Date: 22nd June 2022
Time: from 8 a.m.
Weather: dry,
sunny, light wind, 14°C to 18°C
Having seen the emergence of Marbled Whites as
I walked through the rough grassland area adjacent to St. Nicholas
Lane on my return home from EWT Langdon (Dunton) yesterday, I
decided to visit this morning specifically with the purpose of photographing
this species and any other butterflies.
Although only 14°C at the start of my visit, the grass strip known as Hilly Road which runs down from the church to St. Nicholas Lane and particularly the rough grassland area adjacent to St. Nicholas Lane were both alive with very active butterflies.
I recorded 4 or 5 species: Marbled White (20+), Small Skipper/Essex Skipper (20+), Large Skipper (at least 1), Meadow Brown (20+)
All 3 skipper species were first site records for 2022, bringing the total number of butterfly species recorded to 10.
I have seen Marbled
Whites in the rough grassland
area adjacent to St. Nicholas Lane in previous years but I do not recall
so many which is really encouraging. They were very challenging to photograph since
they rarely settled on any of the grass stems or plants. However, I did manage
to get photos of both a male and a female ….
All skipper species can also be difficult to photograph since they are very active and fast fliers. If that isn't challenging enough, photos rarely show the undersides of the antennae to confirm the identification (brown in Small Skipper and black in Essex Skipper). A few skippers did settle for brief periods to allow me to get some photographs ….
After visiting this area, I walked back up to the church, through the cemetery and on to the pond in the north of the site which had held at least 2 male and 2 female Broad-bodied Chasers, a single Four-spotted Chaser, a single Large Red Damselfly and 50+ Azure Damselflies and/or Common Blue Damselflies on my last visit on 15th June 2022.
As I passed through the cemetery, I noticed a female Ruddy Darter resting on one of the noticeboards.
Photo: female Ruddy Darter
As I reached the pond, there seemed to be a complete absence of dragonflies and damselflies compared with my last visit.
However, after a few minutes I spotted a male Emperor Dragonfly resting on vegetation on the far side. As the temperature increased, it must have taken flight and it continued to hawk up and down the pond. I then also saw a female Emperor Dragonfly which came down to the surface of the pond to oviposit.
Photo: male Emperor Dragonfly
Photo: male Emperor Dragonfly
Photo: ovipositing female Emperor Dragonfly
The only other species that I saw was a single Azure Damselfly.
Photo: Azure Damselfly
Ruddy Darter and Emperor Dragonfly were both first site records for 2022, bringing the total number of dragonfly species recorded to 10.
I recorded very few bird species on my visit
but I was able to add Cormorant to my site list for 2022, a single bird
flying very high in a southerly direction, bringing my total
number of species recorded to 58.
In addition, whilst at the pond in the north of the site, I was able to watch and photograph a pair of very active and calling Common Buzzards. This was my best encounter so far of this species at the site and I am sure that they are the birds that I have been seeing from my flat fairly regularly, especially as one of them has some of its remiges (secondaries) missing. I think it is also likely that this pair has been breeding in the area given the frequency of sightings since early spring.
Photo: Common Buzzard
Photo: Common Buzzard
Photo: Common Buzzard
Photo: Common Buzzard
Photo: Common Buzzard
Both Blackcaps and Chiffchaffs are still evident: I heard 3 singing male Blackcaps and saw a single male Chiffchaff and heard 3 others as I walked around the site.
Finally, I heard a Reeves’ Muntjac “barking” in the wooded area adjacent to the eastern section of the cemetery.
Species
recorded during this visit were as follows (heard only records in italics):
Slava Ukraini! …. Glory to Ukraine!
💚🦆 🦉🦋🐝🦊🦡🌼 🌳💚
Stay safe, stay well, stay strong, stay connected with nature
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