Red-eyes, Black-headed Mason Wasp and Hares - Chambers Wall to Shuart 05/06/21

With the weather showing a marked improvement from this morning I thought I would try a second visit today and this time headed to Chambers Wall to see what damselflies I could catch up with. It was rapidly becoming much warmer as the periods of unbroken sunshine became longer. Several Harlequin Ladybirds were on the nettles and the distinctive keel on the elytra were showing well in the strong light.

Harlequin Ladybird

Harlequin Ladybird

Good numbers of Red-eyed Damselflies were on the wing with many of them conjoined or in tandem. They are beautiful damselflies, particularly when the light makes the red of their eyes into glowing jewels.

Conjoined Red-eyed Damselflies

Conjoined Red-eyed Damselflies

A fish was resting up in the shallows of the river and though its head was mostly under cover I think from the patterning on its body and position of fins that it is a young Pike.

Pike

The females, to oviposit on submerged stems, were going right under the water and then staying there for prolonged periods of time. Only the tips of there wings were above water and sometimes not even that.

female fully submerged while ovipositing

female fully submerged while ovipositing

It was great to be able to spend an extended period of time just enjoying the beauty of these damselflies and gave lots to look up when I got home, such as how the female manages to breath while submerged. Many of the males were showing a pale blue pruinescence as the light caught their abdomens.

male showing blue pruinescence

male showing blue pruinescence

A females eyes and face glowed yellow from the reflected colour from the Fringe Lily on which she was perched.

Azure, Variable Damselflies and smaller numbers of Blue-tailed Damselflies were also present. It was time to be moving on but just before I left, a beetle that had been moving from Fringe Lily pad to lily pad decided to use the damselflies as a bridge, half submerging the male as it did so.

I headed for the railway embankment and decided to see what I might catch up with along that rather than walk down to Coldharbour particularly as the sea wall appeared to be very busy. Heading towards Shuart it was nice to see the Foxglove was out in flower.

Foxglove

Foxglove

Small numbers of Azure, Variable and Blue-tailed Damselflies were resting up amongst the grasses with more on the wing. A smart Red Admiral Butterfly was one of several along the path.

Red Admiral Butterfly

A Gooden's Nomad Bee Nomada goodeniana was busy amongst the Buttercup flowers .

Gooden's Nomad Bee Nomada Goodeniana

A little further on I came across an insect that I did not recognise but was striking with its white bands. I looked it up when I got home and I think that it is a Black-headed Mason Wasp Odynerus melanocephalus. It was a joy to watch but extremely active. It had several projections on the mid femora but I do not think that it is a Spiny-legged Mason Wasp because of the white rather than yellow bands and apparently both have the projections. Also the S2 band is broadened at the sides which also suggests Black-headed.

Black-headed Mason Wasp Odynerus melanocephalus

Black-headed Mason Wasp Odynerus melanocephalus

Black-headed Mason Wasp Odynerus melanocephalus

Black-headed Mason Wasp Odynerus melanocephalus

A Common Carpet Moth fluttered up from the vegetation on the path and flew for cover but could just about be seen by peeping through the grasses.

Common Carpet Moth

A flash of orange caught my eye and I was treated to views of my first Small Copper Butterfly of the year. Though it was quite worn and missing several chunks from its wings it was still a little beauty.

Small Copper

Small Copper

A Small White Butterfly was feeding on the Sainfoin while a Small Heath Butterfly was resting up, the orange shining out amongst the surrounding greens.

Small Heath Butterfly

I was watching a Variable Damselfly when a Goldfinch flew down to check me out before returning to the top of the bush and recommencing his song.

Variable Damselfly

Goldfinch

As I crossed the railway line and started my way to Shuart Reed and Sedge Warbler as well as Reed Bunting song and calls filled the air. Three Tufted Duck flew up from one of the dykes and wheeled round before going down on another dyke.

Tufted Duck

Variable and Azure Damselflies were plentiful as I made my way along the track and a small moth that had fluttered up from the path settled amongst the grass stems. At the moment I haven't been able to identify it and will have to come back to it when I can.

It had been an enjoyable afternoon and on reaching Shuart I finished with a wander up to the top of the bridleway. A couple of Ring-necked Parakeet flew over calling loudly and two Red-legged Partridge stood out in the sprouting Sweetcorn field.

Ring-necked Parakeet

Red-legged Partridge

A pair of Hare were also in the Sweetcorn field, right on the far side. One suddenly sprinted across the field and moved closer, the other following shortly. The speed they run is incredible to watch as they covered a large amount of ground in a very short space of time. It was nice to be able to see them a little closer and after a little while I was lucky enough for them to run my way as they headed towards the next field. 

Hares

Hares

Hare

Hare

Hare

They brought an enjoyable and relaxing visit to a close.

Red-eyed Damselflies and a Banded Demoiselle - Marshside 22/05/20

It was nice to be able to go a little further afield today and to be able to have longer out due to the changes in the lockdown regulations. I decided to head off to Chitty Lane and see what I could see with a wander up to the embankment. It was a breezy day but I could get some shelter from the hedgerow in places. On arrival I was greeted by the enthusiastic singing of both Reed Warbler (114) and Sedge Warbler (115), a very welcome sound indeed and one I have missed. Skylarks were rising up in a tower of song and a Yellow Wagtail (116) called as it flew over. A few Azure Damselfies were tucked down out of the wind as I made my way along.

I came to a nicely sheltered area and saw a couple of Red-eyed Damselflies briefly, my first for this year. I was pleased to see them and their eyes glowed as the light caught them.

Red-eyed Damselfly

Red-eyed Damselfly

Red-eyed Damselfly

As I wandered along the air was full of song with Chaffinch, Reed Warbler and Sedge Warbler all singing at full pelt. It was lovely to hear them. A Holly Blue butterfly was battling against the wind and got caught in a gust of wind which sent it tumbling this way and that. It managed to land low down in some vegetation and hung on upside down.

Holly Blue

Lots of Azure Damselflies were about and I enjoyed watching the various ones I saw.

Azure Damselfly

Azure Damselfly

A came across a single male Banded Demoiselle Damselfly who gave some great views as it perched on vegetation in a sheltered spot of the track. If I had carried on I would have to have disturbed it so I enjoyed some great views as it rested up between darting up to catch insects. It shone in the sunshine and looked absolutely beautiful.

Banded Demoiselle Damselfly

Banded Demoiselle Damselfly

Banded Demoiselle Damselfly

As I did not want to disturb it I decided to head for home as time was getting on anyway and headed back the way I had come. A Speckled Wood Butterfly looked spectacular as the light shone through its wings as it perched up in between chasing a rival.

Speckled Wood Butterfly

On the way back some Yellow (Flag) Iris were in full flower forming some lovely shapes.

Yellow (Flag) Iris, Iris pseudacorus

Yellow (Flag) Iris, Iris pseudacorus

It had been an enjoyable afternoon and very nice to be able to go further afield today.

Grasshopper Warbler - Marshside 01/06/19

With very little time available for bird watching coming up for a while I was pleased to be able to pay a late afternoon visit to Marshside and see what I could see. There were good sunny intervals and it was warm but with a lot of high cloud and a cool south easterly wind.

Lots of Azure Damselflies were on the wing when I arrived, they seemed to be everywhere I looked. Some Holly Blue Butterflies were flitting around. Marsh Frogs were very vocal. A smaller number of Blue-tailed were also on the wing. Insects, surprisingly, seemed few and far between and I wondered if it was too warm for them as normally I see more than I could find today. There were some fish near the surface in the dyke. I wonder if these were Rudd as they looked darker with the scales more yellow green than the silver of the fish that I saw at Chambers Wall. There was also a stripey fish that I think is a Perch. The water had a whitish film on it.

? Rudd

? Rudd

Perch

I saw a Hairy Dragonfly fly down the dyke and it stopped a little further up and and appeared to be ovipositing before moving on. A couple of Large White Butterflies flew past. A flash of blue and orange heralded a passing Kingfisher. They are such beautiful birds. I saw my first Emperor Dragonfly of the year patrolling along a dyke. I tried for some flight photos but did very badly with them. By the time I had managed to get it in the frame and tried to focus it was disappearing out of the frame and definitely not in focus. Out of a lot of attempts I only got one that is almost there but still pretty bad. One of the attempts missed the dragonfly and it is disappearing out of the frame but it did pick up a shoal of little fish in the shallows on the opposite side which I only saw when looking back over the photos.

male Emperor Dragonfly

Shoal of fish and Emperor Dragonfly

A Marsh Frog was resting in the water and now and then I came across a Red-eyed Damselfly resting on some duck weed in the dyke.

Marsh Frog

Red-eyed Damselfly

It was proving to be pretty quiet, in general but it was good to be out. The cloud cover was continuing to build and I could feel the drop in temperature. Pairs of Azure Damselflies were busy in the dyke with the females ovipositing. I saw the Emperor Dragonfly go down ahead of me and looked for it as I approached and was pleased to see it was still resting in amongst the vegetation giving a chance to try for some photos.

Azure Damsleflies

male Emperor Dragonfly

male Emperor Dragonfly

A pair of young Moorhen were in the dyke and I caught sight of the female Mallard but she only appeared to have 4 youngster now. I just hope that they can get on well now they are bigger. The predation rate for young Mallard seems to be very high but hopefully reduces the bigger they get.

young Moorhen

While watching the young Moorhen I saw a damselfly flutter past and a male Banded Demoiselle landed briefly before carrying on. I only managed to grab a quick shot before it flew on but I was pleased to be able to get that. They are such beautiful damselflies and this one was my first for the year.

Banded Demoiselle

I was surprised, but very pleased, when a little further on I heard the unmistakable sound of a 'reeling' Grasshopper Warbler. I could not manage to see the bird as the area it was singing from was obscured by bushes but I tried to record it using the voice recorder I always carry. It was a little distant for the recorder but it did pick it up, even if it is not the best of recordings. As I can't transfer audio files to the blog I did the same as I did for the Nightingale and recorded from the voice recorder to the camera as I can import video. As before, the screen is black as I leave the lens hood on when recording the voice recorder. It has not come out great but I am pleased to have it and makes a good memory of the day. It certainly made my day hearing the Grasshopper Warbler. Hopefully, it is stays around, I may get a chance to see it at some point.

Very well chuffed with the Grasshopper Warbler but with walking becoming more problematic I headed for a spot where I could sit and watch the Swallows hawking for insects while trying for some flight photos of them. A Marsh Harrier flew past along a back field and 2 Common Buzzard were in the air together. A Swallow settled on the telegraph wires and looked stunning in the sunshine.

Swallow

I enjoyed sitting and watching the Swallows. I was surrounded by the song of birds and a Small Heath Butterfly fluttered back and fore. I did not have much success with the in flight photos but did end up with a couple that, although they are heavily cropped, they remind me of the afternoon nicely.

Swallow

Swallow

On the way home I saw a gull feeding on what looks like part of a Rabbit. It appeared to have darker grey scapulars and plainer coverts and tertials than I have seen before on Herring Gull and I did wonder about Yellow-legged Gull but I think that it is a Herring Gull. It had a pale eye and appeared to have a pale base to the lower mandible. And though the tertials appear plain, on looking through the photos there is one that shows one is notched. Presumably the others appear plain through wear. I am having trouble aging it and though I have looked through photos on the internet I am still not sure. What I do know is that it is a beautiful bird and one that, by studying it, will help me to get better at immature gull identification as these are a definite weak point for me. The good thing is that I can only get better at them. It made an interesting end to the visit.

Herring Gull

Herring Gull

Herring Gull

Birds seen this visit include: 3 Whitethroat, 6 Blackcap, Chaffinches, 2 Green Woodpecker, 4 Blackbird, 2 Wren, 1 Great Spotted Woodpecker, Great Tit, Blue Tit, Goldfinches, 3 Common Buzzard, 5 Swallow, 3 Chiffchaff, 1 Ring-necked Parakeet, 1 Kingfisher, 2 Greenfinch, 1 Grey Heron, 2 Long-tailed Tit, 2 Robin, 2 Song Thrush, 1 Pheasant, 1 Cuckoo, 1 Mistle Thrush, 4 Reed Warbler, 1 Grasshopper Warbler, 2 Collared Doves, Wood Pigeons, 1 Marsh Harrier, Herring Gulls