Chobham Common

When we moved to Britain 27 years ago, we lived within walking distance of Chobham Common, a large heathland. Recently, several people on the UK Butterflies Facebook group and the British Dragonflies and Damselflies Facebook group posted pictures of butterflies and dragonflies they'd seen there. And that made us think "why not go there again, see what butterdamseldragons we can see, while taking a trip down memory lane?"

Although we had plenty of sunny spells, it was quite windy, and that kept insects down at first. We did see a single migrant hawker hawking around, but, arriving at the first of several ponds and pools, we saw quite some odo activity.

Common darters, keeled skimmers, a broad-bodied chaser, a large red damsel and a tandem of small red damsels!

At other ponds, we could add black-tailed skimmers, common blue damsels, and several emperors. Nine dragonfly or damselfly species in total.

In terms of butterflies, the second-commonest species (after gatekeepers) were graylings, and not all of them had perfected their disappearance trick. 

Nine butterfly species in total, including several large skippers.

Apart from the butterflies and damseldragonflies we saw, it really was nice to be back to where we used to walk so often 25 or so years ago ...

Today's tables (one = 1; few = 2-4; several = 5-9; many = 10+):

Hollybrook Greenway to Valley Gardens, via Southampton Common

We decided to stay closer to home today. In the morning, we explored more of Hollybrook Greenway, where I saw beautiful demoiselles earlier this month.

We basically walked the bottom half of the route shown on the map; some parts followed a stream, whereas other parts were more open.

Highlights of the Greenway? Eleven species of butterflies, a common darter, a golden-ringed dragonfly, and several beautiful demoiselles.

Then, in the afternoon, to the Valley Gardens on the university's Highfield Campus. This meant walking across Southampton Common, and it would be rude not to keep an eye out for butterflies and dragonflies, right? Highlights of the Common: emperor, migrant hawker (first of the year for us) and a gorgeous golden-ringed dragonfly. 

Because of covid and working from home, the last time I was in the Gardens was early May, when I saw just a handful of butterflies.

Not that more butterflies this time, but we did see a common darter and, just as we were about to leave, a golden-ringed dragonfly.

Today's theme really was 'golden-ringed dragonfly', wasn't it?

My three top photos of butterflies (green-veined white, comma, painted lady).

And my top three photos of damsel/dragonflies (common darter, beautiful demoiselle, golden-ringed dragonfly).

Isn't she gorgeous?

Tables combine relative totals across the day (one = 1; few = 2-4; several = 5-9; many = 10+):

Whitten Pond, Burbush Pond, Long Pond

Based on the oh-so-useful Hampshire Dragonflies web-site, we decided to go looking for damsels and dragons around several ponds south of Burley, even though the weather forecast wasn't exactly optimal for 'odos'.

First stop was Whitten pond.

Many common blue damsels on and around the pond, as well as a few red-eyed damsels. 

A few black-tailed skimmers were seen a bit further away from the pond itself, and we saw a single brown hawker near the feeder stream.

In terms of butterflies: lots of gatekeepers again, similar to yesterday. Then on to our next stop, Burbush pond.

Before we saw any dragons or damsels, we saw a silver-studded blue, the second time we saw this species, following spotting a single individual on a drizzly day on Fritham Plain. 

The pond itself had more common blue damsels, several blue-tailed damsels and a single azure damsel.

And then the final pond of the day, Long Pond.

Almost immediately, we saw several small red damsels flying low around the heath surrounding the pond. And then, emerald damselfly, a new species for us!!

This species had been on our wish list for quite a while, so it was great finally seeing a few!

Despite the unfavourable weather, mostly cloudy with occasional rain and drizzle, we saw 12 species of damseldragons, our highest daily number so far!

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

Back to Hillier Gardens

When we went to Hillier Gardens early May this year, we only saw three butterfly species, and no dragons or damsels. Clearly, it was a wee bit early in the season! Last year, in mid-August, we saw ten butterfly species (we weren't yet into dragon/damselflies then), and in mid-September, we saw three dragonfly species (and only four butterfly species). Could we do better on both fronts this time, in late July?

Weather was warm and sunny, with just some occasional clouds, and the focus for butterflies was, as always, on the Centenary Border. 

Lots of gatekeepers, lots of peacocks, lots of meadow browns ...

... and a very good selection of other species. 

A total of 14 species, four more than last year, and our second-highest number of butterfly species in a single day!

On to dragons and damsels, there was not much activity on the large pond, though we did see a banded demoiselle, lots of azure damselflies, and a sole emperor there. Also, we saw a few common darters somewhat away from the ponds.

The most interesting dragonfly activity was at the small ponds this time:

A few patrolling golden-ringed dragonflies, a few emperors (one of which was ovipositing), and a few southern hawkers there. A male southern hawker swooped down onto a female and grabbed her by the head, and the sound of the impact as the two clashed was clearly audible! Total of eight dragons and damsels today, much more than the three we saw late last year (when, admittedly, the season was drawing to a close):

Here the tables of a very successful butterdamseldragon day (one  = 1; few = 2-4; several = 5-9; many = 10+):

To the Purple Empire ...

Last year, our very first butterflying day was to Bentley Wood, where we hoped to see purple emperors. We didn't see any, most likely because it was just too late in the season for them. Of course, we were eager to try again, and decided to go to Abbotts Wood, walk 7 in our Hampshire Butterfly Walks booklet, about three weeks earlier than last year. Would the Emperor grant us an audience this time?

As we left home, a peacock landed on the front door of our house. Was this a blessing, maybe?

Arriving at Abbotts Wood, we started walking along the forest rides, craning our necks and with binoculars at the ready ...

Pretty soon we saw a large butterfly gliding among the trees! As it swooped down and flew past us, a clear flash of purple; we'd seen our first purple emperor!! A few minutes later, a large butterfly on the ground. Very skittish, but we managed to get a picture. 

No matter what we would see from now on, the day was already a success. It turned out we had been very lucky .... several other butterfly enthusiasts had not seen one so far today (one had been to the wood for three consecutive days without seeing one), and we were told emperors had hardly come to the ground this year ..... During the day, we saw at least half a dozen, including one more on the ground just before we arrived back at the car park. 

As for other butterfly species, there were lots and lots of silver-washed fritillaries around. After meadow browns, they were the most common species. 

We saw a few white admirals as well! No pictures, though, they remained high up in the trees. It turned out that this was our best butterflying day ever, with a total of 17 species, including this ringlet.

Even though our focus was very much on butterflies, we didn't ignore dragons and damsels. We saw a few southern hawker (first ones this year for us) ...

... and a few beautiful demoiselles. This male posed very nicely for us!

And then, as we had found a nice open space with sallow and high trees, and sat down, looking out for emperors and white admirals, a large brown dragonfly with amber wings flew past, and then another one. Unmistakably brown hawkers, a new species for us!

A total of 17 butterfly species, among which two new ones, plus a new dragonfly species ... That peacock on the front door turned out to have been a real omen!

The tables for today include the longest so far (one = 1; few = 2-4; several = 5-9; many = 10+):