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Home Turf

Quite why I should feel any semblance of guilt by forsaking my own doorstep in favour of greater enjoyment is beyond me. Nevertheless a favourable forecast decided a visit to Troublefield was overdue.

I didn’t have to walk too far beyond the gate before the first flutters of Demoiselles graced the meadow. Both Banded and Beautiful were in attendance in small numbers, providing an early chase and opportunity of concentration.

Beautiful Demoiselle (Calopteryx virgo) - immature female
Beautiful Demoiselle (Calopteryx virgo) – immature female

There were a scattering of Large Red and a few Azure joining the butterflies in this humid warmth, and a few of the latter provided enjoyment. However it was the Demoiselles that drew my attention.

Banded Demoiselle (Calopteryx splendens) - male
Banded Demoiselle (Calopteryx splendens) – male

I had expected my first Broad-bodied Chaser to lift my spirits. Maybe a Hairy? A Golden-ringed? Not unheard of here so early in the season, but a Scarce Chaser was ample consolation.

Scarce Chaser (Libellula fulva) - immature female
Scarce Chaser (Libellula fulva) – immature female

After a good trawl through the meadows I headed over to Ramsdown. Brickfield Pond gave me my first over-water activity and Hill Pond gave my first Broad-bodied Chaser of the season. A newly-emerged specimen rising up the hill to perch briefly for a record shot before being carried by the breeze further uphill.

Plenty more over-water activity with Large Red, Four-spotted Chaser, Common Blue and Azure. Walking around the pond disturbed another new arrival, a fresh Four-spotted taking its first flight to a convenient tree.

Four-spotted Chaser (Libellula quadrimaculata) - freshly-emerged female
Four-spotted Chaser (Libellula quadrimaculata) – freshly-emerged female

Further along the shore I caught sight of a shimmer as in the reed another had just emerged, this time remaining within the sedge while pumping up and drying out.

Four-spotted Chaser (Libellula quadrimaculata) - freshly-emerged male
Four-spotted Chaser (Libellula quadrimaculata) – freshly-emerged male

Today’s highlight for sure, and I stayed around observing and grabbing shots while waiting for the opening of wings and that glorious first flight.

Four-spotted Chaser (Libellula quadrimaculata) - freshly-emerged male
Four-spotted Chaser (Libellula quadrimaculata) – freshly-emerged male

Another promise of fine weather on Wednesday saw me fulfill my plan for Latchmore, except it wasn’t quite as warm or sunny as expected.

A good finger-tip search through by favourite scrub produced nothing and further uphill where I expected a couple of Southern Damselflies only brought more Large Red.

I admit to be sorely disappointed with my choice for day and destination and just as I was about to call it quits I decided on taking an alternative path back to the stream.

I don’t know why I decided on that path. Call it serendipity, fate or just happy coincidence for here in a small patch of low scrub a couple of meters away from water was a newly-emerged Broad-bodied Chaser!

Broad-bodied Chaser (Libellula depressa) - female teneral
Broad-bodied Chaser (Libellula depressa) – female teneral

Once she had spent a while changing position and drying out her wings I removed her away from what could have been an early demise as a rather large spider came into view.

Broad-bodied Chaser (Libellula depressa) - female teneral
Broad-bodied Chaser (Libellula depressa) – female teneral

Seeing her take her first flight was reason enough to deprive this predator of a meal. Such beauty deserves a life extension after all the energy spent.

Another highlight then, and something to lift my spirits for the walk back downstream.

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A Walk Through Bramshill

I remember commenting a while back how our season can be restricted to six months; I’ve never personally felt the need to search for stragglers in November. I’ll leave that to others.

While it’s always a pleasure to seek out those first Large Red of the season, the rest of April is invariably a disappointment, wasted days waiting for a little diversity to ramp up the pace.

May is when the season really starts, when that diversity reaches double-figures and you can almost be forgiven to be guaranteed a good day. Except even when you restrict the days you can still have disappointments.

I was hoping a return trip to Bramshill would offer up more numbers and a little more diversity. There were more of the same, but not in the numbers I expected, and a couple of expected newcomers.

My first grateful sighting was a Grizzled Skipper clinging to the sparse vegetation fringing the main track; a resident of this site, their previous two hot-spots now unsuitable due to too much scrub growth.

Shortly afterwards I had my first Beautiful Demoiselles right where I expected them to be, and again scattered throughout the site in small pockets of warm micro-climate.

The path down to the ponds usually provides one or two encounters and today there was an immature male Red-eyed and a female Downy Emerald flitting from perch to perch, neither of which improved on the previous visits shot.

Another couple of females graced my walk to the center ponds, however it was an immature male which gave me a better opportunity.

Downy Emerald (Cordulia aenea) - immature male
Downy Emerald (Cordulia aenea) – immature male

The pond-side vegetation was devoid of the expected damsel swarms so I continued on through miles of forest pathways until I spotted a male Hairy fly off into the distance and a few Banded Demoiselles parked up sun-bathing, including this accommodating male.

Banded Demoiselle (Calopteryx splendens) - male
Banded Demoiselle (Calopteryx splendens) – male

So a couple of opportunities and a few more species encountered but I have to say I was disappointed to not see more, especially a Four-spotted Chaser or two which should be all over the site by now.