Four spotted chaser day today at Messingham sand quarries. I found a dragonfly just emerging from its exuvia. A sequence of photos follows.
Wednesday 29 July 2009
Four spotted chaser. MSQ. Lincs. 25-5-09.
Another freshly emerged four spot ready for its maiden flight.
Tuesday 28 July 2009
Grizzled skipper. Ashton Upthorpe downs. Oxon. 23-5-09.
Visit to this area hoping for some exciting butterflies, there were a few grizzled skippers about which was nice. A great surprise for me was a red kite soaring overhead through the treetop clearing but i never had my camera ready and later i found these raptors were everywhere.
Small heath. Ashton Upthorpe downs. Oxon. 23-5-09.
Lots of small heaths about here , this one posing perfectly for a photo.
Clubtail dragonfly. Wittenham clumps. Oxon. 23-5-09.
Earlier in the day i searched for clubtails beside the Thames at Goring and i never found any which was unusual because this is the hotspot for this dragonfly. Driving along the country roads looking for promising clubtail areas i came across Wittenham clumps. This is a scenic spot with a high hill with excellent scenic views of the area. As i was walking along a footpath i saw a birdwatcher and he was watching a hobby, we got talking and he mentioned to me that he had just taken photos of clubtails, which got me excited and a quick walk to the area, after a search i found some which made me a happy person as this was what i came for.
Clubtail dragonfly. Wittenham clumps. Oxon. 23-5-09.
I found about six of these here, some i flushed from the reeds and they flew up to the treetops, but happily i found a couple which allowed me to get near for photos.
Banded demoiselle. Wittenham clumps. Oxon. 23-5-09.
While photographing clubtails this banded demoiselle was within reach so i could not resist a photo opportunity for a close up. This species was very numerous here.
Small blue. Streatley.Oxfordshire. 23-5-09.
Afternoon visit to Lordon Chase NR , just outside Goring. Small colony of small blues here, another first for me, also chalkhill and adonis blues exist here but sadly too early for them.
Mayfly. Goring. Oxfordshire. 23-5-09.
I found this mayfly resting on an iris leave beside the Thames.
Green hairstreak. Hartslock NR. Oxfordshire. 24-5-09.
Sunday morning and a visit to Hartslock NR, just beside Goring. Beautiful weather and a terrific nature reserve offering superb scenic views of Goring, the winding Thames and the railway viaduct, with its surrounding hillsides and downs, also soaring buzzards and red kites in the blue sky, awesome. Another butterfly enthusiast showed me this green hairstreak, which was my first.
Green hairstreak. Hartslock NR. Oxfordshire. 24-5-09.
Another shot of the butterfly, also here were common blues, a holly blue and a dingy skipper, sadly no adonis blues, a little early for them.
Monday 27 July 2009
Scarce chaser. Woodwalton fen. Cambridgeshire. 17-5-09.
A trip to Cambridgeshire on the hunt for scarce chasers, weather was poor, i did not expect to find any but there were some about, all immature.
Scarce chaser. Woodwalton fen. Cambridgeshire. 17-5-09.
Altogether there was about a dozen of these dragonflies, all resting due to poor weather
Red eyed damselfly. Kirkby pits. Lincs. 11-5-09.
A short visit to Kirkby pits produced numerous red eyed damselflies all in teneral stage along with common blue, azure and large red damselflies.
Brown argus. Kirkby pits NR. Lincs. 11-5-09.
Brown argus were numerous here, making most of the spring sunshine.
Common blue butterfly.Kirkby pits NR. Lincs. 11-5-09.
A few of these blue butterflies were about, nectaring on birds foot trefoil, this one resting on bramble.
Dingy skipper. Chambers farm wood. Lincs. 11-5-09.
A return visit to little scrubs meadow at chambers wood ( i went there earlier but i saw no butterflies) i saw something flutter past and land in front of me and was very surprised to see a dingy skipper for the first time.
Marsh fritillary. Chambers farm wood. Lincs. 11-5-09.
After my enjoyment of finding a dingy skipper, came across 3 freshly emerged marsh fritillaries.
Hairy dragonfly. Messingham NR. 9-5-09.
A visit to Messingham sand quarries NR looking for hairy dragonflies, i was lucky enough to find one emerging from its exuvia, a sequence of photos follows.
Hairy dragonfly. Messingham NR. 9-5-09.
A bit of cheating going on here. The dragonfly was finding it difficult warming up due to being out of the sun so i carefully cut the stem it was on and placed it nearby in the full sun , i went for a walk and returned to see it shortly before its maiden flight.
Sunday 26 July 2009
Swallowtail. How hill NR. Norfolk. 8-6-08.
My first visit to this superb site to see swallowtails for the very first time.
Swallowtail. How hill NR. Norfolk. 8-6-08.
Saw plenty of these beautiful butterflies in this reserve feeding on thistles and bramble and even flying across the green while families were having picnics.
White legged damselfly. Waterhall meadows NR. Essex. 7-7-08.
I arrived at this nature reserve and the rain was teeming down so i sat in the car and waited hopefully for a brief spell of sunshine and it came. I found this damselfly resting only metres away.
White legged damselfly. River Stour. Nayland. Essex.7-7-08.
A couple of hours later and it was sunny, another photo of this species at a different site.
Silver studded blue. Buxton heath. Norfolk. 8-7-08.
Today i visited Buxton heath in Norfolk looking for the silver studded blue butterfly, it took a while but i found a small colony of this tiny butterfly amongst the heather.
Norfolk hawker. How hill NR. Norfolk. 10-7-08.
On my last day in Norfolk made a return visit to How Hill NR hoping for another chance to photo a norfolk hawker, luck was with me this time as i came across one resting in the reedbed.
Southern damselfly. New Forest. 5-6-09.
Crockford Bridge in the New Forest. Small southern damselfly colony, this being my first ever sighting. Small red damselflies occur here too but i may have been a bit early for them.
Southern damselfly.New Forest. 5-6-08.
Another shot of this rare damselfly, this one being a female.
Beautiful demoiselle. New Forest.5-6-08.
Plenty of beautiful demoiselles about, this one is an immature female.
Thursday 23 July 2009
Golden ringed dragonfly. Thursley common. 4-6-08.
Thursley common, a mecca for dragonflies. This buzzed passed me and landed in the heather some distance in front of me, i kept my eyes on the spot and made my way quickly to the area, as i got nearer i realised it was a golden ringed dragonfly, a first for me and one i was hoping to see.
Brilliant emerald dragonfly. Thursley common. 4-6-08.
A superb dragonfly, i saw this flying around and it landed on the heather, i looked through my binoculars to id it and was so elated to see it was a brilliant emerald, as i got nearer it flew off, i was so upset but i managed to relocate it later to get some superb photos.
Brilliant emerald dragonfly. Thursley common. 4-6-08.
The colours on this dragonfly were stunning, metallic green sheen, the best dragonfly i have seen.
Scarce emerald damselfly. Vange marsh. Essex. 6-7-08.
A trip to Essex visiting relatives and to visit some of my old haunts. This area has recently been turned into a nature reseve . Scarce emerald damselflies thrive here along with essex skippers and marbled white butterflies. I managed to find a dozen or so before it started to rain.
Heath fritillary. Hadleigh woods. Essex. 6-7-08.
During the week there had been reports of 30 plus of this butterfly, but not today, weather was appalling but i found one worn individual, another new butterfly for me.
Lesser stag beetle. Hadleigh woods. Essex. 6-7-08.
As i was photographing the heath fritillary this creature came into view just beside me, an unexpected bonus.
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