Harry's Still Holding Out

 I was off down in Dorset yesterday looking at tanks so no blog posting from me but today was a different matter. With the forecast showing sunny intervals and little chance of rain I decided to take another tilt at Harry's Park Wood and check to see whether any more of the rarer butterflies species had emerged. Although there were more butterflies on the wing than on my previous visits they were of the more common or garden variety though it was nice to see them in reasonable numbers.

Nuthatch and Willow Warbler.

Just after leaving Weldon a Yellow Wagtail called before landing in a tree near the new housing development. I'd hoped that I might get a pic but those hopes were scuppered by a passing dog walker who flushed the wagtail before I could get a shot. Carrying on along Bears Lane and into the wood the first few Speckled Woods began to appear. Ringlet numbers are building nicely and many still have that lovely chocolatey velvet look they have when newly emerged. The other brown on view today was Meadow Brown with a decent amount on the wing. A few Large Skippers were noted and small numbers of both Small and Green-veined Whites were observed. Some colour was provided by a pristine looking Small Tortoiseshell and a couple of Red Admirals while a faded Painted Lady was one of the highlights. It looked very much as if I would miss out on any of the scarcer species but a White Admiral was seen if not photographed just as I was about to leave - talk about leaving it till the last minute!

Painted Lady and Small Tortoiseshell.

There were a few dragons frequenting the rides of which my favourite was a Southern Hawker that posed long enough for me to get some snaps. A female Black-tailed Skimmer was also seen and I had brief views of a darter which I couldn't identify with certainty. Best bird was a Raven though I was pleased to get half decent views of a Nuthatch, the thick tree canopies have meant that views have been somewhat rationed of late.

Large Skipper and Southern Hawker.

I popped into Weldon before catching my bus and visited the pond near the Woodland Park. My best find was a first for the year Small Red-eyed Damselfly which though distant showed well enough to identify. Plenty of Red-eyeds were present and Azures too while other damsels seen in much smaller numbers were Banded Demoiselle and Common and Blue-tailed. The list of dragons matched that of my last visit with a Brown Hawker being the pick of the bunch.

Small Red-eyed Damselfly.