Saturday 20th.June 2015

A much anticipated outing came to fruition last Thursday , when fellow enthusiast Keith and myself headed across Kent with four species on our target list . Norfolk Hawker , Scarce Chaser , Variable Damselfly and Hairy Dragonfly . The journey went extremely well , in fact getting into the Canterbury area before the sun had lifted the temperature to an Odonata level . So we stopped off in the village of Blean to look for the rare Heath Fritillary butterfly on a site that I had never visited before , Church Wood . There was still a chill in the air as we entered the wood , but the sun was just starting to reach one corner of a coppiced clearing , and it was here where we started our search . It

wasn't long before the first butterfly was found , enjoying the warming rays of the morning sun , as

we were . Other specimens were still waiting for that warmth as the still sat on their overnight roost , knowing that their time would come soon . With the sun came the urge to breed and the females

became the object of attention of the amorous. males , but the 'abdomen pointing skywards' was the

only response that was seen . In a very short time , the sun flooded more of the coppiced area and the

butterflies became more and more active , some stopping to breakfast on the nectar of Common Spotted Orchid . Whilst looking around , I also found a , for once , a non moving Speckled Yellow

moth , but as soon as this one shot was taken , it became very mobile indeed . WE left the Heath Fritillaries to do their thing , got back to the car , and made the short journey to Westbere Lakes . As hoped for , on arrival the temperature had risen and a light wind gave us great hopes to find out target species . Reaching the ditch that runs down to the river , we started searching , but found things very quiet apart from a couple of blue Skimmer / Chaser dragonflies that didn't hang around to be identified any further . Even damselflies were almost non-existent . I must admit , my mind went back to my only other visit to the site on a cool , cloudy and windy day , when just one fly-by sighting of Norfolk Hawker was achieved . Reaching the river , we turned right and followed it upstream . A few Banded Demoiselle were found , and we started inspecting every blue damselfly , most of which were Azure or Common . Eventually , a male Variable Damselfly was found , which

really raised our hopes . This species is well named as the markings can indeed be very variable , but the incomplete antihumeral stripes , the wine glass symbol on segment 2 and the two small black spots on the last light blue segment on the abdomen , were enough to confirm one down , three to go .

I had wandered further along the river and was photographing one of what turned out to several Red Admirals seen on site , when the sound of wings passed very close overhead and I got a glimpse of a brown , Hawker sized dragonfly drop down behind a tree onto vegetation on the other side of a ditch .I called to Keith what I had seen and soon the two of us were searching . Keith then spotted the

dragonfly , perched on a Nettle stem . We then prayed that it didn't fly off before we could get the

male Norfolk Hawker into our viewfinders . Fortunately it didn't , and we were able to get our shots , albeit at distance , two down , two to go . I got what I wanted and moved on again , passing an angler with a wheelbarrow loaded with tackle . Keith stayed put , and shortly afterward had the NH , or another one , land on the side of the path , so close that he couldn't even focus on it , when the angler came back with his wheelbarrow , passing Keith and spooking the NH . I then came across an area totally dominated by Blue-tailed Damselflies , I don't think I have ever seen so many in one place . Slowly moving further upstream , a likely looking spot on the river produced our first male Scarce

Chaser , three down , one to go . The 'high fives' were coming fast and furious now . Several more males and a distant female SC were found before we turned around and retraced our stepd downstream . The next excitement came when we reached a spot whre two trees had been felled and were laying between the path and the ditch , when I spotted a flash of orange , fluttering amongst

some leaves . This turned out to be our first female Scarce Chaser . She too stayed in the area , just changing position a couple of times and allowing us to get close . Most of the anglers swims were gated , but some were approached just by paths cut though the vegetation , and these we investigated on our return to the main ditch . Along these paths we found several immature / female Black-tailed Skimmers , which drove Keith mad as he tried to sneak up on them , camera ready , only for them to fly a few metres further down the path before he got his shot . He persisted though , and was successful . Whilst Keith was so occupied , I photographed a couple of plants , one that I saw here

last visit , Common Valerian / Valeriana officinalis , related to the Red Valerian / Centranthus ruber , that is found all over at the moment . The other was a species that I haven't seen for over 25 years ,

yet here it was in abundance , Skullcap / Scutellaria galericulata , a member of the square stalked Labiate family . I was as pleased to see this as I was to see our target species . Whilst on the edge of the lake , Keith found a pair of SC in tandem , but unfortunately they didn't stay for a shot . Reaching the end of the main ditch again , carried on downstream as the path narrowed . A second Painted

Lady was found , along with a couple more Small Tortoiseshell , bringing their total up to 10 recorded . Still found SC and VD but nothing different . We returned to the main ditch again and

found at least two more NH and whilst watching one , I heard and spotted a dragonfly crashing

through the reeds . A short wait and a female Hairy Dragonfly proceeded to oviposit directly in front of me , whilst the male patrolled above her , interspersed with attacks from a male Emperor Dragonfly which appeared in the ditch . Four down . A few more SC and a couple of BTS were seen

and a photo opportunity with one of the , I must say , vocally quite restrained , Marsh Frogs on the site . As we made our way back to the car , Keith spotted a dragonfly land on a pile of cut branches in front of us . Slowly making our way forward , Keith spotted a male Hairy Dragonfly , and managed to fire off a couple of shots before it departed , and before I managed to locate him . We decided to stop at Grove Ferry on the way home and also to have our lunch , it now being almost 4 pm . Sustained , we headed down the track towards the viewing ramp under a sky bereft of any birds . From the ramp , a few distant wildfowl on the scrape , but again , not a single Hobby or Tern , and Hirondine were only represented by 3 Swallow that Keith picked up at distance . A Cuckoo did fly by and landed in a copse to the right of the scrape . We had a look from the dipping platform of the educational hide and heard a couple of Bearded Tit 'pings' , but were surprised to find yet two more

Norfolk Hawkers scrapping over the water and in between fights , perching . And finally , my strangest shot of the day was when trying to photograph a pair of BTD in the ring , a second male

flew in and clasped the paired male for a split second , before flying off . And has anyone got an idea what this is ? It was standing in water , about a metre or so above the surface , found to the left of the

main ditch , just off the main path . It's made of straw with a wire support around it and open at both ends .
All in all , a brilliant day out , in reasonable weather and in good company .