castle howard arboretum-last wednesday

So, here we go. Posting that I should have completed last Wednesday but am here, a complete week later, filling in the gaps. Never mind, however. Last Wednesday was a broken cloudy warm but windy type of day, so the weather was decent enough. The place we were going to was an arboretum (a tree museum) but luckily it had some lakes, although the foreign trees and vast expanses of lawn probably meant that there was not going to be much going in the way of birdlife. I decided to go straight to the lakes, as they were quite close to the entrance. I managed to spot 2 darter type dragonflys as the buzzed away from me but I was unable to pin any identification. The first dragonfly I got a really good look at was a female common darter which I found on the shore of the second lake which was adjacent to the first. It was quite docile and so I was able to take a great deal of photos.

 

I also, at this point, spotted a very large buzzard flying over the place but I was too slow to get any pictures which is a shame really because it was flying so low, I'm sure that they would have come out great. Anyway, around the edge of the second lake I managed to find a budlia plant which is always popular with butterflys. There were plenty of vaneselids there but the most exciting for me was when a group of about 5 large whites flew in. You can really tell what they were and not just any white because they were so big, enormous. It is a species that I really did need a record shot off (although now having confirmed a sighting, I doubt that any of my previous records were genuine)

 

I also managed to track down some more rufous grasshoppers in the long grass, which is actually the only grasshopper that I can identify.

 

There was a small pond that was situated before the main lake and so I decided to go and have a look there to see if there were any darters to try and take photos of. There were two male common darters flying about but, sadly they were a little hard to photograph because they didn't stay still.

I got chatting to some people who said that they had just possibly seen their first dark-green fritilary feeding on some of the marsh plants. I didn't catch up with it but they also said that there were a lot of dragonflys sheltering behind some long grass so I headed off there. There were indeed a great deal of common darters resting in the long grass and a check of similar habitats around the lake-shore provided similar results. I wont explain all these photos individually but they are all common darters and they were taken near some long grass.

Eventually I decided to look elsewhere for more dragonflys. I soon learnt that the dragonflys also liked to roost by the recently cut, dried, brown grass by the very edge of the lake and so managed to take even more great shots.

However the dragonflys by the lakeside were slightly more nervous that the ones in the long grass so I decided to return to the long grass and that is where the next series of photographs were taken!

But it was not just dragonflys that were roosting down by the lakeside grass as there many peacocks, red admirals and even a few speckled woods. I also managed to find a pair of common blue damseflys.

There was a third pond listed on the information map, although it was only small so I decided to head off over that way before lunch to have a look. just as I reached last clump of foreign trees before it a hawker dragonfly flew out of nowhere. This hawker however had brown wings and so I automatically new that it was a brown hawker, my first, and was worth chasing. I followed it everywhere Until I lost it, it still not having settled. I made my way to the pond, just round the corner, to find two of them plus a common hawker. I tried my hardest to get some record shots but I eventually lost them.

There was, however, plenty more to keep interest alive for example this large bee-fly that was feeding on a thistle.

and on the path there were lots of ruddy darters which were my first this year...

On my way back from the pong, towards lunch,I managed to find the first notable bird of the day. This juvenile green woodpecker which is actually the first I have seen since I got this new camera! So these below are record shots (as you can probably tell)

After lunch I went back to the darter place where the darters live and was not disappointed by yet more, common darters.

However a new butterfly had roosted on the cut grass, a painted lady which is my first of the season and (shamefully given the numbers last year) my record shot!

By the time we were ready to go home the darters had started roosting gin the trees, at eye level, allowing me to get some even better photos! what a finish to the day!