There were many butterflies on the wing although numbers of White Admiral had decreased. This time we only saw 4. Also of interest were 1 Silver-washed Fritillary and 4 Purple Hairstreaks. Meadow Browns and Ringlets were numerous, but only 2 Speckled Wood and 2 Gatekeepers were noted. There were still a few Large Skippers present along with a handful of Small Skippers. 2 Red Admirals and 3 Comma were also noted.
Monkwood also held a good variety of Dragonflies and damselflies. An immature ♂ Southern Hawker was present near the carpark and 4 Brown Hawkers were noted from a number of locations. Common Darters were also present along a number of the rides.
At the pools there were at least 3♂ Ruddy Darters present, with 3 Broad-bodied Chasers (2♂ & 1♀) and a ♂ Emperor Dragonfly also of note. On the middle pool there were 6+ ♂ Emerald Damselflies. Also recorded were Azure, Blue-tailed and Large Red Damselflies.
From Monkwood we headed over to the nearby Camp Lane pits at Grimley. On arrival at the North end we were greeted by the sight of a Little Egret and 3 Common Terns. Not long afterwards a Hobby came through hawking low over the lagoons for dragonflies. The aerial acrobatics of this agile raptor were just superb...I really do never tire of seeing Hobby!
From Monkwood we headed over to the nearby Camp Lane pits at Grimley. On arrival at the North end we were greeted by the sight of a Little Egret and 3 Common Terns. Not long afterwards a Hobby came through hawking low over the lagoons for dragonflies. The aerial acrobatics of this agile raptor were just superb...I really do never tire of seeing Hobby!
Dragonflies were very much in evidence here (as also noticed by the Hobby) with Black-tailed Skimmers and Common Darter being the most numerous. A single ♀ Four-spotted Chaser and a ♂ Emperor Dragonfly were also noted.
From Camp Lane we headed over to Top Barn farm shop for some refreshments and sat enjoying the sun's rays as we tucked into our freshly prepared baguettes. On day's like this you forget what a crap summer it had been up until recently!
Emerald Damselfly - Monkwood
Large Red Damselfly - Monkwood
Photo by Bev Kernohan
Common Darter (immature ♂) - Grimley
Photo by Bev Kernohan
Nice list of Butterfly species Jase, many of those dont appear on my patch :-(
ReplyDeleteTo be honest Warren I dont get White admiral or silver washed at shenstone....wish I did though!
ReplyDeleteExcellent photos! I agree; 5 minutes of sun (especially with a picnic) and it's easy to forget all the cold, damp days.
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