14th June - Broxhead Common, Noar Hill and Beacon Hill, Hampshire

I was meeting Ian at Broxhead Common, an area of heathland in the north east of Hampshire.  The common is a special spot for one particular blue butterfly, the Silver-studded Blue.  I was a little early, for once it isn't too far for me to drive from home.  I wandered out to the heather and immediately found the Silver-studded Blues.  You would see one then others would start to appear, then more and more.  Last year they were hard to find, this year they just kept on appearing, the last time I had experienced this many was years ago on at Beaulieu Heath.

Ian arrived and I walked back to meet him, then we both headed out to the heather and came across a mating pair.  The male looked quite worn and the male attacking the pair was in a much better state.

The inter loper moved away and the pair resumed mating.

We walked off coming across plenty of blues, a female.

And a smart male.

We were walking around the heath hoping to find the Nightjar we had seen last year.  There were two Woodlark overhead and a Great Spotted Woodpecker family.  A Tree Pipit was singing in a small birch tree and gave some great views.

An interesting yellow moth was seen in amongst the heather.  Locally it is fairly common throughout much of Britain, this species inhabits heathland and similar rough habitats.  The males, which are larger and more brightly coloured than the females, are often active during the day. The females are more docile and mainly nocturnal.  The moths fly in June and July, and the slow-feeding larvae feed on heather (Calluna) and various herbaceous plants.

It was back to the Silver-studded Blues.

another pair mating, showing the differences in the male and female, the male on the left hand side.

This delightful blue butterfly is named for the small silver studs on the black markings on the underwing of the hind wing.

The male and female pair separated.

We left Broxhead and took the short journey to Noar Hill, just outside Selbourne.  At this time of year the reserve is covered in orchids, they have replaced the multitude of Cowslips that were all over the reserve in late April and early May.

Walking around the first chalk pit there were some nice Pyramidal Orchids flowering.

The most dominant orchid across the reserve though was the Chalk Fragrant Orchid, pink colour without the markings of the Spotted Orchids.

In amongst the colourful orchids were the Common Twayblade, the flowers having the split feathers and an all green colour for the flower.

It was an overcast day and there were few butterflies about, but this one male Marbled White showed well.

The underwing is just as spectacular.

In amongst the Fragrant, Spotted and Pyramidal orchids were the smaller Musk Orchids.  Like the Twayblade they are all green, but much smaller and have a distinct musky scent.

The tall one is small the smaller even more so.

Common Spotted and Chalk Fragrant Orchid side by side.

The Chalk Fragrant Orchid.

Chalk Fragrant Orchids amongst the grass and flowers.

The Common Twayblade.

We were looking for Frog Orchid, Ian had two sets of coordinates and we searched areas of Noar Hill we had not been to before.  In doing so we came across a few Small Blue Butterflies.

We didn't have any luck with the Frog Orchids, maybe still too early?  But we were able to enjoy the fine collection of Spotted and Fragrant Orchids.  Here Common Spotted Orchid.

Chalk Fragrant Orchid

An all white Spotted Orchid!

Heath Spotted Orchid, the spots on the spotted are joined together.

We came across another group of Musk Orchids.

They are initially hard to find amongst the grass but once your eye is in they are quite easy to find.

We had one more orchid to find today and this took us to Beacon Hill, just outside Warnford.  After encountering a large running event we walked across the slope to the location where last year we had found Man Orchid.  As we reached the area we found a section fenced off with an electric fence.  We were able to step over ht fence and after a brief search we found one Man Orchid.

the spike is about 6 inches high and the flower petals look like a body and legs.

Up close they are quiet a detailed orchid.

The view from Beacon Hill looking north, it was now quite a beautiful day.

Walking back up the hill, and back to the car an orange butterfly flew past us and settled on the ground in front of us.  It was a Small Tortoiseshell butterfly, a species that has been quite rare recently, but this year seems to have been a little more common.

This used to be an overlooked butterfly, but with its rarity over the last few years it is good to take the time to appreciate its beauty.

Overall a successful day, with eight orchid species.  We missed out on Frog Orchid, but may have another chance later this week.

19th April - Blashford Lakes and Bolderwood, New Forest, Hampshire.

Rain was promised overnight, but when I woke in the morning everywhere was dry.  It wasn't until I reached the motorway that I came across rain.  Another surprise was the fact that the A31 was closed due to an incident so this meant a detour around the New Forest on my journey to meet Ian at Blashford.

The reserve had just opened so the hide was empty.  Looking out across the water it, too was empty of the duck seen a few weeks ago.  There were plenty of gulls and in amongst them were fly catching Common Tern.  The terns would rest close to the hide, flying to find a suitable post.

Coming in to take a post and announcing its arrival.

But doesn't get it all its own way.

Common Terns are always a joy to photograph.

One Black-headed Gull in front of the hide had also laid claim to one of the posts.

Along with the Common Terns fly catching were hundreds of hirundine, mostly Sand Martin and Swallows along with several House Martins.

A nice black and white image of a Tufted Duck.

We left the Tern Hide and walked around to the Goosander Hide.  On the way we passed a Willow Warbler singing in a birch tree.

The song though had some surprises, the typical Willow Warbler flutey song, but with a bit of Chiffchaff thrown in at the end.  Some video to show this.

Settling into the hide I picked up a distant Red Kite, but as we watched it something larger appeared.

An adult White-tailed Eagle, here a closer look.

And a size comparison with a Buzzard that decided to mob it.

The main activity in front of the hide was the large flock of Sand Martin, and they became a challenge to photograph.

The artificial nest holes are the attraction and you could see several going in and coming out of the holes.

Some amazing acrobatics with one flipping itself upside down.

A single Common Sandpiper surprised me as it flew from under the branches on the left hand side to the far bank.

This Great Crested Grebe was also fly catching, taking the insects off the surface of the water.

Walking back to the car park the Willow Warbler was still singing its different song from the birch tree.

We left Blashford for Bolderwood in the New Forest, we were hoping for maybe finding a Wood Warbler.  We parked at the Canadian War Memorial and walked into the inclosure.  The newly emerging leaves looked spectacular in the afternoon sunshine

We couldn't hear the hoped for Wood Warbler, but we did hear Redstart, typically at this time of the season at the top of the trees.  This one flying away from us.

It gave us a bit of a run around, finally coming down to the ground where it would fly from the top of a small conifer to the ground to feed.

But also showed nicely on the top of the conifer.

A Buzzard came over and this spooked the Redstart.

Then another summer migrant and a first for the year, a Tree Pipit.  It didn't make it easy to photograph though.

The Redstart was back singing from the top of a pine tree.

We walked around the inclosure but still without any sign or sound of a Wood Warbler.  We did though come across this Firecrest.

A lovely portrait.

A true favourite of mine

An interesting day, maybe though we should have stuck to the south coast.  But who really knows what will turn up.  One thing I can say is that we are getting closer to the illusive White-tailed Eagle.