Beautiful Demoiselle.

Emerging from late May through to August the Beautiful Demoiselle (Calopteryx virgo) is in my opinion a stunning damselfly.

The males (above) are generally more obvious in flight or when perched whereas the female (below) tends to hide away but the individual below was very obliging.

Northern Greece - Dragons And Damsels.

During our birding trip to Northern Greece I recorded eleven species of Odonata but only managed to get images of the following varieties.

Scarlet [Broad] Darter (Crocothemis erythraea). Above is the brightly coloured male and below is the female.

Common [Club-tailed] Clubtail (Gomphus vulgatissimus). This individual was soaking up the sunshine  at the roadside.

White-legged Damselfly (Platycnemis pennipes).

Broad-bodied Chaser (Libellula depressa).

Male (above) and female (below) of Beautiful Demoiselle (Calopteryx virgo). Both seen during a woodland walk close to a river.

Blue [Scarce] Chaser (Libellula fulva)..Above and below are shots of the male.

Above and below are images of the teneral or immature male Blue [Scarce] Chaser with its very distinctive wing markings.

Linking to:
Nature Notes

Recent Forays on Ashtead Common.

During the past week I have made three separate forays onto different parts of Ashtead Common and on each occasion whilst the temperature was more or less favourable the strong breezes and cloudy skies have conspired against me seeing and getting photos of some of the expected species. Nevertheless here are images of some of the species seen.

Large Skipper (Ochlodes venata). Of the three Skipper species this one is the easiest to find and identify and has been the most common on my transect walks from late June to date.

However the Small Skipper (Thymelicus sylvestris) has so far been less obvious than the same period last year and I have yet to find and clearly identify its close relative the Essex Skipper on my transect visits.

This mating pair of Small Skipper were spotted during a walk that I led for the local branch of Butterfly Conservation on Thursday when a total of 17 species was recorded including many Purple Hairstreak and Purple Emperor (c20) flying high above the Oak canopies. One Purple Emperor tantalisingly fluttered around a few of us at head height for a few minutes but failed to land!

Small White (Pieris rapae).

Comma (Polygonia c-album).

Red Admiral(Vanessa atalanta).

The most numerous species both on my woodland transect and other walks on the common at the moment is the Ringlet (Aphantopus hyperantus) which is happy to fly providing there is a little warmth even on the dullest of days.

The BC walk on Thursday also provided my first local sighting of a fresh male Gatekeeper (Pyronia tithonus).

Finally this Beautiful Demoiselle (Calopteryx virgo) below was seen as I wandered alongside the stream on my return to the car and was certainly aware of my presence.

Jewels in the wood.

Picture the scene ... I'm walking through a damp woodland and on entering a small sunlit glade with ferns towering above my 5' 10" frame I am greeted by numerous metallic blue-green jewels gracefully flitting above the verdant vegetation.
So time to pause and spend a little time with these Beautiful Demoiselles (Calopteryx virgo).

On this occasion apart from one shimmering blue male (top image) it was a female (below), with her suffused brownish wings, that paid me close attention by watching my every move. 

Even a Spider managed to creep its way into the frame!

To all my American friends I send my best wishes for a Happy 4th of July.

Have a glorious wildlife watching weekend wherever you are.  FAB.

Linking to Camera Critters and Saturday's Critters.

Bookham Common.

While I was waiting on Bookham Common for the Silver-washed Frits to appear (see previous post) a few other species kept me entertained.

 Meadow Brown (Maniola jurtina)

 Ringlet (Aphantopus hyperantus)

 Comma (Polygonia c-album)

 An immature female Beautiful Demoiselle (Calopteryx virgo). Note the very distinctive white pseudo-pterostigma near the tip of each wing.

 Broad-bodied Chaser (Libellula depressa)

Ruddy Darter (Sympetrum sanguineum). Distinguished from the Common Darter by the totally black legs and lack of a darker middle segment on the side of the thorax.
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 Bumble Bee (Bombus hortorum)

And then just like the Bee it was time for me for to move on to pastures new ... an afternoon visit to Thursley Common where the insect life was subtly different. (Details to follow soon).

Wherever you are ..... have an interesting wildlife weekend (if the weather permits!) ..... FAB.

Dainty Demoiselles.

At the end of last week I took a stroll alongside the River Mole and although the sun was shining there was a very blustery wind ..... certainly not ideal conditions in which to seek out one of my favourite water side damselfly species. Undaunted I picked a likely spot and waited and it wasn't long before the first of many male Banded Demoiselles (Calopteryx splendens) perched on the nearby vegetation.

In an attempt to get some uncluttered shots I decided to get closer to the water. Despite all the rain we've had the water level was not particularly high so I scrambled down the bank and tried to maintain a steady base while slipping and sliding in the mud close to some reeds.

Well the effort paid off as there were plenty of males chasing one another and they regularly perched for a brief rest before continuing their territorial chases and hunting for a likely female which never materialised.

I didn't spot any male Beautiful Demoiselles (Calopteryx virgo) but one female made a brief appearance ... 

.... distinguished from the Banded species by the suffused brownish colouring in the wings.  FAB.

[All shot with Cannon 450D + 70-300mm lens].

Whitmoor Common Walk.

Last week I took up an invitation to join a walk with the Butterfly Conservation Surrey and South West London Branch at Whitmoor Common, a Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI), comprising heathland, woodland and grassland with some open water pools. With a total of 21 pairs of eyes it wasn't surprising that within the first few minutes at least 8 species were sighted around the fringes of the car park.

I won't bore you with images of all the species that I actually saw (mainly because I didn't or couldn't photograph them all) but here are some that I have not featured on the blog recently. [You can click any image for a slightly larger view].

 Small Copper (Lycaena phlaeas)

 Ringlet (Aphantopus hyperantus) [female I was informed] not showing any rings.

 Beautiful Demoiselle (Calopteryx virgo).

Beautiful Demoiselle .... just a little closer.

White Admiral (Limenitis camilla)
For more images of this species - Click this link to FABirding.

The star species out on the open heath was the Silver-studded Blue (Plebelus argus) but 

..... they were so active that I only managed a couple of record shots this time.

 Brimstone (Gonepteryx rhamni).

I believe the final tally for the group was around 18 species including fleeting glimpses of Purple Hairstreak flitting high above us and hiding in the Oak leaved canopy. It was very interesting to be out and about in the company of so many enthusiastic and knowledgeable people very ably led by Francis Kelly and assisted by his partner Helen.    FAB.

Please check out this link for more of our Winged Friends hosted by NatureFootstep.

Sunday Mini Safari.

We gladly accepted an invitation to visit our friends Tony and Jean on Sunday for mid morning coffee and a walk expecting just to stroll around the fields behind their house  but they decided we should head somewhere else for a change.  

Tony drove us over to Papercourt and we commenced our mini safari which led us down to the River Wey Navigation where many weekenders where walking, cycling or just pottering about on their barges. We headed upstream with views of the waterway often obliterated by the high waterside growth. In one garden we spotted that the remains of a tree trunk had been converted into a carving of a Owl...very appropriate as this is apparently a good location to see Barn Owls quartering the meadows but not at midday!   

Mallards were the main occupants on the water.

The pathside vegetation held lots of butterflies including Comma, Gatekeepers and Speckled Wood.

A very tatty Red Admiral soaking up the sun.

Bird sightings included Linnets, Common Whitethroat, Reed Warbler (heard only), Chaffinch, Woodpigeons, Swallows, House Martins plus Blue and Great Tits.

We saw quite a few Brown Hawkers and Common Blue Damsels and eventually caught this male Beautiful Damselfy taking a rest on a nettle. Returning via Papercourt Sailing Pit we added Mute Swans, Coots, Egyptian Geese, Robin, Green Woodpecker and a pair of Bullfinches to our sighting list.

The rest of the day was spent in our friends garden still showing lots of colour (above is a pot of Coleus) despite the lack of much needed rain enjoying their company and a very tasty B-b-Q...............FAB.