Sunday June 23

The morning began sunny but cloud soon took over. A very light easterly breeze kept the temperature cool.

Traditionally late June is a bit rubbish for birds, but today there was a surprise in store as we ended the visit. Before that, the highlights had been counting four territorial Lesser Whitethroats, glimpsing the Little Owl, confirming that the pair of Shelducks still have ducklings (although the exact number was uncertain due to sedge encroachment), and seeing a pair of Little Ringed Plovers.

So it looked like insects etc would keep us fully occupied. At least two newly emerged Marbled Whites refused to settle, and the number of Ringlets has increased. Various small moths fluttered in front of us, and we eventually added Green Oak Tortrix to the list. It was resting in the grass underneath an oak tree, appropriately enough. Later on, and almost forgotten, I glimpsed a Small Magpie moth, but failed to get a shot.

Green Oak Tortrix (it looked greener in the sweep net)

I was able to show Dave the Bee Orchid and the Pyramidal Orchid, and he later found a second of the latter species.

Dave spotted a small mammal in the grass which he said was a shrew (or voley thing) which rather undermined the identification. I only saw the grass move as it disappeared. We later spotted a Fallow Deer, and later still a Roe Deer.

The first darter of the year was an immature Ruddy Darter, and other dragonflies on the wing included many Azure Damselflies, at least one Common Blue Damselfly, a few Large Reds, Beautiful Demoiselles, Banded Demoiselles, and Blue-tails plus a Broad-bodied Chaser.

Ruddy Darter

Another common moth to appear in the grass was a Blood-vein (again the first of the year).

Blood-vein

As we approached Netherstead to complete the circuit I was focussed on trying, unsuccessfully, to relocate Friday's Chimney Sweeper moth. Fortunately Dave had his eyes elsewhere, and suddenly announced "is that a Lesser Spot?" I swivelled round in time to see a woodpecker taking off from a hedgerow elm where Dave had seen it alight. As it flew off I could see its barred wings and possibly back, but for a moment I still wasn't sure. Then it banked to the right and flew across the pools looking distinctly small. It really was a Lesser Spotted Woodpecker.

We watched it fly off and then seem to drop into trees behind the barn. We put on a spurt and hurried to the place it had disappeared. There was no sign. We tried walking the hedgeline southwards, but nothing flew out. Next we tried returning to the pools. Still nothing. Oh well, we'd spent the time convincing ourselves we had got it right (Dave was absolutely certain), and decided it had got away. Then, returning to the cars, the woodpecker reappeared in flight and circled us looking absolutely tiny.

I tried for some "record" flight shots, but knew the bird was too small to give me much of a chance.

Lesser Spotted Woodpecker (honest!)

Having failed to capture anything which could even pass as a recognisable image we headed to the far end of the dragonfly pools where it had last been seen. The hedgerows were densely leafed, the bird remained silent, and eventually we had to accept we weren't going to see it again.

Some context. When I first started birding here in 2007, Jonathan Bowley who had been surveying the site for English Nature (as it was then called) assured me that Lesser Spotted Woodpecker did occur. But for several years none crossed my path. One day in April 2011 I heard a "pee pee pee" call which I decided was the species, but never clapped eyes on the bird. Since then the years have rolled by without a sniff, until today.

Who says June is dull?

Postscript. During the evening I reverted to my traditional method of catching moths (leaving the bathroom window open) and duly caught a new moth for our garden, a Treble Brown Spot. Rather a dull name for quite a smart little moth.

Treble Brown Spot

The down side of the open window method is that come photography time, the early morning, the moth is generally quite frisky after a night in a nice warm house, and so can only be recorded in the pot before release. Well that's my excuse anyway.

I'm not sure of its status in Warwickshire. My most recent book stated it was local but increasing. No one in the Warwickshire Moth Group has mentioned catching one, but this may not mean much.