With one full day left before my trip to Indonesia I had planned to go to Shipton Bellinger for two of the last three Hampshire butterflies I needed for my year list, but, in the event the morning was overcast, windy and with occasional heavy downpours and I had allbut scrapped the idea. At 11:00 some brighter spells began to develop and so I decided to try my luck but as I headed northwards through heavy rain and flooded roads I was not hopeful. On arrival though the clouds broke and the sun appeared and I was slightly more optimistic as I headed along the Shipton Road Byway extending west from the village. It was not long before I set eyes upon my first target, Wall, of which I eventually saw around eight individuals. The tree tops were blowing around in the wind and I was not hopeful of seeing Brown Hairstreak but then I glimpsed a small butterfly flying around the top of a Hawthorn, I lost it a few times and then saw it settle, and there it was, a stunning little Brown Hairstreak.
Sunday, 20 July 2025
Hampshire Butterflies - Shipton Bellinger 20th July
Hampshire Dragonflies - Titchfield Haven 12th July
With recent reports of up to six Norfolk Hawker at Titchfield Haven I needed to see this species as it was clearly breeding on site with a female being seen ovipositing. It was a species to add to the list of Hampshire breeding species and hence needed to be seen in my quest to seee all the Hampshire breeding dragonflies, damselflies and butterflies this year. It took me three attempts before I finally connected with a stunning, recently emerged male on Darters Dip on the west side of the reserve. He showed superbly well for around 45 minutes before disappearing flying away from the pool. A rather scruffy looking female was also seen. Other new species for the year here were Ruddy Darter and Willow Emerald, the latter also a new species for me.
Friday, 18 July 2025
Silverlake, Corfe Castle and Middlebere Heath, Dorset - 9th July
After a bird survey in Dorchester i made a couple of stops in Dorchester for some invertebrate species I had not seen before. First was at Silverlake, Crossways where last year Scarlet Darter bred, this year there have been counts of up to 20 individuals and so I was fairly confident of encountering this stunning species. My first wander of the lake produced a male Lesser Emperor, a relatively regular migrant that I had also not seen before in the UK. The second circuit of the pond produced a Red-veined Darter, a species I had seen once before in the UK. The third circuit produced the target species, a stunning male Scarlet Darter warming itself it is characteristic vertical posture, but not just one, at least four individuals.
Monday, 14 July 2025
Hampshire Butterflies - Martin Down 6th July
I had planned to visit Martin Down NNR for Chalkhill Blue and Wall with Quail having been reported over the last couple of days adding an additional incentive. I parked at the Sillen Lane car park and walked west and quickly encountered a Quail singing from the first corn field to the north of the track and then a second singing at close range from the reserve, and then a third from the next cornfield and as I headed west two further birds were singing from the reserve. There were at least five Quail singing although there were reports today of seven. After some time sound recording on of the closest quail (see my eBird checklist here: https://ebird.org/checklist/S257449031) I crossed over to Bockerley Dyke and walked south before crossing back to the car park. The grassland was alive with butterflies with numerous Chalkhill Blue seen but no sign of Wall despite checking some of the main spots, perhaps my visit was timed between broods. Other species seen included Dark-green Fritillary, Small Copper, Common Blue, Essex Skipper, Small Skipper and Large Skipper.
Saturday, 12 July 2025
Hampshire Dragonflies - Cadnam Common Pond 4th July
In my quest to see all of the regularly breeding dragonflies and damselflies in Hampshire this year I had tried a couple of sites for Emerald Damselfly but with no luck and so, with a tip off from Steve, I met Steve and Niall at Cadnam Common, a site that I had never visited before. From the roadside layby we headed out across the common to the rapidly shrinking pond where before very long Steve located Emerald Damselfly around a clump of Juncus. Over the next couple of hours we enjoyed the abundant insect life around this pond with a good range of Odonata, including my first Hampshire Common Darter of the year as well as a few notable flies - you gotta love flies to appreciate them!