3rd July - Four Marks, Greywell Moors and Magdalen Hill, Hampshire

A short drive to meet Ian this morning, staying in the village and meeting him at Swellinghill Pond.  I arrived before him and nostalgically, took a walk around the pond.  There were many white butterflies around the bramble bushes, nectaring on the flowers, mostly Small and Large White butterflies, they were easy to photograph.  A Large White

We were here for Ian to see the Violet Helleborines, whilst they had grown since I last saw them they were still not in flower.  The flower spikes curving over, hopefully once they do there will be a good show

Back at the pond there were some more butteflies on the bramble.

And a Peacock that are now emerging as a second brood.

We then set off for Greywell Moors, a small reserve just outside Odiham, there was a stop in Alton along the way but we arrived at the Pumping Station.  We had to climb the gate and then walked through the long grass towards the hedge alongside the stream.  A Small Skipper showing well on a leaf.

We were here for a special orchid, we had seen them last year but came a little later in July.  The word was that they were flowering now and it didn't take long to find the Marsh Helleborine.

A stunning orchid of wetland areas, the Marsh helleborine can be found in fens, damp grassland, marshes and dune slacks, particularly on chalky soils. Its rather loose flower spike carries up to twenty white-and-pink flowers during July and August; in some areas, forests of hundreds of plants can colour the green marsh vegetation, which was very much the case here at Greywell. But despite its profusion in places, the Marsh helleborine is declining due to habitat loss.

The Marsh helleborine has broad, oval leaves at the base of the stem, and narrower leaves higher up the reddish stem. The flower spike consists of a loose cluster of white flowers that have a white, frilly lip and reddish sepals which look like wings; they hang on reddish stalks.

For me the Bee and Fly orchids are amazing but I find the Marsh Helleborine very special, a real looking orchid.  It also bizarrely reminds me of the Stinky Pete character from Toy Story 2.  Check it out!

In amongst the forest of Marsh Helleborines were Southern Marsh Orchids and Marsh Fragrant Orchids.  These are Southern Marsh Orchids.

There were plenty of butterflies about, here a Marbled White on the thistle flower head.

A Red Kite drifted over, but I was distracted by a butterfly settled on the Hemp Acrimony.  Using the binoculars I focused on it and could see it was a Hairstreak and went for Brown.

We defaulted to Brown Hairstreak, but it wasn't until Ian had a closer look that we realised it was actually a White-letter Hairstreak, the Brown Hairstreak has two white lines on the underside, this had a distinctive "W" shaped white lines.

Looking around the area we could only find one tall Wych Elm, plus it was now almost mid day and they are usually in the top of the trees at this time, only coming down early morning and late afternoon.

It very kindly flew to a flower head in much better light and allowed some great shots.

Normally they are way up in the trees and all you get is a distant view and photograph.  Here I can get a close up on the insect.

A lovely background too.

It finally flew off and lost to view.  We returned to the orchids and had the surprise of a Small Skipper on a Marsh Fragrant Orchid.

Of interest was this wasp nectaring on the Marsh Helleborine flowers, note the pollen sack on the head of the wasp, job done for the orchid.

A Red flash alerted me to a moth again nectaring on the many flowers.  A closer look revealed it to be a Scarlet Tiger.

We walked around the open area where there were many butterflies.  A nice Common Blue, probably just emerged from a second brood.

Another Small Skipper.

At the back of the reserve there was a group of Reedmace, the area though completely dry, testimony to the dry weather we have had.  In the small willow bushes growing amongst the reedmace was a Sedge Warbler.

Walking back, we met another visitor and he was able to help us with some of the orchid identification struggles.  He pointed out the the white form of the Marsh Helleborines, which we hadn't noticed as we walked around the many plants.

In the pale-flowered Marsh Helleborine variation epipactis palistris ochroleuca, the yellow-white toned flower is almost devoid of red and the three sepals are mostly a greenish-yellow. The hairy stems are likewise less reddish and more green. This variation is more often likely found in coastal dune systems than the fenland found here.

It would be a miss to have not shown the Marsh Fragrant Orchids.  Marsh Fragrant Orchid occurs only in alkaline marshy ground fed by calcareous water. It is thus more distinguishable from the two other British fragrant species on grounds of habitat rather than significant physical features. 

The plants here appeared quite similar to the closely related Chalk Fragrant species, and seemed to confuse some of the identification apps. The spikes are said to be more tightly packed, and there can be up to 100 flowers in shades of pink on the tallest stems (up to 70 cm) from late June to August. However it seems it is very difficult to separate reliably as the Marsh Fragrant without DNA analysis being employed, we were happy though to take the comments of the visitor we met

As we left another Scarlet Tiger was settled on the Hemp Acrimony.

From Greywell we headed south on the M3 to Magdalen Hill, a reserve just outside Winchester.  It was warm and we fancied a butterfly afternoon, with the chance of getting another early emergence.

We walked through the large flower meadow in overcast conditions with few butterflies about, but as soon as the sun came out they were everywhere, Small and Large Whites flying over the flowers, Meadow Browns weaving amongst the grass stems and Marbled whites cruising around the knapweed.

Getting onto the slopes there were Gatekeepers around the hawthorn and bramble.

The view looking south across the farmland.

A skipper low down in the grass had some dark black clubs on the end of the antennae, an Essex Skipper.

There were plenty of Brown Argus zipping around the slopes, but a few did settle when the sun went in.

As we came down the slope toward the bottom, a pale blue butterfly passed us and settled on a dead yellow rattle stem.

Then came to the thyme bushes to nectar, a Chalkhill Blue, the butterfly we had hoped to see this afternoon.

It even graced us with open wings, showing the lovely pale blue, contrasting with the grey tips and edges.

Walking on a nice view of a Small Skipper head on.

And around the thyme a tiny Mint Moth.

Another nice Small Skipper

Walking back towards the cars, a Crab Spider, feeding on an insect on a Field Scabious

A great day, with some surprises.

30th June - Titchfield Haven, Hampshire

Another blistering hot day forecast and it was very warm as I left home, but pulling up on the sea wall at Hill Head there was a lovely easterly breeze coming off the sea and cooling things down considerably.  ut at sea Common Terns were fishing in the shallow waters of the low tide and from the reserve there was the unmistakeable sounds of the south scrape.

Ian arrived and we walked around to the visitor centre to book in.  In the bay, with the tide low there were five redshank feeding on the mud, probably early returning birds, the summer doesn't last long for waders.

After checking in we checked out the Broad-leaved Helleborine, fenced off just inside the east side gate.  It was still to flower but looked a little more advanced than the one seen in Abbotts Wood a week ago.

We walked around to the west side, as we approached the gate there were several white butterflies about and then once inside the gate, I picked up a Clouded Yellow butterfly cruising around the grass and flowers.  We watched as it teased us, touching the grasses and flower heads as if to settle, this meant we had to follow but things looked positive and eventually it settled on the path.

But it didn't stay settled, moving on and leading us a dance once again, but this time it settled on an unopened flower head and stayed this time.

A migratory species here in the UK, we have good years when there are lots of them seen through the summer, and other years, like last year when they are hardly seen at all.  This is my second sighting of the year, so I expect that this is a good year, and to get one settled like this is extremely unusual, normally you have to chase after them as they speed past, only to get a brief view as they lay in the grass.

A nice close up.

Just inside the gate one of the many whites had settled on a daisy head.  This one the larger Large White.

We were here for the recently reported Norfolk Hawker, a rare dragonfly here in the south, but we decided to drop into the Meon Shore Hide.  The first thing to strike us was the water levels, despite the lack of rain they were very high with hardly any mud, much higher than they were a month agon when I was last here.  

The Avocet were in a group at the far side of the scrape.  Black-headed Gull juveniles were begging for food from the islands and amongst them were a few Common Tern.  Colour was added by five Black-tailed Godwits that flew in.

A female Marsh Harrier patrolled the reeds at the back of the scrape and put up all the gulls and duck.  In the distance a Buzzard circled high above the distantreed bed.

We decided to walk on to Darter's Dip.  Butterflies were everywhere, mostly the three whites but also Speckled Wood, Red Admiral and Peacocks.  Once again there was a LArge White posing nicely as it nectared on the bramble flowers

Another nice close up.

At the bridge there were several Common Blue Damselflies and this female Four-spot Chaser.

Ian started the search for the Norfolk Hawker, I wondered off and found this dragonfly.  At frst I thought it was another Four-spot Chaser, but when I got home I looked in more detail.  The eyes are blue, which was unusual.  Looking very worn there was also black tips to the wings and at the base of the wings.  I circulated the photo and asked for comments and the main opinion was that this was a Scarce Chaser, another rare dragonfly for the south coast.

Then Ian found the Norfolk Hawker and after a wait as it circled the pool, it finally it settled on a reed stem.  A very distinctive dragonfly from the others seen at the dip.  A rusty brown with distinctive green eyes.  It is larger than the chasers and darters usually seen.

Here you can see the yellow markings on the thorax, indicating that this is a male.

A nice close up.

They were found mainly in the ditches around the grazing marshes of the fens and broads in Norfolk, but recently have expanded moving through Kent and Cambridgeshire.  They like clear water with at least 70% cover of Water Soldier, an invasive oxygenating plant. Recent records have found that outside of the Broads include ponds that are more like their sites in mainland Europe where it is less dependent on the Water Soldier.

Great to see this species here in Hampshire, a first for me.  It looks like there are at least two today and there was also a report of a pair mating a few days ago.

The fourth dragonfly seen on the dip was this female Common Darter.

Unfortunately the search for the other rarity here, the Willow Emerald was unsuccessful.  After a brief look in the Pumfrett Hide we walked down to the Spurgin Hide, which was as equally quiet.  A walk back along the path towards the sea wall produced this nice Red Admiral.

We decided to try the Walkway pond on the east side for Willow Emerald, but without any luck.  Plenty of bramble here and with it plenty more butterflies.  A nice back lit Comma.

The Willows on both sides of the reserve were looking burnt with brown leaves, making the area look like autumn.

We speculated on what might have caused this, could it be stress brought on by the drought conditions.  Well it turns out this was due to the larvae and adult forms of the Blue Willow Beetle.  Despite the name it can be shiny green or even black.

It can become a severe pest, as is the case here.  This has been bought on by the milder winters allowing the larvae to survive when normally controlled.  The devastation occurs in the early summer months, but the trees will respond back with new leaves later in the year, some could already be seen sprouting.

We walked down to the Knight's Bank hide where there were more Comma and a few Marbled Whites.  Both Black-headed and Mediterranean Gulls patrolled the meadow hawking insects coming up from the grass.

Coming out of the hide there was a confiding Green-veined White on the bramble, the second brood have a much more defined dark vein in the wings than those seen on the early broods in the year.

So an interesting day, with potentially two new dragonfly species, the Scarce Chaser and the Norfolk Hawker.  Whilst I like the warm dry weather this has been very hot so I am looking forward to the break in the weather that should come mid week with things getting fresher.