Radley Gravel Pits/Lakes 30th June

Spent a couple of hours here today to see what Damselflies and Dragonflies were about.

 Emerald Damselfly

 Common Blue Damselfly

 Emerald Damselfly

 Blue Tailed Damselfly

 Emerald Damselfly

 Southern Hawker

 Ruddy Darter

 Southern Hawker

Dams/Drags seen today:-
Banded Demoiselle 3
Emerald Damselfly 6+
Common Blue Damselfly 1000+
Azure Damselfly 2
Blue Tailed Damselfly 10+
Red Eyed Damselfly 20+
Emperor Dragonfly 6+
Southern Hawker 2
Brown Hawker 6+
Four Spotted Chaser 8+
Black Tailed Skimmer 10+
Ruddy Darter 15+

Lots of wildflowers around, I got a few shots of some of them.

 Meadow Cranesbill



 Marsh Woundwort

 Rosebay Willowherb

There were Still Lots of Common Spotted orchids around and a few Southern Marsh orchids,also Pyramidals and 3 Bee Orchids.

Butterflies seen today:-
Large Skipper
Small Skipper
Essex Skipper
Green Veined White
Small White
Brimstone
Small Tortoiseshell
Comma
Red Admiral
Painted Lady
Speckled Wood
Marbled White
Gatekeeper
Meadow Brown
Ringlet

 Green Veined White

Bernwood Forest 26th June

I went along to Bernwood this morning to hopefully catch up with a Purple Emperor.It was quite cloudy when I arrived and quite breezy. No Emperors were seen during the time spent here although the sun did decide to break through just as I had to leave bringing out 3+ Silver washed fritillary's.

 Small tortoiseshell

 Small Skipper

 Small Tortoiseshell

 Large Skipper

 Ringlet

 Large Skipper

 Small Tortoiseshell

 Large Skipper

 Small Skipper

 Large Skipper

Butterflies seen today:-
Small Skipper
Large Skipper
Small Tortoiseshell
Red Admiral
Silver Washed Fritillary
Marbled White
Meadow Brown
Ringlet

Dragonflies seen today:-
Brown Hawker
Broad Bodied Chaser
Ruddy Darter

 Broad Bodied Chaser

Quite a few grasshoppers in the grass, mostly meadow grasshoppers. A few Roesel's Bush crickets were also seen.

 Roesel's Bush Cricket

Dry Sandford Pit/Parsonage Moor BBOWT reserves 24th June

Spent a couple of hours at these reserves today to see how the Marsh Helleborines were coming along and to see what Damselflies and Dragonflies were about. I went to Dry Sandford first then Parsonage Moor.The Helleborines were pretty much in full flower,with Common Spotted Orchids and a few Twayblades also about.

 Marsh Helleborine

 Marsh Helleborine

 Twayblade

 Common Spotted/ Helleborines

 Southern Damselfly

There were lots of other flowers about including 2 Knapweed Broomrapes, one of which was getting on to be around 18" tall, the other was about 12".

 Knapweed Broomrape

 Knapweed Broomrape

 Centaury

 Agrimony

Butterflies seen at Dry Sandford:-
Large Skipper
Common Blue
Small Tortoiseshell
Red Admiral
Marbled White
Meadow Brown
Small Heath
Ringlet

 Marbled White

Damsels at Dry Sandford:-
Southern Damselfly

A common lizard was also seen here.

After Dry Sandford pit, I walked down the road to Parsonage moor reserve.There was a bit more in the way of odonata at this reserve. Common Spotted Orchids were also here with a few Marsh Helleborines.

 Small Red Damselfly

 Common Blue Damselfly

 Small Red Damselfly

 Large Red Damselfly

Dams/Drags seen at Parsonage:-
Common Blue Damselfly
Southern Damselfly 5
Large Red Damselfly
Small Red Damselfly10+
Four Spotted Chaser
Keeled Skimmer 6
Common Darter 3

2 Scarlet Tiger Moths were seen flying around.

New Forest pt II Sat 21st June

It was back down to the New forest this weekend as I'd gained some information on where to find the Heath Fragrant Orchid,a new species for me. Special thanks to Adrian king for this! I'd been to most of the places it's supposed to be, but with no luck. I have known about the site Adrian gave me, and it's the only one that I'd never tried, Probably because it always looked like a hard place to get to. Anyway once on the site I was pleased to finally see around 20 Heath Fragrant Orchids after years of trying. Lots of Heath Spotted Orchids also around.

 Heath Fragrant Orchid"Borealis"

 Heath Fragrant Orchid"Borealis"

 Heath Fragrant Orchid"Borealis"

 Heath Fragrant Orchid"Borealis"

 Heath Fragrant Orchid"Borealis"

 Heath Fragrant Orchid"Borealis"

And here are a few pics of some Heath Spotted Orchids.

 Heath Spotted Orchid

 Heath Spotted Orchid

 Heath Spotted Orchid

 Heath Spotted Orchid

 Heath Spotted Orchid

There was also lots of Oblong Leaved Sundew Around.

 Oblong Leaved Sundew

After this site ,we headed off to Latchmore Brook for the Scarce Blue Tailed Damselfly.6+ were seen including a female in the orange "aurantiaca" phase which I'd never seen before but always wanted to see, so not a bad day!

 Scarce Blue Tailed Damselfly

 Scarce Blue Tailed Damselfly

 Scarce Blue Tailed Damselfly

 Bog Asphodel

 Bog Asphodel

Keeled Skimmer and Southern Damsels were also seen. Silver Studded Blues were flying around.