (3 males), not such great pics so this one's just for reference.

And my first Small Copper (Lycaena phlaeas) of the year.

We also heard our first Cuckoo of the year and saw it briefly perched on a telegraph wire before it flew off into the woodland. Its shape was familiar to me as a result of having viewed cuckoo photos on blog postings, so thank you to everybody who has shared their cuckoo photos recently, its a great way to learn about unfamiliar species. Other bird sightings included Partridge, Lapwing, Jay, Swallow, Cormorant.

Dragonfly on the allotment fence

Passing by the side of the Headingley Station allotments at lunchtime , my attention was drawn to a cluster of tiny raspberries peeping through the fence. Reaching for a berry, I was surprised to see a dragonfly perched on the foliage. On closer inspection I think its a Brown Hawker, looking a little lop-sided. There's a small stream that runs the length of the fence on the allotment side, I've seen damselflies here before but never a dragonfly, they can be seen in numbers in certain spots along the canal.

Not having a camera on me I had to resort to a pic on my phone, so apologies for the awful quality.

Hickling Broad National Nature Reserve, Norfolk

Our next visit was to Hickling Broad National Nature Reserve, another Norfolk Wildlife Trust reserve consisting of open water, reedbed, fenland, grazing marsh and woodland. On arrival, the visitor centre volunteers were very helpful in suggesting the best site to spot Swallowtails and we set off in anticipation. To our right, large numbers of dragonflies and Gatekeeper butterflies, whilst hobbies hunted over the fields to our left.

On approach to the first hide Andrea saw what she thought was a Crane which was confirmed by a gentleman already in the hide who said it was the only bird of note he'd seen all day. We continued on, reaching the spot we'd been recommended as a popular haunt for Swallowtails.

On first pass there was no sign, but on our return a Swallowtail butterfly alighted on Hemp Agrimony and settled low on the flowerhead open winged as the breeze picked up. It was the only one we saw during our visit but what a treat.

I couldn't resist making the most of the persepective with this one, the littlest Little Egret and the most monumental Mute Swan in the Broads. No photoshopping tomfoolery took place I assure you, its straight out of the camera, I just got lucky.

From one of the hides we watched three Common Snipe in the grassy margins

A male Black Tailed Skimmer tucks into a juicy meal.

A Brimstone backlit on thistles.

I think this is an Emerald Damselfly

During our visit to the reserve we also enjoyed a boat trip around the broad, bookable from the visitors centre. Not known for my sea legs I have to admit that it rates as one of my most enjoyable boat trips with no unpleasant side effects whatsoever. Our captain for the journey was knowledgable and friendly and we enjoyed sightings of Ruddy Shelduck, Green Sandpiper, Ringed Plove, Ruff, Grey Heron, Great Crested Grebe, Shelduck. Another great place to explore...

Rutland visit

This is the first chance Ive had to properly catch up with the blog since returning from our week away, which started with a couple of days in Rutland, Leicestershire followed by a few more days in Norfolk. This was a return visit to Ashgate Annex in Oakham, Rutland where we enjoyed yet another relaxing weekend in Isabel & David's lovely self catering luxury accomodation. Its such a great place to stay, ideal for exploring Rutland Water & the surrounding countryside. Here follows a few sightings from the Rutland portion of our trip.

Just after arriving I spotted this female Common Blue on the driveway feeding on Lavender flowers.  

Despite the overcast weather at times, we still enjoyed some great sightings. We dropped into Egleton reserve at Rutland Water Nature Reserve and watched this Kingfisher appear in a flash of blue, disappear and reappear once more where it sat for a good 5 minutes.

We sat it out in this hide during a downpour, where even the Hebridean sheep decided to congregate while the heavens opened. Apparently they were introduced to the reserve back in 2001 to help control coarse grasses around the edges of the water.

Through the binoculars we had a good view of the Ospreys, we watched as an adult consumed its share of a fish whilst sat atop platform on the left, before depositing it on the nest on the right for the juveniles to finish off.

During this visit we ventured to some new sites that we'd found via the Leicestershire and Rutland Wildlife Trust website. One of the most interesting was Prior's Coppice, to quote the website "is an ancient ash-maple ash-wych elm woodland, probably a relic of the wildwood which covered all of Leicestershire and Rutland before prehistoric peoples started to clear it".

Here's a couple of pics of the wide rides that contain woodland marshy grassland surrounded by lush canopies, it was a treat to explore and well worth a visit.

On entering Priors Coppice we were amazed to see well over 50 Common Blues, I'm used to seeing them singly or maybe in two's if I'm lucky, so this was a rare treat for me. Here are a few favourites.

There were lots of dragonflies around and about, zipping above our heads following the rides, occasionally we spotted one or two resting on nearby vegetation, I think these two are immature Male Southern Hawkers, but I'm happy to be corrected.

There were plenty of Damselflies too, they really stood out against the foliage and stems, I think these are Common Blue Damselflies, single stripe on side of thorax, mushroomy mark on segment two.

Kirkstall canal

On Sunday we wandered down to the Leeds Liverpool Canal, joining at Wyther Lane car park near Kirkstall Brewery, it wasn't too long before the first dragonflies appeared. I'd guess they were Common Darters (12),  constantly on the wing and all managing to evade the camera. Luckily I was more successful with this Male Brown Hawker resting briefly on nettles along the canal pathway.   

A brief wander, with more pausing than wandering took us almost as far as  Forge locks before returning, enjoying numerous sightings of Common Blue and Blue Tailed damselflies along the way.

 

Rodley Nature Reserve

This weekend I took my mum and dad along to Rodley Nature Reserve where an overcast sky cleared unexpectedly to reveal glorious sunshine, and some enjoyable sightings.

Male and female Gatekeepers

A fresh looking Peacock butterfly

At the dragonfly ponds a female Brown Hawker.

A male Common Darter

Another Female Brown Hawker

 

Tim's Field is planted with a mix of cereals, quinoa, kale and sunflower to provide cover and an abundance of seeds. Here's a view of the mixed vegetation. 

Fairburn Ings

From a recent visit to Fairburn Ings RSPB, here are a few butterflies and dragonfly sightings that we enjoyed during our wander.

Thanks to Dean for confirming this pair as Common Darter Dragonflies (yellow stripes on legs and yellowish patches on the thorax).  

A Six Spot Burnet (Zygaena filipendulae) on a thistle

A Burnet with worn wing scales, thanks again to Dean for his help with this.

Small Copper on thistles.

Green Veined White

Askham Bog

On a recent visit to Askham Bog, there were 10 Four Spotted Chase Dragonflies zipping around the pond, occasionally coming to rest on the surrounding vegetation. I counted 5 at rest on a grassy bank.

There was an abundance of Small Skippers (I'm now rethinking this because Dean has kindly pointed out that the following two pics are of a Large Skipper and not a Small Skipper, so thanks to Dean for his help). On the wing a couple of Orange Tip, 3 Brimstone, a Common Blue, a Green Veined White, suprisingly no Speckled Woods today.

A Longhorn Moth, Nemophora degeerella. I didn't quite realise how long the antennae are until I edited the second pic and realised I hadn't managed to include all of the antennae.

By the pond these small black shiny caterpillars feeding on what looked like birch, could they be the caterpillar of the Argent and Sable moth?