Date: 21st June 2024
Time: from 9:15 a.m.
Weather: dry, sunny, light wind, 15°C
to 20°C
My visit this morning was on the
longest day of the year and it was also my warmest visit of the year which augured
well for butterflies, dragonflies and damselflies. This definitely proved to be the case.
I had a very successful visit with a new record for the site, namely Southern
Migrant Hawker, plus a further 5 new records for the site for 2024: Swift, Ringlet, Meadow
Brown, Black-tailed Skimmer, Common Blue Damselfly.
I saw a dragonfly species in the bushes
adjacent to the southern section of the boardwalk in the eastern section of the
reserve. Beyond initially identifying it as a hawker species, I was
unsure as to what I was looking at. I took some photos and, after consulting my
books and the Internet when I got home, I identified it as a female Southern
Migrant Hawker.
Southern Migrant Hawker is a species that I had yet to record anywhere in the
UK so I was particularly pleased to see my first on my Noak Bridge Nature Reserve local patch.
The Southern Migrant Hawker is a species found in southern and central Europe, in North Africa and the Middle East and across Asia to China. However, its range is expanding north west and the British Dragonfly Society states
that it has been breeding around the Thames estuary
since 2010 and over the past 2 decades reports of migrant influxes have become more
frequent with most sightings coming from the
south-east coast. In recent days, Southern Migrant Hawker has
been reported from RSPB Bowers Marsh and Canvey Way.
Photo: female Southern Migrant Hawker
During my
visit, in addition to the Southern Migrant Hawker, I recorded 3 dragonfly and damselfly species: Black-tailed
Skimmer (1), Azure Damselfly (at least 20), Common Blue Damselfly
(at least 5)
I also recorded
6 butterfly species: Ringlet (5), Meadow Brown (1), Holly
Blue (4), Comma (1), Large Skipper (2) and Speckled Wood
(4)
With
regard to birds, I heard a “screaming” Swift high overhead but
unfortunately failed to see it.
Chiffchaffs and Blackcaps are
still very evident across the reserve. Surprisingly, given the full tree and
bush cover now, I actually managed to see a singing male Chiffchaff and
additionally heard 4 other singing males. However, despite hearing 2 singing
male Blackcaps, I failed to see any of these birds.
I also saw a well-grown juvenile
Moorhen on Willow Pond.
There were at least 10 Edible
Frogs at Meadow Pond judging by the “plops” in to the water as I
approached but I did manage to see 5 individuals and photograph a few of them.
Species recorded during this visit were as follows
(heard only records in italics):
Swift
Blackcap
Chiffchaff
Blue Tit
Great Tit
Robin
Wren
Song Thrush
Blackbird
Jay
Magpie
Woodpigeon
Moorhen
Edible Frog
Ringlet
Meadow Brown
Holly Blue
Comma
Large Skipper
Speckled Wood
Southern
Migrant Hawker
Black-tailed
Skimmer
Common
Blue Damselfly
Azure Damselfly
Here are some other photos from my visit ….
Photo: Common Blue Damselfly
Photo: Common Blue Damselfly
Photo: Ringlet
Photo: Comma
Photo: Holly Blue
Photo: Large Skipper
Photo: Speckled Wood
Photo: Edible Frog
Photo: Edible Frog
Photo: Edible Frog
Photo: Edible Frog
Photo: male Chiffchaff
Site totals for 2024 to date (2023 totals in brackets):
Birds = 33 (36)
Mammals = 3 (2)
Butterflies = 8 (15)
Dragonflies and damselflies = 5 (11)
Reptiles = 0 (1)
Amphibians = 1 (2)
Total species list for the site:
Birds = 49
Mammals = 4
Butterflies = 22
Dragonflies and damselflies = 15
Reptiles = 2
Amphibians = 3
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