Thursday 20th. June 2013

It was back to the grey skies with the occasional shower , but it was mild . Once again , it wasn't worth travelling , so I stayed local with visits to Keston Ponds , Keston Bog and up on the Common .With the start of the new fishing season on the 16th. of this month , the paths around the top two ponds are full of over-night tents for the dedicated Carp anglers , other anglers just there for the day , water weed dragged out by the anglers and just dumped , and the usual assortment of litter left by those who fished during the first few days of this season . There is always an amount of litter left during the closed season , but when the season starts it multiplies many fold , even though litter bins are provided .Without the sun , just a couple of male Red-eyed Damselflies were seen on the top pond , and down by the road that separates the middle and bottom pond , a freshly emerged specimen

was drying off on the concrete edging . At this point it is very difficult to identify sex as both look very similar . If I had to offer an opinion , I would go for male . Things were very similar at Keston Bog , one of the areas Charles Darwin visited whilst researching his book , The Origin of Species .
Just a handful of immature damselflies and a very fast flying Hawker dragonfly , too fast to get a positive ID , but the size of an Emperor . Amongst the Heather and Bog Asphodel , which has yet to come into flower , I did find a light green spider that I haven't come across before . Fortunately , it insisted on keeping the underside of it's abdomen facing me , which gave the clue to it's identity , a

pink/red spot towards the back end of the abdomen . A trawl of the Web later on , found the Green Orb-weaver Spider / Araniella cucurbitina . A few plants were in flower on the Bog ,

the vibrantly coloured Tormentil / Potentilla erecta , a member of the Rose family ,

Cross-leaved Heath / Erica tetralix , a member of the Heath family ,

and from the same family , Bell Heather / Erica cinerea .
Over on the Common , another search for Bee Orchids was successful this time , with three

specimens being found , and in several places in the same glade , Pyramidal Orchids have started to

flower too . Over on the heathland area three Black-tailed Skimmers were found , amongst them a

male , but he wouldn't let me get within 3 mtrs. before flying further down the path . My master plan to find a Brimstone chrysalis is in tatters , as all the caterpillars on the marked twigs have disappeared from both stands of Buckthorn . With rain starting to fall , I didn't have time to check both stands properly , but I will next visit . Packing away the camera , I was barked at and looking up saw a Roe Deer buck bound through the Heather and into the taller Gorse . I dropped as low as I could behind the Heather and waited . After a few minutes I saw a movement on the edge of the Gorse and then a pair of antlers . I waited for the antlers to move , but they didn't . With the rain getting heavier , I

stood up quickly and came face to face with the buck at about 25 mtrs. distance . The ' Mexican standoff  ' lasted a matter of seconds , before with another series of barks , he turned and bounded out of view . He looked to have a good set of antlers , and after doing a bit of digging on the web , would say he was about 5 years old . Whereas Fallow Deer rut in October , Roe Deer rut mid July-mid August , and although mating takes place then , the egg does not implant and start to grow until January , ensuring better conditions for the newly born in the late Spring / early Summer .