My first visit to Maple Lodge NR since pre-covid days

My morning started with seeing this little beauty ..... an almost completely yellow Ring-necked Parakeet spotted from the Lockdown Loftroom window at 7am ..

I'm used to seeing the usual green ones, but havent seen a pale version for a long time. 

I was at Maple Lodge NR today, my first visit since covid hit, and it really was lovely to go back. 

The Kingfisher didnt feel the same though, and kept well hidden the whole time.

Spot the Kingfisher ..... 

I had more luck with a female Black-tailed Skimmer in the paddock area ... 

and found three very different hoverflies ...

Xanthogramma pedissequem

Episyrphus balteatus

Rhingia rostrata

plus many of these little critters, hoverfly larvae ....

I think the two above are Eupeodes species

There were also the usual suspects around, the common Soldier Beetle ...

and the red headed Cardinal Beetle ...

I didnt see any flying Cinnabar moths, but did find two in the grasses by the owl box ...

And the ONLY butterfly I saw all day was this well camouflaged Brimstone in the 'horseshoe' area ... 

along with about 20 Mint Beetles ... 

I spotted three micro moths around the owl box as well, but I am no good at micros so my good friend, Neil Anderson, has identified the first two for me ... 

Celypha lacunama

Alabonia geoffrella

bit stuck on this one, possibly Knot Grass

The 'horseshoe' area was weirdly the only place where I saw any ladybird larvae. These are all  young Seven-spot ladybirds in various growth stages ... 

From the Rotunda Hide I watched a Great Crested Grebe ... 

and the Long Hedge hide had several Cormorants upsetting the Black-headed Gulls ... 

There were a couple of Canada Goose families around the paddock and owl box meadow. This little bundle of fluff decided to have a rest near to where I was sitting ... 

The next photo is just for Martin Parr ..... weird fungi in the rotting log by the new pond. My photo has lost the colour, they were almost orange and quite small ....

The little flies below were by the Shell Hide. They are fairly common but I never realised how colourful they are. Chloromyia formosa

A thoroughly enjoyable visit, even if it was too cloudy to make out the partial eclipse. 

Hopefully next time the Kingfishers will be a bit more obliging. 

 

Back on the patch....

Yesterday I had (hopefully) my last medical test for my Hydronephrosis. It involved being injected with a radioactive substance and going through an hour long scan. It was fine, but I did feel a little queasy this morning so didnt get down to Cranford CP until after lunch. Normally I'm there between 1030 and 1100 to carry out the butterfly transect, today it was 1pm. 

The transect was just below average with quite a few species still not yet emerged. I would expect to see Large and Small Skippers by now, and the first influx of Meadow Browns, but didnt see any of them today. 

09/06/21

Brimstone x 1

Large White x 4

Common Blue x 3

Peacock x 1

Speckled Wood x 2

To be honest, I did wonder if the heat of the afternoon had most of the butterflies hunkered low, and I maybe would have had better results if I had carried out the transect earlier. 

 As always I finished my count at the wildlife pond. Last week I noted Large Red, Azure and Blue-tailed damselflies. Today I added this little stunner, a young male Broad-bodied Chaser. He kept perching just out of my camera range, so for the first time ever I risked walking carefully around the edge of the pond. So if anyone in the park saw a blondish middle aged woman, with a brown rucksack, heavy looking camera, and trousers rolled up to her knees, nearly falling into the pond....well, that would be me ! 

But just look at him ! Isn't he a handsome little critter ? 

Front view..

 

close up wing view ... 

and under neath view ...

There are two permanently occupied wild honeybee hives in the courtyard. The one in the bricked up arches was very active today, and the submerged log in the wildlife pond was again covered in bees absorbing the water through the bark ... 

Have you ever wondered why Brimstone butterflies are so common, yet so hard to spot and photograph ? 

If you catch one head on, like below, you'd probably think it was a leaf .... 

Clever, eh ? 

I also saw our resident male Kestrel and a Little Egret by the river and heard several Great Spotted Woodpeckers, a Green Woodpecker, and quite a few Goldcrests in the woods. No photos of any of them sadly. A few weeks ago I thought I had found a Buzzards nest, but today there were no signs of any birds anywhere near it, but I'll check again next week. 

All in all, whether there is wildlife to see or not, Cranford CP is still my favourite place to go when I want 'me' time. The meadows, the ancient woodland, the pond, the river, the orchard, they all fill me with 'good feelings' and I can lose hours when I'm there. Cranford CP is special. 

Butterflies, damselflies and demoiselles at Cranford CP

On this glorious warm day I was at Cranford CP to complete the UKBMS butterfly transect across the park. I felt at the time that there were not that many butterflies on the wing, and as I have to follow a set route each transect I decided to compare todays numbers to the past few years. 

I first started undertaking the UKBMS transect at Cranford CP in August 2016, so no records for June of that year, but below are the numbers for the nearest dates in 2017, 2018, 2019 and 2020 ....

11/06/2017

average temp: 21c

wind speed: low

sunshine: 100%

Large Skipper x 3

Green-veined White x 2

Red Admiral x 4

Small Tortoiseshell x 1

Comma x 2

Speckled Wood x 11

Meadow Brown x 10

Total 7 species

06/06/2018

average temp: 20c

wind speed: low-med

sunshine: 100%

Large Skipper x 2

Large White x 1

Small Copper x 1

Common Blue x 6

Holly Blue x 3

Red Admiral x 1

Comma x 2

Speckled Wood x 9

Meadow Brown x 7

Small Heath x 7

Total 10 species

29/05/2019

average temp: 21c

wind speed: med

sunshine: 90%

Green-veined White x 1

Orange-tip x 1

Common Blue x 5

Holly Blue x 1

Speckled Wood x 4

Total 5 species

13/06/2020

average temp: 21c

wind speed: low-med

sunshine: 100%

Small Skipper x 1

Large White x 7

Small White x 1

Comma x 8

Speckled Wood x 2

Meadow Brown x 11

Small Heath x 5

Total 7 species

03/06/2021

average temp: 21c

wind speed: low

sunshine: 80%

Brimstone x 1

Large White x 1

Brown Argus x 1

Holly Blue x 1

Red Admiral x 1

Speckled Wood x 4

Small Heath x 1

Total 7 species

So today was pretty average in terms of species seen, but numbers are fairly low compared to previous years. I can only hazard a guess that this years mild March, cold April and wet May have not been good for our butterflies. Hopefully numbers will bounce back as the season goes on. 

Brimstone

Red Admiral

I always finish my transect at the stone bridge and walk up to the wildlife pond to tally up my figures. Whilst sitting there today I noticed very good numbers of one of the earliest damselflies to emerge, the dainty Large Red, and couldn't resist taking loads of photos from my great vantage point (the tree stump by the end of the pond) 

But my 'sight of the day' were the sheer numbers of the characteristic Banded Demoiselles. Both males and females were in great numbers not only along the River Crane but also in the nettle patches, and along the row of immature oaks that run along side the grass paths from the cattle paddock down to the iron bridge. The males were so intent on displaying to the females that I was often able to get quite close for some of my photos. 

According to one of my favourite ID books 'Britain's Dragonflies' by Dave Smallshire and Andy Swash, the 'males are territorial but large numbers can be found among lush bankside herbage and on floating plants. They court females by flicking their wings open and performing an aerial dance in front of them. Like many damselflies, females stay away from water unless looking for a mate or egg-laying. The adults make use of luxuriant vegetation like nettle beds and tall emergent grasses'

They really have to my favourite of all the dragonflies. The colours are so intense and bright that in Ireland they are often known as the Banded Jewelwing, and that name could not be more fitting. Be prepared for a complete photo overload of these stunning little damsels.....

male

female

Whilst sitting by the wildlife pond I noticed a lot of the resident Honeybees were taking advantage of the submerged log, to have a safe drink ... 

A very fitting end to a very pleasant day.