Friday 26th June

A slightly strange period during which the has got really hot, only to be about to lapse badly over the coming weekend following a few thunderstorms.

I got out to Big Waters on the Tuesday, which was rather as I remembered it from ages ago, expansive and windy.  There weren't too many obvious places to fish.  Several swims looked like they were best fished at distance.  I spoke to a lad fishing just where the reed beds start and he was catching small roach just below the surface while waiting for action on two carp rods. I could also see them turning in the water further round the reeds.  The handbook suggests it is a venue that needs a good deal of study, so perhaps not for me just yet.  You need to park somewhere else to get to the Little Big Water on the other side of the main road, so did not visit there.

What was slightly unexpected was a flower meadow where the water is completely weeded over.  There were a couple of ringlets and small tortoiseshells in the area and quite a few meadow browns.

Meadow Browns

There were a few things I couldn't account for on Wednesday, when I cycled to Matfen. Before I set off, what appeared to be a small skipper tried unsuccessfully to get into one of the foxgloves.  I haven't seen them do that before, nor have I seen one in the garden before and so wondered if I was mistaken.

Going along the cycle track at Wylam, what looked like a large four-winged moth drifted into a hedgerow.  It had more the shape of a dragonfly but without translucent wings so it was hard to say what it was.

There were plenty of small tortoiseshells in the Ovington area but one that flew right by my front wheel looked suspiciously like a painted lady, which would have been noteworthy.  On the way home a suspected orange tip morphed into another moth. And some large, sliver fish splashing out of the Tyne might very well have been salmon.

All of these were fleeting sightings with no chance to check things.  I'm still fairly confident about the small skipper though.  And the salmon.

Another major feature of the day was that yellowhammers were almost everywhere.  I was pleased about the small tortoiseshell. The parasitoid wasp that restricts their numbers must be having a bad year.

Today there was a short walk round the Blagdon Hall Circular where there were numerous ringlet butterflies to be seen. though few settled.  Also a few red admirals.

Ringlet