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.

Earlier today, Katrina and I met our good friends Gordon and Mieko Hay for a pub lunch at the Inn on the Pond, Nutfield Marsh. This is just a stone's throw from Holmethorpe SPs, and - it just so happened - Gordon and I had taken our optics along for the outing... cue post lunch walk, which took in a loop around Spynes Mere. The still, muggy air was most conducive to a bit of odonata action, with the most numerous species present being the 15-20 Willow Emerald Damselflies. They were happy to perch for the camera, but as a subject were difficult to capture well with the bridge camera. The best of my effort is above. If you want to see good quality images, take a look at what Marc Heath produces here   -  just shows you what skill, patience and top notch equipment can result in, three elements in which I sadly lack.

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).