The Summer months of June, July and August at times can be a little quiet for Birding – so attentions can shift to Butterflies, Dragonflies and Damselflies and the past few weeks this July have proved a great success for all 3 species – plus some nice birds too. On a recent trip out to Cropton, I was very fortunate to find a lone Turtle Dove feeding at the side of the road. Brakes were quickly applied and the car swung across to get a good view of this scarce Summer visitor – I was holding my breath as I wound the window down would it stay???? Yes – it was very skittish and only remained on the deck for a short while before flying off !! However, I was elated Turtle Dove only 20ft from the car … What a result!!
From the 3-11th July I was down south visiting relatives in Berkshire and then drove over to Somerset via the M4. A great few days in Berkshire gave me the opportunity to photograph some Red Kites , which have now become a common bird in the county. It is rather surreal to photograph such enigmatic birds when in the 1970s they were nearly on the point of extinction in the UK with only a small population remaining in Central Wales around the village of Tregaron. The re-establishment of the Red Kite in the UK has to be one of the most successful conservation programmes in modern times.
Somerset has to be one of my favourite places to visit – especially the RSPB reserve at Westhay and the neighbouring NNR at Shapwick Heath. I managed to get some great photographs of Bittern, Marsh Harrier and Hobby.
However, I was blown away by the number of Damselflies … especially a new species for me Red Eyed Damselfly. These brilliant little insects were defending their lily-pad homes to all comers and Ihad a great time photographing these little gems. There were also a lot of Black Tailed Skimmers – but would they sit still, not a chance!!! Hence a lot of blurred shots and lots of frustration!!! Still, you can’t win them all!!
The 15th of July saw my birding companion Alf and myself back in the forests North of Pickering , exploring a wild flower meadow off one of the forest roads. The flowers were at their best – especially the thistles which were nectar magnets to the dozens of Ringlets and Cabbage Whites. Suddenly, there was a flash of magenta … and yes! Our first Burnet moths; these beautiful day flying moths were putting in a star appearance. Things then got even better with a Common Blue fluttering about and then the prize of the morning; Small Bordered Fritillaries !!! We counted about about half a dozen of these beautiful little butterflies and then to finish the morning off we had our first Painted Lady for the Summer, which was in pristine condition feeding on a Spear Thistle. What a great morning!!
On the 17th of July my wife and I had a visit to Scampston Hall- which turned out to be a rather lucky trip. The customary stop at the cafe for refreshments was followed by a wander down to the lakes – and was it busy!! There were Black-tailed Skimmers everywhere!! Dragonfly heaven!!
The fact that you could walk right up to the lake side really helped in trying to photograph the Dragonflies – note ‘try’ being the operative word!! I was busy trying to photograph the skimmers, when my wife waved me over to another spot – and she had found another treasure Banded Demoiselles!! What a great day!!
On the 19th July Alf and I visited Fen Bog just off the A169 Pickering to Whitby road. This an excellent little reserve run by Yorkshire Wildlife trust. However – despite lots of searching we could not find the Blue -tailed Skimmers that Alf had found the day before. But we had found another speciality of this site; Sundews!!! These insectivorous plants are native to the UK and thrive on the acidic soil present here. Because the soil is so low in nutrients the plants supplement their diet with insects that caught on the plants sticky fronds. The hapless insect is then slowly digested by the plant. Isn’t Nature brilliant!!!
Following on our quest for more Dragons and the like…we paid a visit to Ellerburn ponds on the 20th July; these ponds are a brilliant little spot to catch up with a few more species. Including Brown Hawker, Golden Ringed, Emperor and a couple of species of Damselfly too. Ellerburn did not disappoint with Golden Ringed showing down to a few metres, Brown Hawkers constantly on the wing, an ova-positing Emperor and another species for me Emerald Damselfly.
Alf and I re-visited Scampston Lakes on the 21st where we got brilliant views once again of Banded Demoiselle, the Black Skimmers were out again and we also had brilliant views of some Emperor Dragonflies on the bottom lake. I even attempted some flight shots of the Emperors as they were so close.
As July came to a close I realised I had not yet seen; Blue – tailed Skimmers, Black Darter or Dark Green Fritillary. All 3 were key upland species and no where gave a better opportunity than our local moorland areas. But where ?? As the moors cover a vast area. Not to worry – my birding companion Alf has an encylopaedic knowledge of the area. So we narrowed down two key areas. A small pond just above Stape off the Keys Beck Rd. and Tranmire Bog – a section of Wheeldale Moor. Two visits were made to the areas mentioned on the 23rd and 27th July. Only brief views were made of Black Darters at Keys Beck pond (23rd) – they were not settling at all. No good for photography at all. However, Dark Green Fritillaries put on an excellent show (21st) as they fed on the Spear Thistles. At times allowing some really close approache
Golden Ringed Dragonflies were at both sites, constantly patrolling their territories in a linear pattern. Only once did one stop – allowing the briefest opportunities for a photograph.
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With 2 key species in the bag – we then went on to Tranmire Bog. Success!!! Keeled Skimmers were found, but unfortunately the light was not very good so a second visit was made on the 27th. At last Keeled Skimmers photographed !! However, no matter how hard I tried I could not obtain any decent flight shots. But that is a great excuse to go back!!
What a month with some absolutely stunning encounters …. I can’t wait for August!!!
