Month: June 2018

Wednesday 13th June

The time was right for another New Forest visit, this time connecting with our White-legged Damselfly populations along the Blackwater and Ober streams.

Starting at Dames Slough Inclosure it wasn’t long before I found my first White-legged holed up in the grasses to the south of the stream.

Plenty of opportunities meant I could ditch the long lens and concentrate on using the macro for the first time in a while.

Along with the WLD a good number of Beautiful Demoiselles were populating the stream while fresh Keeled Skimmers were rising from the shore.

Taking refuge in the scrub was a fresh Common Darter.

Crossing the stream to the north bank provided the best displays with Beautiful Demoiselle, Southern, White-legged, Large Red and Keeled Skimmers all enjoying the sunshine, some undoubtedly more than others.

I spent a good couple of hours here observing and enjoying the spectacle and in hindsight should probably have stayed put, but with Ober Water close by I couldn’t resist a stroll along one of my favourites.

Unfortunately the wind was more noticeable here and this subdued activity along the stream; even the hot-spots were lacking. Regardless I carried on a circular route, returning along the top paths where at least I found a couple of Golden-ringed feeding along the path, although unwilling to stay around for a shot.

Monday 18th June
Halfway through June already and a decidedly different climate than May curtailed any outings until Monday. Although the forecast wasn’t ideal I found myself enjoying bright, if breezy, sunshine at Town Common.

The first pond had enough Four-spotted Chasers and an Emperor patrolling among the damsels in a perfect summer spectacle. The Emperor even came in to perch long enough for me to switch lens and practice some stealth.

The first Darter spotted was a young male Common, one of a number encountered today.

However it was the Black Darter I was hoping for, and I wasn’t disappointed. Several fresh individuals at this little pocket of heath to keep me busy, however I had to wait until later to get the shot I was after.

Beautifully situated on fresh blooming heather. Doesn’t get much better than that, however in the interest of diversity best I include a female.

From the young headwaters of the Lymington River to the lowland heath across the Avon, these past two outings within the New Forest catchment area have reinvigorated yours truly with renewed faith in staying local.

I’ve already planned the next sunny day. Now I just have to wait…

Saturday 9th June
At Bramshill the shore of Long Lake had enough going on for observation and I had a few half-hearted attempts at the Emperor patrolling, but he was too far out and unpredictable.

While Sue took a rest I explored my usual circuit without much joy and returned to the shore of Long Lake to see if anything had changed. It hadn’t, so we decided to take a walk. After all, way too early to call it a day.

We decided to walk to the north-east pond in the hope that we’d find a few feeders on the way. We did, mainly demoiselles and damselflies holed up in the gorse and grasses bordering the paths.

On arriving at the pond the usual sight of battling Chasers and Skimmer’s, an Emperor or two and a Downy brightened an afternoon which had become dull under cloud.

At the far end however, patrolling a small area of the murkiest section was a reward for the day – an early patrolling Brilliant Emerald.

In view of the light a record shot is all I managed, but it was the icing on the cake of a disappointing day.

Monday 4th June
I returned to Bramshill with a sense of hope and the added advantage that I could move and loiter at my own pace; taking in the north-east pond first and continuing along a new found path and a new diversion along a wonderful sunny ride with Meadow Brown and White Admiral joining the Demoiselles.

The type of sunny ride it would be wise to camp out at, as you never know what might turn up. Not today though, I wanted to cover as much ground as possible, calling in at the center ponds and following familiar paths hoping for a moment.

I had a long moment on the shore of Long Lake just watching the action, because sometimes you just need to take it all in. Pretty much the same as cast as Saturday only much more to enjoy.

Once I broke free of the reverie I continued along the path, festooned with Black-tailed Skimmers; always on the ground and supposedly out of reach.

At a little inlet I found a teneral Common Darter – my first this year.

A little further down the path a female Emperor rose at my presence, hesitated and perched again, allowing me a cautious go with the macro.

The hidden ponds were a little disappointing today so I continued to the far shore of Long Lake to catch a female Keeled Skimmer having a snack.

I returned to those paths I followed earlier, just in time to watch a male Hairy flying low down and back & forth before perching to eat his spoils. Who knows who else paid a visit while I was away.

Food for thought.

Sunday June 3rd

We arranged to meet Steve Birt at Latchmore Brook in the New Forest. With mainly sun and occasional cloud, conditions were perfect.

Sue spotted the first fresh teneral female on the way in; the fragile lift and shade of pink was unmistakable besides the vibrant blues & greens of the adult males patrolling the flush.

Although not the best photo I’ve included it in post to show the differences from teneral to immature, an example of which you can find below.

The Keeled Skimmer were a lot more lively today, with several males and the occasional pairing decorating the flushes. On arrival at my favourite spot the ground had dried out considerably in a week despite the frequent showers, however the heather was yet to bloom and bring forth the bonanza of feeder insects to tempt the damselflies away from water.

A good few more Small Red than last week with a good showing of Large Red. No Southern around here either, but once again Sue’s eager eyes picked up the orange flash of an immature aurantiaca.

The only one found, and unfortunately with a deformed wing, however a delight to find and certainly the highlight for Steve being his first experience of the species. Thankfully it wasn’t long before we found a resting male.

We walked upstream encountering the Southern and Small Red in abundance before returning to the back flush to marvel at the show put on by even more Southern, Scarce Blue-tailed and Keeled Skimmer.

While attempting to find a way back across the flush I came across a teneral female Keeled perched irresistibly on the fern. She only gave me chance for a quick shot.

Safely back across and searching the edge of the flushes I found a fresh teneral male, still to gain his technicolor adult colouring and starkly contrasted against the striking youthful looks of the female.

A beauty nevertheless, and the perfect round off to the day.

Wednesday 6th June

Returning to Latchmore mid-week I had the feeling I might’ve started the day a little too early as the flushes were bereft of Scarce -Blue-tailed, as was the feeding area despite an extended search. Only a few Large and Small Red in attendance.

I didn’t see any Scarce Blue-tailed until I reached the back channel where I explored even more and sat watching the action for a while. Sometimes it’s good just to breathe it all in. A young female Beautiful landed on the fern, breaking me out of my reverie.

Photo opportunities were few & far between today and I hadn’t had a chance to use the macro, so I reluctantly returned along the stream where at least an Emperor offered me another chance to sit bank-side – only this time with the camera in hand.

 

 

Wednesday 30th May

Let’s be honest – the weather on Wednesday was far from optimal. Unusually the BBC gave a better forecast than YR – light cloud and light winds. The latter was correct, but the clouds were often a darker grey.

Nevertheless instead of being stuck in front of the PC I decided to have a look anyway; a chance to wander off the beaten track a little.

I started at Town Common, taking a different route than usual to explore the SW section. A few more ponds to investigate in the future maybe, if I can drag myself away from the favourites.

One of these ponds is a recent addition and will need time to mature but will serve to be a prime breeding pond for Black Darter, Common Emerald and Small Red as the recent ponds across the bypass have proved to be.

Approaching the key area I had a sighting of one of the resident Peregrine, a display of Dartford Warbler and a couple of Smooth Snakes. Too cool or dull for the Sand Lizards, or too blind on my part.

None of the ponds had any activity over water whatsoever – even the hardy Four-spotted Chasers were noticeable by their absence. Just a few Azure, Common Emerald and Small Red within the heather.

There were the occasional Scarce Chaser laying low in the heath but not the crowd experienced on Monday. Respect to the Scarce; I thought the Four-spotted were hardier!

The damsels gave me more than enough to experiment with, the low light offering some interesting challenges, including finding the correct level of flash to reflect the metallic shimmer of the Emeralds.

A proper flash (and diffuser) would be better, the above examples a little harsh, however they show the immature gender differences well.

On the way out I encountered the historical sight of an old & grizzled chap with a huge leather bucket, a shovel and a huge iron stake. I nodded but didn’t receive an answer; maybe he was up to no good or maybe the space-time matrix experienced a glitch.

Over on Ramsdown I encountered a gravid female Adder sunbathing on a corrugated sheet who hadn’t heard or seen me coming and had another Smooth Snake sighting.

Another Scarce Chaser on the heath, a couple of Emerald and a Four-spotted Chaser (at last) near the hill pond. and plenty of those pesky flies hovering around yours truly, the living embodiment of Pigpen from Peanuts.

Continuing on to Troublefield I noticed the DWT crew were present but thankfully not in my meadow. The first surprise was the level of growth in a week; frequently chest-high and sopping wet, but immense fun!

Banded and Beautiful Demoiselles were present in good numbers and were keeping low and yet another Scarce Chaser, the first one I’ve seen here this Spring.

More Large Red and Azure but alas no White-legged; the grasses only offering up a swarm of micro-moths and something more sinister which avoided my liberal spraying of insect repellent to festoon my upper arm and shoulder with an array of bites.

Challenging and frugal, however a fine wander.