Thursday 12 August 2021

New Species in the Woodland Burial Ground

 A perfect afternoon so I headed through the cemetery towards the Woodland Burial Ground hoping that some dragonflies would be out.  On the way I could see across the fields that the oil seed rape, or what was left of it after the pigeons had finished with it, was being harvested.  I was delighted to find my first brown argus on the patch; the afternoon was looking promising.  My optimism was rewarded when I immediately came across common darters in the usual places; I always forget how late species appear on my patch and expect them earlier.  The Horsefield is quite exposed so there it is more expected but it is sheltered in the burial ground so I don't know the answer to this.  My good fortune continued when I found a couple of small copper butterflies and a superbly fresh female southern hawker dragonfly.  Speckled woods and gatekeepers were still on the wing as were a couple of very worn ringlets and some meadow browns.  Peacock and red admiral completed the day.  Guelder rose berries are turning red already and should look a picture against the autumn foliage in a few weeks time.

  • Brown argus 1
  • Peacock 4
  • Speckled Wood 4
  • Meadow brown 7
  • Ringlet 2
  • Gatekeeper 4
  • Small copper 2
  • Red admiral 1
To view large, please click on an image

Oilseed rape harvest
Brown argus
Common Darter
Common Darter
Common Darter
Common Darter
Common Darter
Guelder Rose
Small Copper
Small Copper
Small Copper
Female Southern Hawker
Female Southern Hawker
Speckled Wood
Red Admiral

No comments:

Post a Comment