Reculver and Highstead

For the first time in almost a month I went birding this morning at Reculver. I left home at 5.30am and made the 5 minute drive into the area where on the way 1 Little Owl flew up from the road. I parked up near the towers and with the sun just rising I walked on down the seawall to Coldharbour where I spent some time looking around the pool. Other than the usual commoner birds the highlight this morning were 6 Little Tern which were fishing off Coldharbour for a while before moving seemingly off east. I attempted a few distant shots but most of them were looking into the sun so they did not come out at all well. There were 2 Little Owl in the caravan park, 1 Peregrine, 1 Willow Warbler, 16 Swift, 28 Sandwich Tern, 33 Common Tern, 1 Whimbrel, 3 Grey Heron, 6 Little Egret, 14 Ringed Plover, 1 Greenshank, 3 Common Sandpiper, 1 Eider, 10 Yellow Wagtail, 1 Fulmar west, 1 Hobby and 2 Swallow. As I walked back to the car the forecast clouds started to move in but before I returned home I called in at Highstead to see if I could find the 2 Small Red eyed Damselfly that Chris Tedder had found a few day earlier. On arrival it actually started spitting with rain but there were odd breaks in the cloud but the sun never really did make it out. I had a walk along the footpath and general area noting 13 Emerald Damselfly, 1 Emperor Dragonfly seen catching and then eating a Common Darter, lots of Common Darter as well as Common Blue and Blue tailed Damselflies and 5 Black tailed Skimmer. I had a good look in the area Chris had told me to look in but at first with no luck but as I walked back checking the bushes and long grass I at last found the first of 2 Small Red eyed Damselfly resting up out of the wind. These Damselflies are still nationally quite rare and can only be found in the south east of Britain but I believe they are slowly spreading north. With not a great deal of light I set about getting a few photos and had a good look at the identification features, namely the 'X' shape on segment 10 which can partly be seen in the photos. On one occasion when it landed, it seemed to tightrope on some spiders silk making for a nice shot as it tried to balance.

Small Red eyed Damselfly

With a few shots taken I made my way back to the car and home which as I arrived the sun duly come out! Weather permitting I shall hopefully be on another Dragonfly mission tomorrow with a visit to Bedgebury to see Brilliant Emerald. This would be another new species for me to go with my ever growing collection in 2013. Hopefully I will see some and maybe a photo if I am lucky but they can be one of the most difficult species to photograph! Again the photos seem nothing like what I edited in Photoshop with noise and colour issues. I just wish they would upload as I would want them to, sort it out Blogger!!

Small Red eyed Damselfly

If You Keep Trying!

With the sun shining but a very strong wind I had an hour this afternoon in East Blean Woods where I thought I would have a look what butterflies were on the wing. Around the car park I noted a few Heath Fritillary, Ringlet, Meadow Brown and Ringlet and a couple of Comma were seen flying by. A scan of the tree tops produced 2 Purple Hairstreak and a dragonfly could be seen gliding around. On further inspection I could see it was a Migrant Hawker and after a few minutes there were 2 Migrant Hawker flying around, my first of the year. Occasionally they would land briefly and as I approached I disturbed a male Emperor Dragonfly which was resting but luckily after a few laps of the car park it returned and landed again in the open, with no twigs or branches in the way. I have been trying for a while for a male Emperor in the open and the day I look for butterflies, it happens. I thankfully took the chance to take a few shots and spent some time studying this beast.

Male Emperor Dragonfly

With one eye on the Emperor I noticed a Migrant Hawker land in a clear low down area and with a bit of creeping up I was able to get my first shots this year of the species. 

Immature Male Migrant Hawker

With what was intended to be a butterfly session, it somewhat ended up being a very satisfying session indeed with the Emperor shots ticked off.

Male Emperor Dragonfly

Wind in the Willows!

With only a couple of hours out this morning I left home at 8am in the sunshine but there was a strong wind which was going to make the job of finding dragonflies a little harder this morning. I spent an hour at Highstead where there were a few sheltered areas and quite a bit of activity. I manged to see 11 Emerald Damselfly including 10 adults, lots of Common Blue, Blue tailed and Azure Damselflies and at least 5 Black tailed Skimmer. As I walked through the long grass lots of Common Darters flew out and a few posed for some nice close shots.

Common Darter

Also seen here were 1 Emperor with a few Gatekeeper and lots of 'Whites'. I then drove the 5 minute journey to Marshside where I hoped in the sunshine I would be able to get a few more shots of the Willow Emerald Damselflies. On arrival the wind was blowing straight into the trees I wanted to search which didn't help but after a brief walk around I found a few. I remembered an area last year I looked in which was quite sheltered and this proved to be a good decision for there were c30+ Willow Emerald Damselfly in this area with 20 or so in the same tree hanging around in small groups. I managed a few shots but with a fence in the way and the Emeralds just above head height for me, that's not hard really, I still didn't quite get the desired angles.

Willow Emerald Damselfly

It was great however to see this colony doing very well indeed and weather permitting I shall be back for more shots. With a good few weeks off work now I shall hopefully be out and about in the next few days trying to capture some of the species I have not seen and photographed yet and just maybe, a visit later in the week to see another new species if the weather allows, the Brilliant Emerald.

Willow Emerald Damselfly

In the next few months I will be hopefully moving across to a website rather than blogger which in my opinion, does not do that much for my photos. In uploading some of the photos and seeing them on the blog, the difference in colour and quality is quite incredible, and very annoying!! 

The Double at Cliffe

I had arranged with Mike Hook to meet up at Cliffe Marshes RSPB reserve this afternoon in the hope of connecting with 2 new species I have never seen before, Scarce Emerald Damselfly and the real prize, Southern Emerald Damselfly. The sun was shining on arrival at 2.30pm and soon after Mike arrived and we made the long walk to the 2nd viewing mound area. On the way there were lots of Common Darter and Ruddy Darter seen with a few Blue tailed Damselfly noted as well. We eventually arrived at the location concerned and Mike and I started to walk the ditches and scan for Damselflies. It was not long before I was watching the first of c30 Scarce Emerald Damselfly, Once you got your eye in they were quite easy to pick out and a few were seen in tandem and egg laying. The camera was soon off the shoulder and firing off shot after shot and after a few were in the bag it was nice to study this species and compare the differences to the Emerald Damselfly.

Male Scarce Emerald Damselfly

We carried on making sure the 3 horses in the field were not going to attack us and come across an area where the horses come down to drink and the reeds had been broken down by them and quite a bit of dry mud. I was happily photographing some Scarce Emerald Damselflies when I noticed some movement to my left. As I looked down I could see a pale Damselfly but the most notable feature was the bi-coloured pterostigma which stood out well. It was of course a Southern Emerald Damselfly, a real rare treat and the first time I have ever seen one. Mike was soon on to it as well and we spent some time photographing the Damselfly from different angles and appreciating this little beauty.

Male Southern Emerald Damselfly

Having looked a little later it would seem this is a male. It thankfully stayed in the same area and posed beautifully for shots, only flying away to chase other Damselflies and catch some prey and return. Having taken lots of photos we carried on looking seeing a few more Scarce Emerald Damselflies and lots more Common and Ruddy Darter.

Female Scarce Emerald Damselfly 

Male Scarce Emerald Damselfly

With the day moving on fast we returned one more time to the Southern Emerald Damselfly and took a few more shots before making the long walk back seeing 1 Emperor Dragonfly hunting the ditches.

Male Southern Emerald Damselfly

Another fantastic session and 2 more new species seen and a few pleasing shots. Many thanks again to Mike Hook for his knowledge of the area and for the company this afternoon. As usual it appears the shots appear somewhat washed out compared to the originals I did in photoshop.

A Willow Mission!

After receiving a text from Chris Tedder yesterday letting me know that some Willow Emerald Damselflies were on the wing at Marshside, I decided to pay a brief visit this afternoon to the area which is only a 5 minute drive from home. The sun had been shining for most of the day but as I arrived the clouds appeared to cover it for most of the duration of my visit which was a little annoying. Anyway, armed with some good directions I headed for the bushes near Little Greys Farm seeing the odd Common Blue and Blue tailed Damselfly as I walked along the bush line. A few minutes of searching were rewarded however when I found the first of 8 Willow Emerald Damselfly hanging up in the shade. There are a few features to check that they are Willow Emerald but one of the reliable features is the spur on the side of the thorax which can be seen well in the top 2 photos. They didn't fly much apart from the odd mission to catch prey before returning back to the same area and it was just a shame the sun was not quite shining. Not one to waste a chance, I set about getting a few shots of this scarce Kent species and ended up with a few passing the test for publication.

Willow Emerald Damselfly

After having a good look at them I left them in peace and returned back home within the hour. No doubt I shall make a few more visits in the next few weeks and hopefully capture this species in all it glory in the sunshine. If the weather is kind tomorrow I aim to make a visit to Cliffe RSPB reserve to hopefully see a couple of new species I have not seen yet, namely Scarce Emerald and Southern Emerald Damselfly. I'm quietly confident with the first species but the second could prove to be a mission. We shall have to wait and see!

Willow Emerald Damselfly

A Delivery of Letters!

A text to Julian Perry last night to find out if any White letter Hairstreak were on the wing in the Reculver area proved to be a good decision as he had seen 5 earlier the day before. I have never seen this species in the area and tried a number of times last year but the weather did not work in my favour on my visits. With the sun shining and hardly any wind I arrived at Bishopstone and made my way to the area concerned. A few seconds later and a few small butterflies could be seen flying around the Elm trees. They were hard to pick up on and could only be seen for a few seconds at a time. I moved to another area where the viewing was a little better and at last was rewarded with some nice views through the binoculars but frustratingly too far away for any type of shot. I moved on again and checked some more Elms and eventually found some more. I ended up seeing 15+ White letter Hairstreak in the areas I checked and after a bit of waiting and trying, I eventually managed to capture a shot of these hard to see butterflies. I think this shot is a 'work in progress' and hopefully in the next week or so I will be able to find some better viewing areas and maybe get a shot as they come down to nectar on the brambles. Other butterflies seen included 3 Speckled Wood, lots of 'whites', a few Skippers, 1 Red admiral, 3 Comma and 1 Holly Blue.

White letter Hairstreak

Silver Studded Blues at Thursley Common

Whilst at Thursley Common last Saturday there were a good number of Silver Studded Blues when the sun eventually come out providing some nice photo opportunities. Below are a few from the trip.

Silver Studded Blue

Golden Wonder!

Having spent quite a few hours at the weekend looking for Golden Ringed Dragonfly at Thursley Common without any success I was hoping that I would get another chance to see this dragonfly, a species I have never seen and in my opinion 'the dragonfly to see'. If you birdwatch, you want to see a Golden Eagle, if you look for butterflies, you want to see a Purple Emperor and if you like dragonflies, the one to see is the Golden ringed Dragonfly! There are only a couple of sites in Kent that host this species and one of these is Sissinghurst. Alan Pavey and Mike Hook had both seen them there and so I arranged to meet Mike Hook there late today for a personal tour. After meeting Mike he took me straight to the area concerned and within minutes 1 Golden Ringed Dragonfly flew by just above water level and moved out of sight. Pleased with this we moved on walking past the lake which had 3 Downy Emerald and 1 Brown Hawker. Mike took me to a very pretty site with a small stream running through some woodland where he had photographed one the other day. We started scanning the stream when I saw a Golden Ringed Dragonfly fly past again but thankfully this one stayed around and eventually landed causing a camera frenzy on my part.

Male Golden ringed Dragonfly

I was not to be disappointed as this Dragonfly was everything I wanted it to be, a stunning insect. I managed to get a number of shots from different angles as did Mike when another one appeared, yes there were now 2 Golden Ringed Dragonfly. They had the occasional fight and then the original male would again check his patch out and land one more for more shots.

Male Golden Ringed Dragonfly

After much studying we left them in peace and on the way back noted lots of Beautiful Demoiselles, 1 Ruddy Darter, 1 Four spotted Chaser, 5 Brown Hawker, 3 Black tailed Skimmer and a few White Admirals. A superb few hours and a most worthwhile trip. Many thanks to Mike Hook for his knowledge and showing me these lovely dragonflies, it was much appreciated.

Male Golden Ringed dragonfly

More From Thursley!

With so many photos taken yesterday at Thursley Common I have included a few more that turned out quite well I think. I will let the photos do the talking! Silver Studded Blues tomorrow.

Male Black Darter

Female Black Darter

Male Black Darter

Small Red Damselfly

Emperor Dragonfly

Thursley Common Part 1

With the weather forecast looking good for out trip today to Thursley Common I drove over to Derek Smith's house this morning at 7am where soon after we picked Patrick up and made the journey into Surrey. The further west we drove the clouds started to break up and a few hours later we arrived in the car park where the sun was shining, but not for to long! After getting ready we made our way to the moat and were soon watching lots of Four spotted Chasers which were very abundant today everywhere. Also noted here were my first lifer for the day in the form of a Downy Emerald which despite seeing quite well through the binoculars, never settled for photos. We made our way to a sunny corner and I soon found my second lifer of the day when I found some Small Red Damselflies which gave me the opportunity to get the camera into some action.

Small Red Damselfly

Whilst photographing the Damselflies I noticed a small Darter which after getting into a position to see could be identified as my third lifer of the day, a Black Darter. Common Blue and Blue tailed Damselflies could be seen and a few Emperors passed over the water whilst Four spotted Chasers were everywhere, it was Dragonfly heaven.

Emperor Dragonfly

At this point just as we were enjoying ourselves the clouds rolled in and for the next few hours made the day quite a challenge. We spent the next few hours walking around the various paths and boardwalks looking for Golden ringed Dragonfly, a species I would love to see but despite looking in areas they had been seen a few days earlier nothing was seen. It was looking like the weather was going to ruin the day when mid afternoon the clouds parted and the sun broke through in style making for hundreds of dragonflies and damselflies to be seen. Keeled Skimmers were everywhere as were Four spotted Chasers, Black Darters performed well for the camera including some stunning males and Emperor dragonflies worked the small pools.

Male Black Darter

As the heat picked up Large Red Damselflies and Small Red Damselflies seemed to be in good numbers and a couple of Hobby must have thought it was Christmas as they hunted the pools. A distant Red Kite was picked out by Derek but despite yet more visits to the Golden ringed site we could not turn up the goods. Silver Studded Blue butterflies were around in reasonable numbers and provided yet more photos and a visit back to the moat added 1 Brown Hawker and more views of the Downy Emerald.

Silver Studded Blue

A fantastic trip with 3 new lifers but hopefully the Golden ringed Dragonfly maybe seen in the next few weeks nearer to home at Sissinghurst if I get the time to visit. With hundreds of photos taken today I will add some throughout the week of the trip and thoroughly recommend a visit to this superb reserve, just make sure you check the weather is going to be sunny and not windy!