NORTH DOWNS & BEYOND

At last a bit of dry and sunny weather! I hot-footed it off to Colley Hill where the butterflies were on show, with 350 Meadow Browns, 175 Chalkhill Blues and 10 Silver-spotted Skippers the highlights from the steep chalk slopes. A couple of Hobbys spent a bit of time sparring with the local Kestrels. The afternoon was spent at Holmethorpe SP, with the vegetation between the M23 and Spynes Mere busy with Small Red-eyed Damselflies (at least 60) and two Willow Emerald Damselflies (both species pictured below.) A pristine Brown Hairstreak was in the same area, but didn’t settle to have its picture taken.

It may only be eight miles from home (and they may have been there for a few years), but I had yet to pay my respects to the Holmethorpe colony of Willow Emerald Damselfly, a recent colonist of our shores. Too laid back? Not keen enough? Whatever the reason, my visit this morning coincided with warm and sunny weather. It took a good couple of hours to find one, and after a quick look at the ridge dewpond (see below), an early afternoon return found a further four individuals. None of them were anything other than flighty, with most taking themselves up into the top of the mature vegetation that flanks the perimeter path of Spynes Mere (above). The dewpond (above) that I referred to is most probably too grand a term for this small water body, a depression on old landfill that holds seasonal water. It was alive with odonata this morning, including a minimum of 20+ Small Red-eyed Damselfly (below).