Of birds and bees

          Late July and August are pretty quiet months for birders as breeding is largely finished and birds are largely quiet with some migrants already departing again......cuckoos are already back in Africa. In the wood there is not much to report other than groups of youngsters - Blue Tits, Treecreepers, Nuthatches, Long-tailed and Great Tits. But its a good time to switch attention to insects with the sunny weather producing a good butterfly year (at last).

           I have seen good numbers of Silver-washed Fritillaries and White Admirals in the wood this year and yesterday a walk around and up the track produced a good count of species - Red Admiral, Peacock, Painted Lady (just one), Gatekeeper, Ringlet, Meadow Brown, Small Skipper, Large and Small White. There were several fresh-looking Commas around. They are so territorial, challenging each other to duals and nearly always returning to the same spot to rest. I have yet to see a Purple Emperor in the wood this year but had good views at Knepp, so I have ticked that box although it would be really nice to see one in our very own patch.

           The icing on the cake today was seeing a Hummingbird Hawkmoth feeding on Vipers Bugloss. Fabulous but too quick for my camera !

one of several Commas

First Gatekeepers of the year

I am not very good at identifying dragon and damselflies and I am not sure why but they do not really excite me as much as butterflies do but the wood seemed to be full of them on my walking tour and I managed to identify three species; the big Golden-ringed Dragonfly, the Common Darter and a tiny White-legged Damselfly. Common Darter were in lots of places always perching up on bare twigs in the sun. I have noticed the White-legged before but have never before actually stopped to ID them properly........email me if I have got it wrong !!

the impressive Golden-ringed Dragonfly

the dainty White-legged Damselfly, the feather like legs are key features