Author: Paul Ritchie

Incredible that it may seem we finally have a belt of prolonged sunshine! This has given nature a perfect opportunity to catch up and has kick-started the emergence of many species with the forums alive with sightings. Emperors have synchronised their emergence across many counties, with Wales and Dorset leading the charge closely followed by a mass emergence at Blashford Lakes yesterday.

After a tip-off I called into Testwood Lakes Nature Reserve for the first time in two years hoping to at least see a wealth of Blue-tailed in all their colour forms, but numbers were surprisingly low. Same with the Banded Demoiselles. Very few indeed considering the numbers witnessed at Itchen Valley a few days ago.

I was here for Scarce Chasers though, and this involved an uncomfortable search through waist-high nettles bordering the banks of the Blackwater River. After being stung through my trousers I reached the far end and found two immature males, who proceeded to lead me a merry chase. I didn’t see any females but then I know that they tend to scatter a reasonable distance from their birth river.

Mission accomplished, I continued on to the pond intent on improving my in-flight technique with those pesky Downys, although there was only the one male today. His visits were sporadic, as was most activity due to large amounts of annoying cloud.

When the sun did break through I was rewarded once again with a fantastic air show with at least half-a-dozen dragons vying for space within a few square metres around the Lilies. The cast of Chasers, Emeralds and a selection of Damselflies appearing to revel in a chance to use their wings joyfully in the pursuit of mates with surprisingly very little aggression.

A welcome addition to the cast were a pair of Red-eyed Damselflies, the first I had seen at the pond this season and the first since the male teneral at Swanwick a week ago.

Also making use of the Lily Pads were several Azures and Large Reds

Content to sit and watch as the afternoon went on, I couldn’t resist having another go at the Downy

A fabulous Saturday afternoon at the pond. No walking miles over uneven ground hoping to flush out a prize; just a mellow, sunny afternoon watching the aerial acrobatics of Chasers and Downy Emeralds. Heaven! A perfect opportunity then for practising the in-flighters.

Chasers are one of the more difficult species to capture in flight. Fast and unpredictable – way too fast for the camera’s auto-focus to cope with – even in 3D tracking mode. I knew the only way I’d get any results were to switch to manual focus; a method I don’t normally use with the 70-300. It took a while to get used to, and when it worked I appreciated the extra reach.

But those Chasers! The first one I managed was a female Four-spotted while she was in the process of ovipositing.

Now those Broad-bodied. Best chance I had was a female ovipositing

While this was going on, there were several pairings. Useless to jump up and chase after the opportunity because as soon as they couple they take a meandering flight devoid of any apparent planning. They remain locked together for around 15 seconds or so, so any attempt at capturing a mating pair has to be quick and, above all, lucky.

These shenanigans with the Chasers came to abrupt halt when we spotted a Downy Emerald skirting the island. Knowing their preferred territory, I hopped across the pond and sat and the shore with my feet in the water, watching, waiting and hoping one of the two males sharing this patrol would offer a chance.

Time and again they would fly over the water with their rear end to the sun, returning by tracing a circle around the bush and behind us to start the circuit again Luckily they did give a chance of a perched shot.

By 4.00pm things were starting to wind down, probably due to exhaustion more than conditions

Towards the end of our stay we noticed some action within the reeded island margin. A female Downy had come to oviposit, the first time I’ve seen this and probably the first time I can remember seeing a female on her own. She weaved in and out of the reeds mostly in shadow, making it very difficult to get a shot.

We returned Sunday, but the Downy’s were still proving difficult.

While I was attempting and failing to grab some more shots, the unmistakeable sound of coupling turned my head just in time to notice a pair of Four-spotted Chasers were heading in my direction locked in the wheel position. FSC’s are even quicker on the job than BBC’s – about 5-10 seconds before they separated. Just before they parted they almost flew up the barrel of the lens. Far too close to get them all in frame, but I’m happy with this.

I haven’t visited Itchen Valley for about 4 years, mainly because I don’t particularly like ‘urban; nature reserves. Unfortunately my fears were realised barely 50 metres into the reserve proper. An unwelcome encounter with a stinking, drinking alcoholic lying on the path poisoning himself and everyone who stumbled across him with Tennants Super.

It’s difficult to know exactly what to do in such situations as politely declining conversation always results in anger and abuse. My method is usually to police the situation in the absence of the proper authorities. Luckily he found it difficult to get up, let alone follow, and it wasn’t long before I left the nightmare behind and continued with my purpose.

The majority of the reserve was almost bare of odo activity, bar the odd Large Red, and I had to wait until I approached the meadows close to the river. The drainage channels here usually throw up a few Banded Demoiselles and I wasn’t disappointed; although they proved difficult to pin down.

A welcome surprise was the discovery of a couple of female Southern Damselflies. The Itchen and Test valleys provide the only Hampshire colonies outside of the New Forest.

Had I realised the majority of the action could be found close to the reserve proper, I would’ve entered by the main gate, choosing to park outside of the centre because of steep parking charges.

This season I’ve made an effort to update the blog frequently in bite-size chunks rather than doing a weekly round-up. I’m taking a similar approach in the field; trying not to cram too much into a day and being economical with travel.

I’d already had a plan to visit a couple of local sites on Sunday until Doug’s invitation suggested an alternative, so with the promise of sunshine, at least until late afternoon, I headed over to Swanwick Nature Reserve – only three miles from me and a site I failed to visit at all last season.

My main reason for a visit was to re-familiar myself with the location, using the knowledge I’ve gained since my last visit to re-appraise its lakes and meadows and the resident dragonfly fauna. Remembering this was a prime spot for Blue-tailed Damselflies I had hoped to engage myself photographing a selection of the various female colour forms, and knowing the Downy Emerald was resident sealed the deal – although finding the latter in the confusion of woodland paths would rely more on luck than judgement.

I quick glance at the centre lake confirmed there was nothing large flying, so I inspected the small reeded dipping pond for signs of emergence. Several spent Large Red and Azure exuvia adorned the reeds and a few tenerals were sheltering from the breeze.

Back to the main pond, I noticed they have built viewing platform along the western shore. This is incredibly helpful as access to the shore is mostly difficult. I checked all edges for signs of emergence knowing that the Downy isn’t fussy about using man-made structures as a means to emerge. Not to be, although the pontoon made it much easier to observe the damsels congregating along the shore.

Onto the fishing lake where nearly every shoreline access point was occupied by anglers eager to end their weekend in their solitary pursuit. The usual spot for damsels was the small, open area of meadow along the southern shore. Not today though, just a few found along the edges of creeks. Even the reed-filled pontoon was devoid of Odo activity.

The adventurous (and familiar) visitor can take the narrow, muddy paths along the shores of connecting lakes to the northern meadows; usually alive with invertebrates, although pickings were slim until I reached a small area of shelter close to the meadow pond (more of a puddle) where there were very few Blue-tailed but reasonable numbers of Large Red and Azures.

The path along eastern shore of the farthest lake was closed off; probably due to subsidence – it does suffer somewhat after heavy rain, and the precipitation we’ve had in the past few months has probably taken its toll. Back then through the meadows along the main path with more isolated patches of damsel activity.

Leaving the woodland path by the gate I was greeted by a Downy Emerald patrolling a small section of scrub bordering the path. I froze and watched as he flew back & forth, fully expecting him to fly off over the trees (they usually do) before perching in amongst the bramble.

My left hand signalled an oncoming dog walker to ‘stay’ while my right slowly raised the camera to fire a couple off before he rose and disappeared out of sight. Unexpected and gratefully appreciated.

I’d have been quite prepared to go home satisfied after this encounter, but the day was still young, so after rechecking the centre lake and pond where more damsels were awakening to activity. Walking along the southern shore I noticed a fresh, teneral damsel flutter across my path to land in the grass briefly before letting the wind take him over the trees.

Another highlight then, being my first encounter with a Red-eyed this season.

Onto Durley Mill where I intended to visit a small, hidden pond situated in the woods on private land. Access to this pond was always fraught with a little adventure by navigation alone, let alone the chance of bumping into the land owner! Last year any hope of exploration was blocked by extensive tree-felling and coppicing, and last time I looked they’d blocked off the only access point with an impromptu fence. This time I found a way through and forced myself through challenging bramble growth before navigating a couple of barbed wire fences and more woodland. My reward was a few more damsels..

Back to the path for some more Beautifuls – dozens rising from the nettle and wild garlic adorning this wonderful steep valley; the majority flying out of reach.

My next scheduled stop was ‘the pond’ and on arrival I’d almost regretted my decision as a strong south-westerly blew away the foliage about my person I’d collected earlier. But I was here now, and a little wind wasn’t going to stop the Chasers enjoying themselves. Several Broad-bodied and Four-spotted were patrolling, occasionally meeting in friendly tussles until a female BBC arrived and all hell broke loose! The victor carried her off across the bushes and I knew it would’ve been futile to give chase knowing that their coupling would be brief.

I did a round of the pond and noticed the wing reflection of a recently-emerged Broad-bodied Chaser deep down in the gorse close to shore.

I made a mental note to search this bush thoroughly in the future as its close proximity to shore may reveal more emerging wonders.

After this discovery I did the obligatory search of the gorse thicket before sitting on the south bank content to just sit and watch the aerial acrobatics of the Chasers.

A fine end to a productive weekend.

We’d all like to think that Spring arrives with a clock change, and in recent years a blast of fine weather in March can kick-start the season providing welcome relief from long winters. But at what cost?

Certainly the past two years have given us an early bounty; a sneak-preview with early sightings of key Spring species. These false starts can prove to be detrimental for many insects, not least the butterflies who have a very short flight period. A return to morning frost can kill most, if not all early emergences.

This Spring we have been rudely brought back to earth with many seasonal species running two or three weeks late – longer in some instances. Pearl-bordered Fritillaries have by now usually given way to the Small Pearl-bordered, but the former have yet to reach their prime. A wander around their habitat will give you a clue. The lack of feeder plants, and indeed the lack of most seasonal flora confirms that Spring has yet to fully arrive.

It’s over a month since I found my first Large Reds, and it seemed like an age before I found a little diversity.

First call on Saturday was Badminston, where despite the cooling clouds and stiff breeze, I managed to find good populations of Azure and Common Blue Damselflies sharing shelter among the gorse with the inevitable Large Reds.

Occasionally these flighty little damsels would offer a decent opportunity.

I had hoped for a Hairy, having found one here last year,but it wasn’t to be today. I did however find a fresh Four-spotted Chaser

Back in May 2009 my favourite pond was alive with swarms of Chasers and Damsels, providing the very spectacle which turned me on to dragonflies in the first place. Yesterday was the first time this season I’ve witnessed any action over water, with a few male Broad-bodied and Four-spotted first in the queue for any passing females.

It was a welcome sight to see. Even the satellite pond close to the road had a couple of male BBC’s battling it out. As I arrived at the main pond a Four-spotted patrolled the eastern shore pausing frequently to perch in the gorse bush.

While I was busy grabbing this shot, Paul W arrived and we searched the gorse for more willing subjects. A few paces a male BBC was resting.

A fresh female Broad-bodied Chaser offered my favourite opportunity of the day, perched as she was on a gorse flower.

The gorse thicket threw up several more, including this stunning young male.

A pleasing day then, and a promise of more to come.

On Sunday I met my good friend Doug for our first outing of the season. We spent most of the afternoon investigating some new ponds, the majority located on private land. The first was behind a fruit farm and was a typical fishing pond – a good indication that dragonflies would be scarce! A few Large Red, Common Blue and Azure were our reward.

More of the same at a nearby small, wooded pond which quite frankly could do with some sympathetic management. A little work and it could reap benefits.

Next on the schedule was another ‘hidden’ woodland pond used for duck shoots! If we hadn’t had access to a location app we probably wouldn’t have found it. This one showed promise; certainly ideal Downy territory. More of the same damselflies decorated the grass along one bank and then Doug spotted a teneral Downy rise and disappear over the trees. Further along this steep bank I saw another – this one more mature. Neither gave us a photo opportunity, although we are talking Downys!

A result then, as far as sightings go, but I was getting restless for some action. Back over the Avon to Ramsdown, where at least the small pond produced some parading Four-spotted Chasers.

A trip to Ramsdown should always include a visit to Troublefield, and I’m pleased to say it has dried out considerably – although wellies are still essential. The southern meadow was alive with butterflies and reasonable numbers of Beautiful Demoiselles, although the latter proved very flighty.

So far, so good – just as a wet meadow should be. Eager to check out the northern meadow, our hopes were soon shattered by the sight of those dreaded cattle! Once again they’ve introduced them into the meadow too early, which means the death knell for the wild flowers and the invertebrates who thrive in these environments.

That’s three years in a row now. Are you listening Dorset Wildlife Trust? It is one of your reserves which you are so proud to advertise. E-mails have been sent, complaints have been made and non-committal replies have been received. Do you really care about the ‘nature’ in your reserves, or are you more interested in the funds provided by renting out prime water meadow as cattle feed? I already know the real answer. It’s up to you DWT to convince me (and your members) otherwise…

On a more positive note, I managed to add two new species to my count this season.

After studying the forecast every closely for 24 hours, we were still hopeful there would be a reasonable amount of sun to entice the insects out. The drive across the forest looked promising, but when we arrived at Pennington a dull blanket of cloud put everything in shadow. A gusty wind cooled temperatures further and my mood began to reflect the climate.

We did a full round of the first pond and at least found a few Large Red, one Blue-tailed and a couple of Azures.

The other ponds produced nothing, but I should imagine there were some Blue-tailed buried down to escape the wind. We did have a fine display of Sand Martins carpet-bombing the surface of the water.

Crockford was another disappointment, although we did see the sun briefly and an immature female Beautiful Demoiselle. Oh, and about 20 Large Red sheltering in a gorse bush.

More Large Red at Hatchet Pond, but absolutely nothing else. Choices? Where next? I had meant to visit Badminston if the weather was good enough, but decided to leave it until some decent weather arrives.

Instead we decided to end the day with a visit to one of the few places in the New Forest where Pearl-bordered Fritillary are still found. We hadn’t been there for 4 years!

At least we were greeted by a sunny spell. Brief, but enough to show a couple. Sue saw the first, but lost sight of it before I got there. And then suddenly I saw the unmistakeable orange vibrancy of a fresh male perched on an old tree stump.

He wouldn’t allow me to get too close, and led me a merry dance across the clearing before settling low down and presumably out of view from my prying eyes. I persevered as this was the only opportunity I have this afternoon.

So, despite the disappointing weather, a few shots to come home with.

A reasonably good forecast for Thursday meant a trip to the pond followed by a visit to Bentley Wood, firstly in case the Pearl-bordered Fritillary butterflies were out, but also to check the progress on the ponds. But more of that later.

At the pond the promised sunny intervals were mostly absent; although our cloud appeared to be surrounded by blue sky. Isn’t that just the way sometimes?

No matter. Despite being too cool (and probably too early) for activity over the water (it was a cold night), we did manage to find a few Large Red, including one which chose the wooden bridge to emerge.

It wasn’t long before our passage through the gorse thicket disturbed a few (immature) Broad-bodied Chasers, the majority flying out of reach. Luckily I managed to stealthily pursue an immature male who was reluctant to travel too far.

That’ll do for me!

Next stop Bentley Wood…and that turned out to be a real disappointment. We failed to find any Pearl-bordered Fritillaries, and failed to find any other butterflies except a couple of passing Brimstones and a solitary Small White. The Eastern Clearing – and much of the wood – has suffered though with the recent downpours, and has reverted to a sticky quagmire with little appeal for butterflies. Birdsong was entertaining though!

The ponds were just as disappointing, with just a few inconspicuous Large Red and no sign of any exuvia.

Feeling that we may have peaked too soon, or simply chosen the right location on the wrong day, we reminded ourselves that we at least had something to go home with.

Except the day wasn’t over yet.

Curiosity convinced me to call in at a pond recommended by Paul Winters on the way home. This pond isn’t the type of pond I would normally consider, being (I’m presuming) man-made on the site of a (relatively new) business estate right next door to the M271.

But it was worth it for the addition of two new species for this season;-

There weren’t many. A quick foray produced around half-a-dozen Azures and a solitary Blue-tailed Damselfly.

It would’ve been nice to get a better shot, but there’s plenty of time for that! This short visit to an unfamiliar location more than made up for the three hours since I last had chance to use the camera.

Scattered showers with occasional sunny spells should not prevent dragonfly enthusiasts from exploring sheltered roosting areas, provided you know where to look. After the delight of finding the Beautiful Demoiselles on Monday, we returned to the spot on Wednesday and, after tenacious searching, we managed to almost double the numbers.

The probability is there were figures well in excess of this, with the majority observed preferring to shelter high up in the trees. This isn’t the first time we’ve observed the Beautiful acting in this way – especially at this location – but we are more used to them perching at less than human head height. At the end of the day we’ve usually witnessed them burying themselves deep within the foliage; as close to ground level as possible.

Some of the larger species do the same. The Hairy and Brown Hawker for instance.

Besides offering a safe refuge for newly-emerged tenerals, the trees also provide the majority of insect prey, will offer better shelter from the rain and maximum exposure to sporadic sun. I’m also guessing the temperature is higher than the ground level of sheltered woodland with warm, moist air rising from the banks of the shaded stream below.

We are used to seeing Demoiselles frolicking in open areas on warmer days, and this is also the case here. When temperatures are too high in the canopy they descend to the few open sunny areas along the path to roost and feed. At these times the sight is a wonder to behold, as dozens cascade around you giving credence to the ‘fairies-at-the-bottom-of-the-garden’ myth.

This young section of river is one of the few places you can observe Beautiful Demoiselles outside of the New Forest, and it’s certainly one of the earliest – no doubt testament to temperatures being a few degrees higher inland from the coastal climate. The deep, sheltered valley also retains heat and humidity better than open heathland.

The wet meadow is popular all insects, including butterflies.

Although relatively small, this location provides the perfect mix of traditional wooded river valley, water meadow and farmland. A peaceful, compact area ideal for spending a couple of hours.

After a decent period of warm & sunny weather our climate reverted to default; a continuing band of low pressure bringing grey skies, rain and strong winds. Not ideal weather for pursuing dragonflies, but can be beneficial for photographing butterflies provided the sun peeks through sporadically.

Monday looked to be a promising choice for taking a third trip in the hope of finding some Duke of Burgundy at a North Hampshire location, and this time we were lucky.

On the way home I followed a hunch and stopped in at a favourite upstream section of the River Hamble. Just before the deluge we were greeted with the unmistakeable vision of cascading Demoiselles. Just a few, but enough to round off the day nicely.

We counted 14 in total during our brief stay, but acquiring photographs proved to be a challenge as most rose up into the trees beyond reach. I did have one perch beautifully, until a passing Speckled Wood butterfly took exception and chases off my subject. Twice! I don’t recall ever being so furious with a butterfly.

The impending gloom put a stop to all insect life, and I just managed another snapshot before wrapping up for the day…