This was a season’s first visit to the English Odonata mecca of the New Forest. My quest was to acquire better images of Common Goldenring, in my view the most magnificent home dragonfly. My issue with this species is that in the past I have mostly captured them against over-busy backgrounds. Where insect picture taking is concerned my desire is always to cut out the clutter as much as possible.

A year ago (see here) I identified this site as one where that aim might be attainable if a little time is devoted to the task. On Sunday the weather forecast was for sustained sunshine after a cloudy start and hence it was game on, or so I thought. Upon arriving on site around 11am conditions were still steadfastly overcast, and thus largely it remained for the next five hours. But it still didn’t take long to come across Goldenrings as I walked east from Ogdens Forestry Commission car park at SU182124.

Common Goldenring (male)

This individual, a male (pictured above) was the first one encountered, and soon it settled against a colour co-ordinated if still cluttered backdrop. Goldenrings, of which there are eight variants across Europe, follow a fairly predictable routine of patrolling the same patch up and down and over again. After re-finding one spot that on the previous visit had struck me as being especially photogenic but which somehow didn’t grab me now, I retraced my steps and came across another Goldenring doing exactly what I have described above.

Feeling a little weary in spirit, I sat and watched this second male for some time, noting the locations where habitually he would come to rest. Insect watching should be about relaxing in remote places in communion with complex and fascinating joys of nature with the capacity to cleanse the system, just the dragonflies or butterflies and myself. Instead it more often involves the frustration of waiting for the sun to come out, then too limited intervals in which to record the renewing experience for posterity. Eventually my Goldenring perched perfectly right in front of me (below left). This was more like it.

Common Goldenring (male)

The twig in the right hand picture (above) was another favoured stopping place, and so it went on. This is the first time in 2016 that I have converted an objective on the limited insect agenda set for this season, and that’s all due to poor weather. Better or any pictures of Hairy Hawker, Downy Emerald, Common Clubtail, and teneral or female Blue Chaser will all now have to wait until 2017; not to mention White Admiral butterflies.

Another speciality at Latchmore Brook is Scarce Blue-tailed Damselfly that I observed for the first time in this place a year ago (see also here). The lowland mire in which they occur, to the immediate north of the brook, was in excellent health today with a fascinating array of bog plants of which I have no knowledge. In mid-afternoon I returned to the car for a power nap then changed into wellies to seek out this species for a second time. The best part of an hour was then spent waiting for an approaching patch of blue sky to cover the key position.

Scarce Blue-tailed Damselfly (male)

Scarce Blue-tailed Damselfly (fem)

As soon as the sun broke through, SBTD took to the wing, but these are very tricky little insects to capture. They have a finer more delicate appearance than regular Blue-tailed Damselfy and a knack of vanishing from view as imperceptibly as they appear in the first place. But once the three or four individuals encountered here settled the diagnostics of a blue tail band covering part of segment 8 and all of 9, and with a convex upper edge, were plain to behold (pictured above).

I have long since realised that much of the better odonata photography published on-line must be obtained by wading in. But usually I am far too squeamish about treading habitat to get really close to some insects. This particular bog is churned up by free ranging cattle and ponies anyway, and so I felt less guilt at doing what after all odo royalty does. The results were a little better than last year and I resolved to try again.

Scarce Blue-tailed Damselfy (male)

That opportunity wasn’t long in coming round since following a conversation with Adam we decided to go down together a few days later. He needed SBTD for his odonata life list and I would be able to take him to the right spot to find them. Avoiding the year’s hottest day we opted for Wednesday that in the event wasn’t much cooler. This time we found just one male (pictured above) that struck up some nice poses against reasonably subtle backgrounds. In retrospect Sunday’s capture of a female wasn’t that bad but these are better since they do not involve brown bog water and over-reflection.

In the afternoon we trekked across country, and for some of the way off-piste across Hampton Ridge and through the eastern edge of Pitts Wood Inclosure to Ashley Hole, and then back again. After a very wet summer up until this week lots of superb lowland mire habitat was encountered along our route with many odo-rich pools. But observing these beautiful insects is doomed to become repetitive in this country. If only there were more species to experience, though at least one rather special damselfly has been done justice now.

On my only completely free day of this week I wished, naturally enough to hit the road and go somewhere. And given a recent burst of enthusiasm for high summer butterflies I now rather fancied doing some dragonflies. So the presence since Sunday of a potential British bird list addition on the Somerset Levels offered a dual purpose day out: an Odonata-friendly location with insurance against poor weather.

Having left a bright and sunny Oxford I arrived at Ashcott corner car park (ST449397), between the Avalon Marshes reserves of Ham Wall and Shapwick Heath, with the grey stuff seemingly filling the length and breadth of the levels. This location has produced a number of lifers over the years: most recently Dusky Warbler (see here); and previously Hudsonian Godwit (here), Pied-billed Grebe (Feb 2013) and European Roller (Jun 1989).

To quote RBA: “The Somerset Levels are fast becoming a top rarity venue as well as Britain’s best rare herons and egrets breeding site”. Today’s attraction was a Collared Pratincole, renowned as a wader that feeds aerially. This is a bird I self-found and viewed well in Portugal (May 2014) and had also observed in la Camargue, France and Coto Donana, Spain two years earlier. A southern European breeder that winters in sub-Saharan Africa, it is the most widely distributed of the world’s eight Pratincoles and also one of the largest.

Collared Pratincole  © rights of owner reserved

When I reached the second viewing platform at Ham Wall, from where the bird was being reported, rain began to fall. Most of the birders gathered there moved to shelter under trees a short distance back along the path. Then one called the Collared Pratincole and showed it to me in his scope, after which I quickly located the bird myself. It was sitting on the ground in the middle distance amongst Mallard and Lapwing, and I was able to put other birders on to what they acknowledged was a better view. The image (above) is outsourced but today’s bird was in more or less the same pose, if against a green backdrop.

At some time after 12pm fair weather set in from the west and the Pratincole took to the air. I then watched it for around 20 minutes or so hawking for insects over much of the landscape in the pictures below.  It had an elegant jizz suggesting a large Swift with the grace of a Tern. Though a very fast flier the white rump and long forked tail stood out clearly. But the name “collared” is misleading since the feature referred to is not a collar and is also present in other Pratincole species. Hence this one is also referred to as Common Pratincole or merely “Pratincole” in  different sources. For the RBA image gallery of the Ham Wall bird see here.

Ham Wall, Somerset Levels

View north from second viewing platform

So I have now observed both of the Palearctic Pratincoles in Great Britain. But this was a hugely more satisfying experience than the very brief flight view obtained of a Black-winged Pratincole at the Ouse Washes, Cambs in August 2014. The word satisfying did not apply to my dragonfly watching efforts today. I spent the afternoon a little to the north of the RSPB “home for nature” at Somerset Wildlife Trust’s excellent Westhay Moor NNR (ST455436). A pleasant enough few hours were passed there but no better or even decent odo pictures were gained, and so nothing in the insect line will be blogged.

My quest for better pictures of White Admiral found me back at the regular local location of Bernwood Forest, Bucks on Tuesday. With an overcast start to the day and a late shift awaiting in the shop at 3pm there wasn’t time to go “out of area” and so I arrived mid-morning at Oakley Wood Forestry Commision car park (SP612118) to tread a familiar route.

For my first hour on site conditions remained steadfastly grey with only fluttering Ringlet in the long grass and occasional Large Skipper to break the monotony. After one circuit to the central crossroads and back I reasoned that if I left the sun would be bound to come out, so I decided to sit in the car and wait. As things transpired that was only for a few minutes before fairer weather took over.

Then I walked part of the woods that in past experience is good for White Admiral. Four Silver-washed Fritillary were active at one spot though not close enough to photograph, and I also encountered Broad-bodied Chaser and Hairy Hawker dragonflies. Arriving back at the main track a group of dog walkers were gathered around something on the path and they beckoned me over. I get recognised in this place. This had to be a Purple Emperor and so it was.

Purple Emperor (male)

The butterfly before long objected to being videoed with a phone and flew off. When the group dispersed I set off down the track to relocate it. At first it was very flighty moving restlessly back up the track ahead of me. Incredibly so I thought the next dog walkers through didn’t even notice as this wonder of nature flew past them at waist height. I gestured to point it out but concluding they probably thought I was a bit mad I let them be.

The Purple Emperor came to rest close to where it had first came down from the trees. Then it began the familiar routine either of probing the hard surface of the track for whatever it is they extract, or just sitting still looking magnificent. It allowed a very close approach now. Pristine was not the word as it glistened before me in all its freshness.

Purple Emperor (male)

Eventually a Dalmation appeared at my elbow that I took by the collar to prevent the insect being put up. The owners were the couple I had passed further down the track. They had apparently thought I was some kind of dog poo vigilante but all was now explained and they were very appreciative of being shown such a beautiful butterfly. Having submitted the record to BC I believe this is the first Oakley Wood sighting of the season.

Today (7th) I met up with Ewan at another BBOWT reserve in the north of the Bernwood Forest complex, Finemere Wood (SP721215). The first thing I encountered after going through the entrance gate some time after 11am was another male Purple Emperor flopping around above the surface of the track, before disappearing from view. I then had to inform Ewan of this who had been on site for an hour already without seeing one. We split up to search different parts of the wood, and soon I got a call to say he had relocated the Emperor. Phew, tranquillity could now resume!

Purple Emperor (male)

When I returned to the entrance gate this butterfly was still posing nicely for a small group of observers that had gathered. It was in a muddier and more grassy location than the Oakley Wood individual and so offered a little different composition (pictured above). These pictures demonstrate how this large butterfly’s appearance depends on how the light catches it, with often only one top wing in the male appearing to be purple.

Ringlet (mating pair)

Siklver-washed Fritillary

Silver-washed Fritillary