Kettleby Landfill/Barnetby-Le-Wold....Saturday 05.07.2014.

After finishing my nightshift and getting a few hours sleep,Lee and myself headed out locally to the quarries and fishing ponds on the outskirts of the village.The main purpose was to try and see what waders were breeding on the quarry workings and also what ever interesting bits and bobs we could find.The first section was pretty uneventful with only a couple of Juvvie Whitethroat and a decent sized,mixed flock of House and Sand Martins,Swallows and Swifts feeding around the old pig farm.As we crossed over the railway crossing to the first of the ponds,we saw the pair of Great-crested Grebes and they still had one large,very noisy chick in towe,but the family gave some very nice views.Also on and around the pit were some good numbers of Odonata,with large numbers of Common-blue Damselfly in tandem and ovipositing,half a dozen Four-spot Chaser,a couple of Black-tailed Skimmer and the highlight,2 male Emperor,the latter my first records of the year.A couple of Common Buzzard mewed over the adjacent pine plantation and along the rough ground several species of butterfly were watched which included Small Skipper,Small Tortoiseshell,Large White,Red Admiral,Ringlet and Meadow Brown.On the workings themselves 1 pair of Oystercatcher were sitting and a female Gadwall with 6 fairly big young and a female Tufted Duck with 4 young were a welcome sight.More of the same was seen on the way back to the village along the hillside,apart from a distant Hobby.An enjoyable few hours out and about locally in the lovely sun today.

Great-crested Grebe.

Great-crested Grebe.

Four-spot Chaser.