Hatchet Pond & Crockford Bottom

The idea this bank holiday was to use the Monday for either butterflies or damsel/dragonflies, depending on what we saw on the previous two days. Given that we saw 12 butterfly species on Saturday, and two damsel/dragonfly species on Sunday, it was pretty clear what we would focus on on Monday.

We decided to visit two sites, Hatchet pond, which was the last site we visited for damsels and dragons last year, in the morning, and Crockford Bottom, which was the first site we visited after we decided to get 'into' damselflies and dragonflies, in the afternoon.

So Hatchet Pond first. 

Several common blue damselflies and large red damselflies close to the pond. 

And when we ventured away from the pond a bit, we saw a single four-spotted chaser, a new species for us!

Then on to Crockford Bottom, just a few miles down the road.

Interestingly, while all the blue damselflies we saw around Hatchet Pond were common blues, all those we saw at Crockford Bottom were southerns. At least, all those we could identify. 

We also saw several broad-bodied chasers patrolling the various ponds, and one keeled skimmer among the gorse bushes a bit further away.

But the highlight for us, without a shadow of a doubt, was seeing several beautiful demoiselles, males as well as females. After seeing a dead female yesterday, we really wanted to see them alive, and they didn't disappoint! They really are gorgeous, changing from metallic blue to metallic green and back, depending on the angle of the sunlight. They wouldn't settle, but these two males kept dancing more or less at the same spot for several minutes, so I tried to capture them on video.

And we did see a few butterflies as well. The usual tables, combining what we saw at the two sites (one  = 1; few = 2-4; several = 5-9; many = 10+; large red damselfly was the only species we saw at both sites):

Mill Lawn Brook

Day 2 of the May bank holiday, so damselflies and dragonflies the focus of today! We set out to Mill Lawn Brook, in the hope of seeing a few (for us) new species.

Weather was glorious, and little wind, so should be a perfect day for damsels and dragons! We saw many large red damselflies (quite a few in tandem, mating of ovipositing) and a few broad-bodied chasers (new species for us!). 

Plus a single butterfly: a small copper.

So not exactly the biggest haul ever, but it was a great to be out and feel the warmth of the sun, after the cold spring.

The usual tables (one  = 1; few = 2-4; several = 5-9; many = 10+):

One more thing: high up on our wish list for today was a beautiful demoiselle. As you can gather from the table above, we didn't see this species. Well, that's not quite true .... we did see a beautiful demoiselle, a female .... floating in the stream .... dead ....

Magdalen Hill Down

April and May have been very cold (and wet, on occasion), but with the bank holiday approaching, the weather seems to have turned. Plan for us for the bank holiday was to go butterflying one day, dragonflying one day, and then have one day in reserve to either butterfly or dragonfly, depending on days 1 and 2. 

For the Saturday, we decided to go butterflying, and go back to Magdalen Hill Down for this. Last year, in late August, we saw eight species. What could we see this much earlier in the season?

Weather was pleasantly warm, with hazy sunshine and some wind (much less than last year!). Flowers were certainly present, although everything is late due to the cold spring.

We saw a total of 12 species, two of which (grizzled skipper and small blue) were new to both of us, whereas green hairstreak was new to Irma (I'd seen them in my youth many many years ago in the Netherlands, so it was great to see them again, after maybe 40 years or so). Even though we saw more species than last time, the number of individuals was much lower. Only brimstones and small heaths were common.

So here's our list for today (one  = 1; few = 2-4; several = 5-9; many = 10+):

And, finally, we noticed this sign on one of the access gates to the reserve. Fingers crossed we will see dukes here one day ...

There certainly was an abundance of cowslips!

Valley Gardens @ University campus

At the centre of the University of Southampton's Highfield Campus is a small oasis of peace and quiet, called the Valley Gardens. Due to the covid situation, teaching has been almost exclusively on-line for me, but yesterday I had to be on campus for two face(-mask) to face(-mask) workshops. A lunch break separated these two workshops, and I decided to have lunch in the Valley Gardens, and walk around a bit, in the hope of seeing some butterdamseldragonflies.

Weather was mostly cloudy, but every once in a while, the sun came through. As the air warmed up, a handful of butterflies came out to play; five species in all (see the table at the end of this post for more details). 

Valley Gardens also has a few small ponds, and of course I checked these out for damselflies and dragonflies. Seeing no activity, I was about to leave when I spotted a large red damselfly resting on a stone slab. 

We definitely need to go back here for a proper butterdamseldragon trip a bit later in the year, when it's warmer and there are more flowers out. Also because the large oak at the end of the garden is said to have a colony of purple hairstreaks ...

The usual end-of-post tables (one  = 1; few = 2-4; several = 5-9; many = 10+):

Hillier Gardens, again

So far this season, we've seen seven butterfly species in the garden, and one damselfly (large red) on Southampton Common, but we haven't yet actually gone out specifically on a butterdamseldragon trip. And we felt that the start of the May bank holiday would be a nice occasion to go to Hillier Gardens again, and see what we could see. After all, we'd been there last year, not once, but twice, and it gave us a good haul of butterfly species (10 to be precise).

Weather was cool, but dry (until just before we left), and the sun did come out a few times. Once that happened, and the air noticeably warmed up, some butterflies did come out to play: a few orange-tips, several small whites, and a single speckled wood.

Not nearly as many species as last year, but the speckled wood was one we hadn't seen there before!

Of course, we also checked the ponds several times during the day for damselflies and dragonflies, but no luck ...

So here the table usually given at the end of a blog post reporting on a butterdamseldragon trip (one  = 1; few = 2-4; several = 5-9; many = 10+):