Thursday 4th |June
A bit of catching up to do.
After the success of Saturday and the promise of another pleasant day of sunshine, I decided to return to Bramshill. Being on my own I could seek out those other water bodies without getting Sue into any danger.
Firstly let’s find an easier way into those ponds. There is; but I didn’t find it until a little later! I chose the hard way, but at least found the missing two ponds from Saturday’s visit.
On the first of these were a selection of damsels, some Four-spotted Chasers and an Emperor. The best opportunity though came from a trio of Azures.
Over on the other pools were much of the same, except the addition of a male Downy and a couple of male Hairy. I tried for a while with some in-flighters, but they proved to be just a little too far off.
Leaving the clearing via the hidden door, I continued through to the large clearing where the dominant species were Black-tailed Skimmers. A few more Four-spotted Chasers and a couple of Emperors flew up at my passing and the grasses were peppered with damsels.
Next it was Long Lake, where there was plenty of activity over the southern shore. I attempted to capture the Downy, but he was on a mission, taking the whole shoreline as his territory. So I opted for an Emperor instead.
On through Emperor Alley, where the attendant clearings were somewhat subdued compared to usual; no doubt all out in pursuit of procreation. I did encounter a male Emperor at the end of the path and watched as he gave a fine hawking display over the crossroads at the end.
I know I should’ve stayed put, but my reason for visiting today was further exploration; a decision I was soon to regret as I do tend to wander some distance. I did find several more water bodies, but non which appealed more than those I’d already found.
There were a good few sun-traps along the way with some fine feeding displays. For once I didn’t get lost and finally found my way back to Long Lake where I busied myself with the Red-eyed.
One more jaunt along Emperor Alley before returning to the ponds and a further excursion around the large clearing frankly wore me out, and I’d realised I’d overdone a little in this heat.Only another Black-tailed Skimmer offered an opportunity.
I took my leave a little disappointed this time around. As I’ve said before, this site doesn’t share it’s secrets willingly. Since then I’m aware that my shot of the day came right at the beginning. Those Azures have caused a real storm on Flickr, 500px and even Facebook!