ANOTHER DRAGONFLY

With cloud and rain forecast for the end of the day, I spent the early part of the afternoon at Ravensroost wood, hoping I might get a sighting of a white letter hairstreak, as I've seen them here for the past few years.

There were still a few brief sunny interludes during the time I spent at the woods, but there weren't many butterflies around compared to the many seen on sunny days. I saw the usual species; gatekeeper, meadow brown, ringlet, peacock, red admiral, small and large white, silver washed fritillary  and speckled wood but although I waited and watched, no hairstreaks today. 

I did get chatting to a couple who had travelled down from Cheshire who were looking to complete their UK butterfly list, with only three more species to find. They had not found any more than I had in the wood today,  but gave me some useful locations as to where to find some of the remaining nine species on my own UK life list.  

As I was talking to them, I became distracted by a dragonfly which zoomed across the path ahead of us  and then clung to a bramble stem in the vegetation at the side of the track. Being new to dragonfly identification, I took some photos and asked them if they could help tell me what species it was. A southern hawker, I was told, so I was able to add that to my list for the year.  So my visit wasn't entirely in vain! 

southern hawker dreagonfly

DOWN TO THE WOODS TODAY

Today I visited two areas of woodland near Silverstone with my sister, hoping to see a number of butterfly species that live there. We arranged to meet,  firstly, at Bucknell woods, a site I've previously visited for wood whites butterflies, although we would be unlikely to see any of those today. It was sunny when we both arrived at around 8.30.a.m. within five minutes of each other, each having travelled just over an hour from opposite directions.

After exchanging greetings, we started up the main track. Butterflies were already on the wing, warming up in the sunshine, notably ringlets and meadow browns, together with a few small and  green veined whites. 

We reached a  point where the main track veered off to the left but chose instead to explore a couple  of other narrower paths which also met at this junction. At this point we saw our first silver washed fritillaries which gradually became more numerous as the day wore on, only seeming to disappear for a moment or to when a cloud came over the sun. 

Passing underneath a row of tall oak trees, I spotted some small silvery  grey butterflies flitting around in the upper part of the trees. As expected, a look through binoculars confirmed them  to be purple hairstreaks.  Would they come down low enough to photograph, I wondered?  As we waited, one or two did fly down lower and I endeavoured to zoom in on them for a photo. I then looked round and saw Karen had her lens focused on something much closer.  An individual puprle hairstreak was settled on some bracken right next to the path and was giving some great  views when it turned into the sun. I managed a few shots myself and then  used my mobile phone to get  even closer ones as it seemed to be so settled on the bracken leaf. Eventually of course it had enough and fluttered  off and back up into the oaks.

After this delightful close encounter we returned to the main track and followed it until we came to another cross roads of paths, this time choosing a  path where a number of old oaks were present , and where we hoped we might get a sighting of that most elusive of British butterflies, the purple emperor. Sadly, we didn't  see one, but instead had  to be content with finding  a rare female form of Silver washed fritillary  known as the valezina form where the orange colouring is replaced with a bronze green.These are obviously regularly seen here,  as a couple of visitors enquired if we'd seen this particular form of the species.

From Bucknell  woods, we drove the short distance to Hazelborough woods  where we saw similar species but were also able to  add white admiral to our day's tally plus  we found another female valezina form of Silver washed fritillary. Returning to the car park, we caught up with family news over a picnic, then decided to make our journeys home after an enjoyable few hours down in the woods.  

Species for the day: red admiral, white admiral, silver washed fritillary, peacock, comma , small skipper, large skipper, meadow brown, ringlet, large white, small white ,green veined whit,e purple hairstreak..

large skipper

large white

purple hairstreak

red admiral

ringlet

silver washed fritillary f valezina

silver washed fritillary

RAVENSROOST

This afternoon was the first occasion for a while that the weather has been dry and calm enough to warrant a re- visit to Ravensroost Wood. Although cloudy, I had a sense that it was getting a bit brighter and therefore might encourage a few butterflies to fly. 

Along the main ride, the main butterflies were, as expected, meadow browns and ringlets. I made my way down to the pond at which point the clouds almost, but not quite allowed the sun to break through, but this was sufficient to cause several silver washed fritillaries to make an appearance, and I also had a fleeting glance of a white admiral which disappeared behind some vegetation. 

My current target butterflies for this wood are two of the hairstreaks; purple  and white letter. I studied the usual area for white letter  hairstreaks but could see none, neither were any purple hairstreaks evident. However, I did see a good variety of other butterflies, including, small white, green veined white, marbled white, peacock, comma, red admiral, small skipper ( I peered closely at some of these to see if I could spot an Essex skipper), gatekeeper, holly blue, large white, as well as the aforementioned ringlet and meadow brown, silver washed fritillary and white admiral.  

comma

ringlet

silver washed fritillary

possible essex skipper

                                                                      green veined white

DRAGONFLIES AT WHELFORD POOLS

Another hot day - up to 30 degrees again, but there was a nice breeze blowing so I decided to pay another visit to a local nature reserve near Fairford known as Whelford pools. Here there  are a couple of ponds where a variety of dragonflies can be spotted. Surprisingly there were quite a few cars parked in the carpark and when I walked the short distance to the pond there were already a couple of people there with cameras,

A female with a brood of seven tiny ducklings was at the edge of the pond, hiding in the reeds, although they did venture out once or twice. Also a coot and one youngster. 

Plenty of common damselflies were present and I also spotted a red eyed damselfly, However I spent much of my time watching a male emperor  dragonfly patrolling the pond whilst a couple of females were egg laying in the water. There were also two brown hawkers making some close fly pasts but they didn't stop for photos. I think I will have to try earlier in the day or on a cooler day to see if they perch on any reeds. 

female mallard with her young brood of ducklings

female emperor dragonfly egg laying

SLIMBRIDGE WWT

 I booked my first trip to Slimbridge since lockdown last week, before temperatures were predicted to reach a very warm 31 degrees!  However, I considered that the site does have a good number of trees offering shade and the paths up to the hides on the Holden walkway and the South finger are lined with trees and bushes so probably the heat would be quite tolerable. 

I arrived at 145 pm, and managed to find a parking spot in the shade. Current regulations restrict the number of visitors, hence the car park was less busy than usual. There was no queue get in, so I didn't need  to make use of the 2m apart  painted blue spots on the ramp to the entrance door. There was a one way system through the building and the exit was to be the side entrance used by members coming early.  There were also restrictions as to numbers in the hides which varied from 2 - 13 depending on the size of the hide. Windows were kept open which allowed a nice breeze to come through and kept the temperature down. There was, however, no limit to how long you could spend in each hide, but I think people were expected to use their own common sense if people were waiting outside. However that didn't apply today;  probably many people had come in the morning and already left. 

There were still various broods of young birds around, including moorhens, shelducks, and mallards and good numbers of avocets seen from the Discovery Hide with chicks of different ages.   I was pleased to see the visiting female ruddy shelduck  resting at the edge of one of the scrapes and I also saw at least half a dozen green sandpipers and several little ringed plovers. 

At the Kingfisher hide the male kingfisher made a visit to its nesting hole in the bank, but sadly didn't stay long enough for a photo, a pity as the windows  which are normally barred have just been opened. 

On the dragonfly ponds I recorded an emperor, four spotted chaser and broad bodied chaser as well as common blue and blue tailed damselflies. 

ruddy shelduck

green sandpiper

avocet juvenile

oyster catcher

four spotted chaser

emperor dragonfly

redshank

shelduck family

emperor dragonfly

RAVENSROOST WOOD

Today was my first visit this year to Ravensroost Wood to look for butterflies. According to various sightings records, both silver washed fritillaries and white admirals had been seen here already, in numbers up to 12 each. So I was hopeful of seeing at least one of each!

For the first time on any of my visits, cars were parked on the roadside just outside the small car park, so I found a space there, as it can be quite tight in the carpark especially when trying to turn round.  It was obviously a good day for butterfly spotting, little wind, sunny and very warm.

The first person I met, informed me he had seen a dozen white admiral, mostly on a track parallel to the main ride. I therefore continued up the main ride, seeing  a rather tatty specimen (already?)  of a white admiral and a couple of silver washed fritiallaries. which were reluctant to settle.  Taking a path of to the left I joined another path, but it seemed overgrown and apart from large numbers of meadow browns, I saw nothing else. 

I returned to the main ride and took a route through a gate which leads round a few bends toward a pond.  A few silver washed fritillaries were around, one settling with wings closed briefly,  but no more white admirals, though I have seen them regularly in this area before. However the pond was buzzing with dragonflies and there I found black tailed skimmers, broad bodied chasers and four spotted chasers as well as common blue and large red damselflies. 

I got chatting to another  lady, who told me she had seen several white admirals at nearby Somerford Common so I decided to stop off there next before returning home. 

I did see my first ringlets of the year, but unlike the meadow browns they were reluctant to settle. I had a quick check for white letter hairstreaks but it is still quite early for them. In the field were more meadow browns,  marbled whites and large skippers.  

At Somerford Common I did find a couple more silver washed fritllaries and on pristine white admiral which settled with wings closed. Hopefully I will be able to revisit both sites again before long. 

large red damselfly

broad bodied chaser male

..and female

FARMOOR DUCKS

Tuesday being still sunny and very warm, I drove over to Farmoor Reservoir for a short walk along the causeway and around F1, the smaller of the two reservoirs.  

Approaching the causeway I quickly spotted a dragonfly on the slipway, which when it eventually settled turned out to be a male black tailed skimmer. 

At the end of the causeway I stopped to look at the sectioned off area where there are a number of nesting rafts, currently occupied by a mixture of black headed gulls and coots. 

In that part of the reservoir were further mallards, and black headed gulls, also a another brood of ducklings, which I noticed were not a mallard, but a gadwall family. There was also a rather lonely looking smaller duck, which after a while I decided must be the recently recorded male garganey in its eclipse plumage.  I hadn't realised that garganeys were quite so small, but rather thought they would be approaching a mallard size. I suppose I have not seen any close up before. 

The walk around F1 produced  several more  mallards, some with  broods of ducklings and the odd tufted duck and great crested grebe. I also came across an army of greylags, stopped as if on parade which I found quite amusing to look at!

black tailed skimmer

gadwall and ducklings

gadwall

coot and chick

greylags standing to attentioin

er get up , you're on parade!

garganey

blackheaded gull chick