Out and About

With the good weather continuing we decided that another butterfly outing was in order, so we made our way to Park Corner Heath near Laughton in East Sussex. Martin, who had twice visited this place and never found anything of interest, was slightly pessimistic. I have to say that after my first visit I was totally underwhelmed. The blurb for PCH states that it is a hidden gem with a wide variety of interesting butterflies, animals and plants. Well, one Brimstone and one Speckled Wood doesn't really stack up to wide and interesting. Perhaps we were unlucky or inexperienced but I don't think we will be going back to find out which.

Contrastingly, when we crossed over into Rowland Wood the place was buzzing. Newly emerged damselflies and dragonflies, moths, beetles and flies were about and willing to be captured on pixels.

First up was a Common Darter, perched in the trees, striving to get itself into shape for flight, also Emperors were about on the heath but none stopped for us. A smart Mother Shipton moth perched in the long grass was a nice addition. A Scorpion Fly and a  Longhorn Beetle were recorded and on the way back to the car park we were buzzed by a large Brown Hawker. That's what I call "interesting"

Where next? We decided upon Old Lodge - for two reasons, the ponds would have dragonflies present and there would be a chance of a Silver-studded Blue. Sure enough we found a host of damselflies, Broad-bodied Chasers and a pair of Emperors, the male guarding the territory whilst the female oviposited her latest brood into the dark waters of the pool.

Obvious on the water....



....not in the grass.

There wasn't a lot of bird activity but we did hear a Raven in the distance. On the way back to the car park a male Cuckoo stayed a healthy distance in front of me, just flitting from tree to tree. Finally, late in the day, a butterfly, in the form of a Large Skipper posing on the heather. Nice to see that some of the Redstarts have been successful. Great to meet Paul and David in the car park, the long chat we had with them delayed our return home - slightly.