A family day out to Blashford Lakes.

Wednesday 16th August 2023.

This Brimstone butterfly showed well by the Info Centre.

Today, my family and I took the drive to Blashford Lakes today and by 11.30am, we parked up by the Info Centre and had a good look round. Isabelle had my spare binoculars, though we shared the camera (my Panasonic Lumix I did let Isabelle use whenever she needed it). Earlier today, I took my Nikon P900 into the London Camera Exchange to be mended and it looks like I will not be getting it back for at least 6 to 8 weeks.

Above, a 'teneral' Common Blue Damselfly by the Info Centre and below, I found my first ever Ringed China-mark moth perched on the back of the Info Centre.

The weather was a lot warmer than I expected with temperatures getting up to 26 degrees and hardly a breath of wind to be had all afternoon. This encouraged the likes of Dragonflies and Damselflies to be out in force and I was rewarded with sightings of both Brown Hawker dragonflies and Red-eyed Damselflies; two species that I have not seen this year. The former I have only seen by Woolmer Pond and there were so many of them throughout the Water complex. The latter was seen in front of the Ivy South Hide and showing well. A few Emperor Dragonflies were also on the wing and scanning across the water from the Hide, there were hundreds of Damselflies buzzing over the surface. A magnificent sight.

Above, a young Palmate Newt in the fish tank the children used for their lesson and below, a Great Diving Beetle, a species I am not sure I have ever seen before.

On reaching the Car Park by the Info Centre, we took a walk around the back of the building because I wanted to show them the pond behind there. A school party was just finishing their lecture and went back indoors to the classroom there, leaving behind a fish tank containing both a Palmate Newt and a Great Diving Beetle; both fascinating creatures. A male Common Darter perched by the edge of the pond and showed very well in the sunshine. I couldn't help myself, but I checked the back of the Centre for moths and was rewarded with not only my first Dingy Footman, but a small moth which I quickly potted to get a better look was in fact my first ever Ringed China-mark. Just goes to show, you just never know what is round the corner! 

Above, a Nuthatch in front of the Woodland Hide and below, I rescued this Hornet-mimic Hoverfly from a web inside the Hide and quickly potted it and released it outside. 'My good deed for the day' as they say!

Our next stop was the Woodland Hide where we spent a good half hour enjoying the birds coming down to feed on the feeders. OK, nothing out of the ordinary here, though it did entertain my family as I named the birds for them that included Nuthatch, Greenfinch, Chaffinch, Goldfinch, Blue and Great Tit. A Chiffchaff was sunning itself a little further back and a Jay came down to pinch sunflower hearts on one of the feeders!

Above, an array of passerines enjoying the feeder and providing an identity crisis for my family! Below, a Jay made easy pickings of this feeder.

Avoiding some rather irritating Wasps on our way to the Ivy South Hide, we eventually got to the Hide and although it was quite busy, the ladies all managed to grab a decent seat and wait to see what turned up. It didn't take long for a Kingfisher to be spotted above the reeds and busy fishing near a Grey Heron. I helped Isabelle and Sinead (who was now using my binoculars) to get onto the bird, but to be fair, it was quite distant and never got much closer during the time we were there. Out on the water, I saw a few Great Crested Grebes swam among the many Mallards and Coots, but best of all was a superb immature Goshawk that flew very low across the water, nearly grabbed a Mallard and then perched up out of sight within the trees opposite. That was totally unexpected, though I did read that one was around the area.

Above, three Red-eyed Damselflies on this angled tree branch including a mating pair in front of Ivy South Hide. Below, the arrow pointing to the Kingfisher. Yes, it was some distance away, but we all got to see it.

Closer to the Hide, I checked out both the Dragonflies and Damselflies where a superb Brown Hawker was flying very close to the window, but too fast for me to get a photo of this magnificent insect. Checking out the Damselflies, I found my first Red-eyed Damselflies of the year resting on vegetation floating on the water and surrounded by hundreds of Pond Skaters too. A young Black-headed Gull rested on one of the Tern Rafts and behind this, a lone adult Lesser Black-backed Gull was seen on one of the buoys. Isabelle eventually got a bit restless and so we made our way back to the car park.

Above, this male Common Darter was by the pond behind the Info Centre and below, a male White Wagtail in front of the Tern Hide.

We had a quick look from the Tern Hide where there were plenty of Pied Wagtails around in front of the Hide. However, while checking for waders nearby, I found a White Wagtail walking along the shoreline. This was only my second of the year and with migration in full swing, I wasn't really surprised to find one among the many Pied’s here. Our Sinead is a novice when it comes to birds and so I helped her identify the Cormorants from Great Crested Grebes and she is right, they have the same shape if you are a novice. Our bellies were soon rumbling and so I took the guys for lunch at the Alice Lyle Pub nearby.

Another photo of the male White Wagtail. 

After lunch, after enjoying more superb views of Brown Hawkers flying around the garden, I promised Isabelle and Sinead they could take some photos of the Ponies and Donkeys. I took them to Janesmoor Pond, off Forest Road near Fritham. From here, they all got to see plenty of Ponies, Donkeys and even Cows in the area; while I checked out the bird life that included about a dozen Pied Wagtails feeding among the animals and at least two Stonechats on the opposite side of the road. It was now 5pm and I knew that the M27 was going to be busy and so we made our way back home, reflecting on a lovely day out and a long list of excellent sightings.     

Our Isabelle was given this worksheet by one of the staff and she nearly had the lot.