Birds and butterflies in the sun

Well, I had a lovely day today. I didn't see anything rare or particularly unusual; I just had a nice day pottering around in the sun, without any time constraints. I began at Collingham Pits - my first visit for several days - noting drake Shoveler, c.5 Gadwall and 3 Teal on Ferry Lane Lake, plus single Dunlin and Redshank.  Nearby, there were at least 107 Sand Martin holes in the New Workings at Northcroft Pond and a pair of Shelduck with just one duckling on the Silt Lagoon - it's not looking a good year for this species, with lots of females lacking young.

Garden Warbler 

Orange-tip

Mons Pool held a further 33 Gadwall, another drake Shoveler, and a drake Wigeon, with a purring Turtle Dove on Northcorft Lane; still no sign of a second bird purring on Mons Pool island, as in previous year. I then debated whether to go elsewhere (I was thinking about Honey Buzzards at Welbeck), but decided to go to Meering. And lucky I did, as I added two new Patchwork Challenge year ticks - firstly, 2 Red-legged Partridges, and then a Peregrine; both expected, but nice to get them under my belt at last! 

Red-leg

More significant was a pair of Turtle Doves here, indicating that this stretch of the Trent between Langford and Girton continues to be a bit of a hotspot for this species (if a handful of pairs can be described as a hotspot...).

Pair of Turtle Doves

It was also nice to see at least 2 Yellow Wagtails feeding on the wetland area and heading north (in slightly different directions) with beakfuls of insects, but there was no sign of the Oystercatcher that was nesting here last visit. On the butterfly front, a patch of bird's-foot trefoil that was humming with bees held at 10-15 Common Blues and a Brown Argus.

Bird's-foot Trefoil at Meering

One of 92 Southern Marsh Orchids at Meering

After a very late lunch, I headed to Staunton Quary, failing to find any Grizzled Skippers (but hearing Marsh Tit); a quick look at a site nearby also didn't produce any skippers, although I did find a single egg.