Hot and sunny from the word go. The big roundabout on the A1 at Chester-Le-Street was the unlikely venue for a butterfly twitch, but after just a couple of minutes White-letter Hairstreak was in the bag with two showing well feeding on thistles. Also in the same area was a cracking Banded Damoiselle and a Ringlet.
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| White-letter Hairstreak |
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| White-letter Hairstreak |
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| Ringlet |
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| Banded Demoiselle |
Kibblesworth brick works was the next port of call and the target, Grayling, was seen almost immediately. Other butterflies seen were Comma, Peacock, Small Tortoiseshell, Common Blue, Small Heath, Meadow Brown, Large White, Green-veined White with Large and Small Skipper.
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| Grayling |
Around the ponds there were plenty of Dragonfly with 5+ Emperor, 1-2 Common Hawker, 10+ Four-spotted Chaser, loads of Common Darter with Common Blue, Azure, Blue-tailed and Emerald Damselfly. A Banded Damoiselle moved through the sedge-my first at this site.
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| Emperor |
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| Emperor |
News of a White-winged Black Tern had me down the road to Saltholme. On show from the hide as soon I got there, putting on a great show as it fed on Saltholme West. Also here were 2 Ruff and a Common Sandpiper.
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| White-winged Black Tern |
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| White-winged Black Tern |
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| White-winged Black Tern |
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| White-winged Black Tern |
The pools between the visitor centre and the hide held Emperor and Four-spotted Chaser.
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| Emperor |
Another cracking day by the sounds of it Rob and some useful photos as well. Hoping to get to Kibblesworth this week for Emperor and BT Skimmer, weather permitting.
ReplyDeleteThe BT Skimmers are a bit hit and miss, but the Emperors are showing very well. Good luck.
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