DRAGONFLIES AND DAMSELFLIES

 

A dull day for my day off this week, but still  pretty warm at 21 degrees  so I decided to go in search of a few  odonata.  Whelford Pools (Glos wildlife trust) and Lower Moor Farm  ( Wilts wildlife trust)are good places to look for dragonflies and damselflies and boast  a good number of  different species.

I started off by visiting Whelford pools where common blue damselflies were everywhere on the vegetation. At a small  pool as you enter the reserve I stopped on the wooden decked area . A female emperor dragonfly was egg laying in the water, and amongst the numerous damselflies I picked out common blue, red eyed and blue tailed. 

Further on  into the reserve I found black tailed skimmers and four spotted chasers. Butterflies included two speckled wood, a red admiral and a small tortoiseshell; I also found a scarlet tiger moth.

I drove on to the reserve at Lower Moor Farm, but as I parked it began to  drizzle. However, it was still warm so I set off on a circular route which I knew.  Again there were numerous blue damselflies and good numbers of dragonflies,  but I was walking fairly quickly and saw no new species and  returned to the car. 

I should add that I have had up to a dozen common blue damselflies in the long grass  in the wild area of the garden at home. 

black tailed skimmer

blue tailed damselfly

common blue damselfly

four spotted chaser

red eyed damselfly

scarlet tiger moth

emperor dragonfly (f)

common blue damselfly at Stonecote

     

 

OUT AND ABOUT IN CAMBS AND SURROUNDING AREAS

 

 

With a few days free this week, I went up to stay with my sister in Cambridgeshire. We usually go out for a trip or two whenever I stay there, and this time I hoped to make a repeat trip to Strumpshaw Fen in Norfolk, a well known habitat for  the UK's largest butterfly, the Swallowtail.  A few years back,  we visited at the end of May but only saw a brief glimpse of one of these butterflies as it flew swiftly over a hedge behind us. We concluded that it was rather early in their flight season and there was a bit too much wind. Leaving our trip until June this year, we hoped for better results, but sadly it was not to be, as very few had emerged on the reserve and despite the forecast,  the sun was only out for a short while in the morning we were there. However,  Karen did actually manage to see one as it flew past; I only saw a yellow shape disappearing into the distance! I consoled myself with sightings of a few dragonflies and damselflies including a Norfolk hawker, hairy dragonfly, four spotted chaser, large red damselfly, blue tailed damselfly, azure damselfly and banded demoiselle. We also spotted a number of lizards sunbathing on the board walk. We followed our visit with a brief trip to nearby Buckenham marshes but I was unable to add any sightings to any of my year lists. 

azure damselfly

female banded demoiselle

lizard

four spotted chaser

large red damselfly

blue tailed damselfly

The following morning we headed over to RSPB Ouse Fen,  which is currently being developed into a larger reserve. It was a pleasant walk, and we had good views of a very vocal male blackcap and also a couple of black tailed skimmers which were landing regularly on the ground in front of us.

blackcap

black tailed skimmer

After lunch, we visited Therfield heath, an area of chalk grassland adjacent to a golf course. I was hoping for a first Adonis blue of the year and Karen wanted to add a common blue to her year list.  Within minutes of our arrival on the grassland, both of us spotted our target butterflies amongst the dozens of blues that were fluttering about at our feet. Apart from those two species, however, there was little else. We then took a walk round the RSPB reserve at Fowlmere which was only a few miles away but again it was very quiet.

adonis blue

The following morning I returned home, stopping off for an hour or so at Bucknell Wood to search for wood white butterflies which I have seen there for the past three years.  I arrived at 930 and walked hopefully up the track but the only butterflies I saw were a couple of speckled wood. I decided it was rather early in the day and still too cool for the wood whites to fly, so waited around for a while. There were rather more clouds than patches of blue sky so every time the sun  shone,  I  looked hopefully for the rather weak flight of the dainty wood white butterfly. Eventually  I  saw three on different occasions, but only the last one settled in a place where I could see it, and even then I had to clamber over some large logs to get in a position to photograph it.

the wood white butterfly settled at the back of these logs which were lining the track.

wood white

GLANVILLE FRITILLARIES

 

Most butterfly guide books will tell you that the Glanville Fritillary, a rare butterfly, can only be found on the Isle of Wight. So I was very pleased to read on someone's blog last May that there is also a colony at a reserve south of Croydon called Hutchinson's bank, still a considerable journey from home, but a lot easier to organise than a trip to the Isle of Wight!  I made a mental note at the time, that if I had an opportunity I would try and visit the site as  this particular butterfly is a species I would otherwise be unlikely to see.

The current spell of sunny weather  has   coincided with half term when the butterflies are likely to be flying, so I left in good time to make the two hour journey to Croydon.  ( Yes,  I know some readers will think I'm a little crazy!)  In fact the journey took a little longer as less than 10 minutes after leaving home, I found my self stationery in a queue of traffic heading down  the A419 towards the motorway! 

At last I  reached Fairleigh Dean Crescent, a short cul de sac which leads from the main road to the reserve and provides the only local parking outside a row of houses. But there were no spaces left to park! I could see several people leaving their cars, holding cameras and heading towards the reserve- surely I wouldn't have to miss out on seeing the butterflies after all! 

I decided to go back to the main road and see if there was any parking to be had there, but couldn't see any so turned around and  headed back to the cul de sac just in case..... and found there was one space that had just become vacant! With relief I parked up and headed along the bridleway into the reserve. I passed a small gate onto the chalk hillside to the left, but recalled from my research that the Glanvilles could often be found in the 'cutting' and that this was accessible by wheelchair so decided that it must be straight on!  I was right, as  soon I came across a sheltered area with a bank on one side and trees and  bushes on the other and I could see various people ahead looking intently at the ground holding cameras.  I was told that there were plenty of fritillaries to be seen, but to be careful not to tread on them as they liked to sun themselves on the bare patches of earth on the path!  

I soon saw my first one, and then a couple more. In fact there must have been up to a dozen at various points along the cutting.  Initially they often rested on the ground  but later some settled on the heads of grasses which allowed a better view of the beautiful dotted patterns of the underwings. There were also lots of small blues, the odd dingy skipper, common blue and a couple of green hairstreaks although the latter were rather out of reach. Someone mentioned that there were also two or three marsh fritillaries around, though these  were not usually found at this site; apparently they had been 'dumped' last year, what ever that might mean!  Obviously with some success as one  had hatched this spring. I did find them later. 

There were several other visitors/butterfly enthusiasts at the reserve and they all seemed very friendly, some obviously had lots of knowledge and some very little!   With the temperature reaching 29 degrees, I decided by 1 pm that I would head back home, very satisfied to have added species 51 to my uk butterfly life list. Only 7 more to go  although they will get harder and harder to see, as several require visits up north and a little climbing! 

Glanville fritillary

green hairstreak

track from the cul de sac onto the reserve

marsh fritillary ( above and below)

reserve information sign

small blues

 the 'cutting' where the glanville fritillaries were  found

brimstone and blue ( I didn' t notice the blue   butterfly when I took the photo but think it might be a holly blue!)

OUT AND ABOUT

The last couple of days have brought me a few more sightings of dragonflies and butterflies. On Bank Holiday Monday I went to Goring on the way to my daughter in the hope of seeing a newly emerged clubtail dragonfly near the railway bridge which is a popular spot for them. Sadly I didn't find one, but did see several banded demoiselles, new for the year. 

banded demoiselle m

under the railway bridge at Goring

banded demoiselle f

Today I spent the first part of a warm and sunny day in an area of woodland near Cirencester, known for its pearl bordered fritillary butterflies. The usual car parking layby had been tidied but there were no parking signs there, and a notice directed you to 100m down the road to a pedestrian gate. I parked nearby entered via the gate. However this was an entrance track I was unfamiliar with so I had to sort of guess where I had to turn to  get on to the path I was looking for. Thankfully several previous visits had given me a good idea so I managed to find the area I was looking for without too much difficulty, though it took slightly longer. I turned down a narrow path into a fairly newly planted area and immediately saw several pearl bordered fritillaries, their orange wings showing up well as they fluttered a few inches above the woodland vegetation. With clear, sunny skies, the butterflies were on the wing constantly and I spotted two or three in every direction I looked. Very few individuals were settling but in the end I did manage a few  record shots, including showing the beautiful underwing pattern. 

(shame about the fly!)

I then drove over to Rodborough common, which was only 15 minutes further on,  hoping to see some blue butterflies on the wing.

 There were a few common blues, but no Adonis or small blues today. I did find  a few brown argus as well as dingy skippers and small heaths. I also spotted one duke of Burgundy. 

brown argus

duke of burgundy

common blue

A FEW SURPRISES!

 

Although the original forecast  was for cloud, it turned out  fairly bright with the sun coming through at regular intervals. I hadn't made any plans to go out, but after  completing some gardening jobs in the first part of the morning,  the temperature seemed warm enough t look for my first dragonflies of the season.  I therefore headed over to the Wiltshire wildlife trust reserve at Lower Moor Farm, which has a good range of dragonflies although I haven't visited it very much in search of them as dragonflies are a new interest for me.  

As I walked down the path from the carpark  towards the first hide,  I spotted my first dragonfly. It settled in the hedgerow so I was able to get some photos, although I didn't know which species it was, only that it had green and blue colouring.  I checked it against my reference book  later and found it was a hairy dragonfly, which was a surprise as it was not in the list of species seen  at the reserve. A close look at the photo shows the downy hairs on the thorax which distinguish it from other species. 

I took my time to  walk around the reserve, surprisingly few butterflies were around although I did find a female orange tip and later a brimstone. I explored a few new paths and had a look at the soon to open new visitor centre which looks very attractive  with its position overlooking one of the lakes. The only other species I found were some common blue damselflies and a broad bodied chaser,

I mentioned surprises in the blog title.... when I was in the garden this morning I heard some cheeping coming from the willow tree which sounded like   nestlings, but there was no nest to be seen. I then realised that it was coming from a small hole in one of the boughs of the tree, and I soon noticed a pair of blue tits going in and out.  Some blue tits had   used a hole in the trunk a few years ago, but it has since 'self healed' and is not a hole anymore. Then I realised there was some more cheeping coming from the   cherry tree where I have a nest box. I hadn't noticed any activity  and had thought it wasn't being used this year but  there were obviously birds inside!  It was too close to the willow  tree to be another pair of blue tits, so I waited around and  eventually saw great tits going in. It's the first time great tits have used that particular nest box. 

 hairy dragonfly

broad bodied chaser

female orange tip

new visitor centre at Lower Moor

path by a brook alongside a flower meadow

blue tits' nest hole in willow tree