Another Barnwell Monday

It was a very busy Barnwell CP that I returned to this morning as parents and grandparents had flocked there with their sprogs to enjoy a decent spell of weather. Despite the increase in noise levels and footfall I did find the odd interesting thing both here and at the nearby Princess fishing lake.

Female and male Brimstone.

Not that much to report from a bird point of view with just those Barnwell regulars, Kingfisher and Mandarins putting in an appearance. No surprises amongst the butterflies though I was pleased to see my first of the new brood of Brimstones, it's amazing to think that these butterflies might still be alive in ten or eleven months. Whilst watching some butterflies nectaring on thistles I saw a Red Admiral escape the clutches of a Hornet hunting around the flowers. Having seen in the past one pluck a wasp out of the air I'd say that admiral had a lucky escape! Good numbers of Commas and an increasing number of Peacocks joined the whites and browns observed today

Southern and Brown Hawker.

Quite a few species of dragons and damsels were found though there were few individuals of each. Commonest dragon was Brown Hawker while Banded Demoiselle was the commonest damsel. A mature female Scarce Chaser was a nice find as it's getting very late in their season, Four-spotted Chaser and Black-tailed Skimmers still have some time to run on theirs. One male Southern Hawker and a few Emperors were noted while numbers of both the darters remain low at the moment. Most are probably still maturing away from the murderous intentions of those larger dragons.

Small Red-eyed and Blue-tailed Damselflies.

I had hoped to see some Willow Emeralds but couldn't find any though it is still early in their flight season. Just one Small Red-eyed was seen though there were more of their larger relative Red-eyed as well as Common Blue and Blue-tailed. No other wildlife of interest was found today, I'd like to know where those local otters spend their summer!

Scarce Chaser.