Damselfly day at Maple Lodge

I only decided at 8am this morning to head to Maple Lodge. I've got a few days free before I go back to work on Tuesday, but today the weather conditions were great for getting another first-of-the-year. In this case it was the Hairy Dragonfly. I got my first-of-the-year at Maple Lodge on 15th May last year, so today I was quite optimistic. As I signed in this morning I mentioned the above to Keith, who kindly warned me not to be too optimistic, but as it happens I didn't see any dragonflies and it was Keith and Tony who both saw and photographed the first confirmed sighting of the year !! Now that's what you call 'sods law'....!

 

However it didn't spoil my day at all. It was a glorious day. My very last photo absolutely sums it up. Laid back, no rushing, letting nature come to you.

 

So I didn't get the Hairy one, but it was certainly the right day to visit for seeing damselflies. Three different species today and apart from the Large Red that I only saw fleetingly along the new woodland path, the others were every where. Comma Corner (aka Puddingstone Corner) was alive with damselflies, as was the Paddock near Lynsters hide, the Sluice area and the Wild Flower meadow.

 

So be prepared for a complete overload of damsel photos....

 

Large Red

Common Blue female

Common Blue male 'homochrome' form

Common Blue male

Common Blue male

Common Blue male 'homochrome' form

Blue-tailed male

Blue-tailed male

Common Blue female

Common Blue male

  

Common Blue 'homochrome' form

Common Blue male

 With all the recent emerges of the damsels there were bound to be some casualties.....

This one fell prey to a spider.....

 

 

Other flying critters included two new hoverfly species for me, and a great way to show just how different in variation hoverflies can be.....

 

Rhingia species, possibly Rhingia campestris......

 

Update - confirmed by Roger Morris as Rhingia rostrata......

 

 

and the wonderfully marked Xanthogramma pedissequum......a lifer for me...

 

There were also plenty of bugs about today. These are Malachite beetles (Red-tipped Flower Beetle)

 

 

Thank you Jonesy for the ID confirmation...X

 

and the teeny tiny beetle which could be one of the Flea Beetle sp or a Green Dock Beetle...

 

As to be expected there were loads of Ladybirds, some goodies and plenty of baddies...

First up are a pair of Fourteen-spots getting jiggy with it.....

 

and a pair of Harlequins with the same idea.....

 

Another Harlequin was alone. This one is, I think, f.conspicua.....

 

One of the goodies, the Seven-spot ladybird, was resting with a dandelion seed stuck to it....

 

The first ladybird larvae are now out and about by the Sluice gate, and luckily they were all Seven-spot ladybird larvae (thanks to Paul Brothers for the confirmation)......

 

Another somewhat odd sighting was this little critter. It was stuck fast to the leaf so I couldn't turn it or lift it, I couldn't see a head and the body looked incomplete. I think its an Orange Spot that has been predated by something.....

 

 

I was on the look out for caterpillars today, but after uploading my photos found I had more than JUST caterpillars......

Thanks to Angie Seymour, Ellie Rotheray and Nicola Graham, the below is actually a hoverfly larvae, a Eupeodes species.....(the Two-spot Ladybird was for size comparison)

 

 

Thanks again to Angie for giving me an id on this little critter below that is already settling in a cocoon. This is a probable micro moth - Timothy Totrix....

 

and the last great id possibility from Angie Seymour, another micro moth but as this one was found on a bench rather than a food source, a complete id is impossible.....

 

One caterpillar that I did see today and know exactly what it is thanks to Tony, is this lovely camouflaged Brimstone caterpillar.....

 

Regular readers know I love my Scorpion Flies, but here's a photo of a female from a different angle than the ones I normally post.....

 

Of course it wasn't all about the little critters that made my day great today. The bird feeders in front of the Clubhouse Hide were constantly busy this afternoon with the usual Blue and Great Tits, plus the often seen Great Spotted Woodpeckers. I saw both male and female today, but they didn't appear to be comfortable coming down at the same time. This is the female....

 

 

One of the Jays has also learnt how to hang off the feeder.....

 

and when he/she wasn't doing that, it was looking around from one of the posts.....

 

One of my favourite over-looked birds, the Stock Dove, also popped in to help clear up any spilt seed....

 

From the Long Hedge Hide I thought I heard a Kingfisher but nothing appeared, no flashing blue streak across the water and nothing landed on any of the twiggy perches.

 

There were at least two juvenile Great Crested Grebes calling loudly.....

 

 

and in the distance I could see a family of Pochards with six ducklings, a family of Mallards with five ducklings and a family of Tufted Ducks with four ducklings. No photos of any of them today though.

 

Also seen but not photographed today were the nesting Treecreepers by the Rotunda Hide, a female Sparrowhawk from the Long Hedge Hide, many large family groups of Long-tailed Tits moving around the site, my first juvenile Robin, several singing Dunnock, a pair of Blackcaps and a singing Common Whitethroat in the scrub behind the feeders at the Rotunda, a solo Common Tern flying over, two Grey Herons flying over, at least three calling Little Grebes from various locations and a Weasel that popped its head up from a hole under the Sanctuary Hide but then didn't reappear. The hole is actually too large to be a nesting hole for a Weasel, but that doesn't stop them investigating everywhere as I know from the little lovelies on my patch.

 

A great six hour jaunt about the reserve. And it was great to see Keith, Martin and Tony.

 

So my last photo today just about sums it all up....

Laid back, soaking up the warmth and letting nature come to you.........