I was back at Eastrington Ponds MAP after the rain the day before, things looked better on the weather front today. Having not been around Eastrington Ponds before it took me a while to find my bearings and fathom out the better places to look. I soon found out that that peripheral ponds along the North edge were now over-grown and inaccessible. So I ventured in to the large fields were there is a permissive path, finding here Azure Damselflies, Common Blue Damselfies, Scorpion Flies, many Volucella pellucens Hoverflies, a few Butterflies my first of the year of Meadow Brown and Large Skippers.
I then decided on going around the lager Pond to the East Side but found a smaller pool to the south of this where there were many Azure, Common Blue and Large Red Damselflies. Around the larger pool or should I say the small meadow near to it I found many other Damselflies but also a Female Broad Bodied Chaser, great to see.
Also here was Cinnabar Moth and Clouded Border Moth along with a Speckled Wood Butterfly
Bird species seen at Eastrington were Blackbird, Blackcap, Black headed Gull, Bullfinch, Buzzard, Crow, Chiffchaff, Coot, Great Crested Grebe, Great Spotted Woodpecker, House Martin, Magpie, Mallard, Moorhen, Robin, Swallow, Swift, Wren
After Eastrington my next site was also a new one Saltmarshe Delphe for the Red eyed Damselfly the site took some finding but again I found this to be inaccessible, birds seen were Mute Swan, Grey Heron and Cuckoo
After Saltmarshe Delphe my next plan was to Newport Ponds where I found these to be inaccessible due to them being locked up. Perhaps there is away around these sites, I don’t know but if anybody does please drop me a line.
So I decided since I was only ten minutes away from North cave Wetlands that’s where I would end my day, the decision paid off.
Walking down Dryham Lane I picked up on various Damselflies namely Azure, Common Blue and Blue tailed they were in abundance, I also found a Large Skipper Butterfly along with my first of the year Ringlet Butterfly. I made my way then towards the Carp Lake where I started talking to a couple who were taking photos of a caterpillar, a Puss Moth Caterpillar, what a beauty this one were the caterpillar is better looking than the Moth. Whilst we were taking and got on to Hairy Dragonflies one actually landed in the same bush as the caterpillar, boom as if by magic, the couple left and I then started to take photos of Four Spotted Chasers and I found a Anasimyia contracta Hoverfly.
I then decided to walk down to the Dragonfly Ponds seeing various Damselflies on route, on arrival a Corn Bunting was singing from a top of a nearby bush, haven’t seen one of these for a number of years. Only dragonfly at the Ponds was a Four Spotted Chaser.
I finished back up at the benches near the main Lake where I was put onto a Common Scoter, another one I hadn’t seen for a while, I then walked down to the new workings where I was hoping to find a few more butterflies and dragonflies, alas nothing, I did see a male Marsh Harrier.
By now it was getting late, it had been a long but successful day, I headed off back to the B&B and something to eat at the nearby pub and a pint of course.
Birds seen at NCW : Blackbird, Blackcap, Black headed Gull, Buzzard, Crow, Cettis Warbler, Chaffinch, Chiffchaff, Common Scoter, Common Tern, Coot, Corn Bunting, Goldfinch, Grey Heron, House Martin, Lapwing, Lesser Black backed Gull, Little egret, Magpie, Mallard, Marsh Harrier, Moorhen, Mute Swan, Oystercatcher, Robin, Sand Martin, Shelduck, Skylark, Sparrowhawk, Swallow, Tufted Duck, Whitethroat, Woodpigeon, Wren
Butterflies Seen at NCW ; Large Skipper, Ringlet
Dragonflies seen at NCW ; Azure Damselfly, Blue tailed Damselfly, Common Blue Damselfly, Four spotted Chaser, Hairy Dragonfly
Moths Seen at NCW ; Cinnabar Moth
Video of the day here PRESS
More photos at my Flickr Site PRESS
Huddsbirder 