Purple Emperors take the prize.

Saturday 29th June 2024.

The magnificent Purple Emperor at Abbots Wood today.

The battle plan today was to meet up with Emma & Matt Parkes at the Fareham Leisure Centre where they would take Geoff, Andy and myself to Funtley Pastures nearby to hopefully see yesterday's Serin that turned up close to a fellow birder's garden. However, the Serin wasn’t to be as it sadly must have disappeared overnight, leaving behind some rather frustrated birders. Though it didn't turn out too bad at Funtley Pastures. I knew the weather was going to be warm today and so togged up with plenty of sun-cream, we had a superb day at various locations.

Yesterday's male Serin never showed this morning. Photo by Andy Friend.

The Moth Boxes:

Above, Hawthorn Moth and below, Dotted Masoner. Both of these micro moths were new for the year.

First of all, it was the Moths to check out and among the 31 moths of 21 species, there were two more moths that were new for the year. They were both ‘micro’ moths, a Hawthorn Moth and two Dotted Masoner’s (Blastobasis vittata). My second Double-striped Tabby of the week was present and among the larger moths, a decent Common Emerald was present as well as my second Lackey moth of the year.

• Lackey
• Garden Carpet 2
• Riband Wave 3
• Lime-speck Pug
• Willow Beauty 5
  
• White Ermine
• Common Emerald
• Dark Arches 2
• L-album Wainscot
• Common Pug
• Small Fruit Moth
• Common Plume 2
• Garden Grass-veneer 2
• Barred Marble
• Hawthorn Moth (NFY)
• Dotted Masoner 2 (NFY)
• Beautiful Plume
• Blushed Knot-horn
• Netted Tortrix
• Narrow-winged Grey
• Double-striped Tabby

Back over Andy’s Moth Box, there were three more moths new for the year, Dwarf Cream Wave, Small Magpie Moth and the micro moth, White-banded Grass-moth. Two Rosy Tabby’s were present among the 15 moths of 12 species as well as my second Treble Brown Spot of the year. 

Above, Small Magpie Moth and below, White-banded Grass-moth. Both new species for the year at Andy's house.

Above, one of two Small Cream Wave moths.

• Willow Beauty
• Dwarf Cream Wave 2 (NFY)
• Treble Brown Spot
• Bright-line Brown-eye
• Bee Moth
• Brown House Moth
• Rosy Tabby 2
• Blushed Knot-horn
• Small Magpie Moth (NFY)
• Narrow-winged Grey
• White-banded Grass-Moth (NFY)
• Common Plume 2

Funtley Pastures, Funtley:

Above, a Roesel's Bush-cricket nymph. Below, an Essex Skipper butterfly.

Above, a superb Marbled White butterfly and below, Emma found these Purple Hairstreak's nearby.

Though it was disappointing that there was no sign of the Serin, there were sightings of Blackcap, House Martins, Swallows and a few Bullfinches while we waited patiently. But it was the insects that were grabbing our attention. After sightings of a few Grasshoppers (Roesel’s Bush Cricket and Common Green Grasshopper, which were found by Geoff), we enjoyed the likes of Meadow Brown, Marbled White, Large Skipper, Large White and our first Ringlets of the year. Then Emma had found a couple of Purple Hairstreaks flying high by an Oak tree in the warm sunshine and eventually, one dropped low enough to grab some very decent photos; my first of the year. Then the question was, where next? After a brief discussion, Matt suggested Abbots Wood, near Farnham, which was just inside the Hampshire border, to look for the infamous Purple Emperors. So off we went northbound.   

Abbots Wood, near Farnham:

Above, Ringlets were abundant along the main footpath and below, White Admirals were just as abundant. I have never seen so many.

Above, another White Admiral at rest and below, a Large Skipper perched on a Nettle.

Above, a few vocal Nuthatches were seen in the woodland and below, Foxgloves adorned the footpath.

Above, his female Kestrel soared low over the woodland.

Not only did we have a fair selection of birds within this wood, which incidentally, was a new site for Geoff, Andy and myself; but the butterflies (and dragonflies) were superb. Last year, in Whiteley Woods, we saw our first ever Purple Emperor butterflies; though the ones we saw were flying high up in the treetops. So when we came across a group of butterfly enthusiasts looking excited by taking photographs of something interesting on the footpath; it only turned out to be a superb male Purple Emperor feasting on some dog poo and totally oblivious of all the attention it was receiving. The insects performed superbly for all of us present and remained there for at least 15 minutes before flying into a nearby tree and then up into the nearby Oak canopies nearby. More were seen later during the day including a few females flying high over the footpath and clearings. As well as the Purple Emperors, White Admirals were also in good numbers and showed extremely well as did the Silver-washed Fritillaries. I have to say, I have never seen so many of the two latter species in my lifetime. These were joined by a few Red Admirals, Ringlets, Meadow Browns and good numbers of both Small and Large Skippers.

Above, the top six photos above was of the showy Purple Emperor that drew in a sizable appreciative crowd along the main footpath.

Above, a lone Pyramidal Orchid by the main footpath.

Above and below, this female Sparrowhawk showed well above our heads while we had lunch.

Above and below, the gorgeous Silver-washed Fritillary. These would fly right through you if they could!

Above, this White Admiral decided to sit on the main footpath. Below, one of the many juvenile Long-tailed Tits in the woodland.

Above, a Common Lizard ran over the main footpath and briefly settled on the grass.

Above and below, this stunning female Black-tailed Skimmer dragonfly perched nicely near the footpath.

Above, the Red-necked Footman was unexpected and well found by Matt.

Overhead, both Kestrel and Sparrowhawk were seen soaring low over the woodland and when we arrived at the car park, there was a displaying Buzzard calling. Blackcaps, Nuthatch, Treecreeper and a large number of juvenile Long-tailed Tits were seen in the trees; always something to look at despite the warm temperatures. There was a good variety of insects on show, as well as the butterflies, that included our first Brown Hawker dragonfly of the year plus sightings of Beautiful Demoiselle Damselflies and a gorgeous female Black-tailed Skimmer. Matt found an interesting moth of which I misidentified at first and further research revealed it was a nice Red-necked Footman; my first of the year. I have to say, though I have never been to Abbot Wood; it is most certainly a wood I will be coming back to again in the future. Nearby Alice Holt Forest clearly is exploiting people with very high car park prices and though they have Purple Emperors within this woodland; I know where I will be going again. 

Woolmer Pond & Forest, nr Bordon:

Above and below, Azure Damselflies at Woolmer Pond.

Above, a Mullein plant growing along the perimeter fence and below, a superb Four-spotted Chaser dragonfly.

Above, a male Common Darter.

We were thinking of trying our luck for the ‘dodgy’ Ruddy Shelduck on Petersfield Pond, but when Matt and Emma mentioned Woolmer Pond, a place they have not tried before; I really fancied the idea and so that was to be our last destination today and boy, did it produce some nice sightings. The Pond and perimeter footpath was awash with Damselflies and Dragonflies where the main Dragonflies seen were both Azure and Common Blue Damselflies, Four-spotted Chasers, Black-tailed Skimmers, Emperor Dragonflies and Common Darters. But best of all were our first Emerald Damselflies of the year…..beautiful creatures. Even a few nice moths were seen that included a Brown Silver-lines, White-banded Grass-moth and there were quite a few Garden Grass-veneers that were flying about our feet! Common Blue butterflies were in good numbers and on the wing here too.

Above, Hobbies at Woolmer Pond performed superbly for us.

Above, a male Redstart by the Forest and below, a Garden Grass-veneer moth.

Above, a stunning Emerald Damselfly was my first for the year at this reliable site. Below, my second White-banded Grass-moth of the day.

Above, several Common Blue butterflies were seen by the Pond.

But it was the birds that were quite impressive; notably the Hobbies. They really performed superbly for us with at least three birds seen (and altogether once upon a time) overhead and very close to us too. Simply breathtaking! The Pond itself was rather quiet, though we did see a few Tufted Duck on the water and over the Pond, both Swallow and Sand Martin were seen hawking for insects. A few Stonechats were seen on our walk up to the Forest and while I was checking out a moth, the guys saw a family group of Stonechats along the path through the Forest. Both Tree Pipit and Woodlark were heard, but not seen, but best of all was a singing male Redstart as we entered the footpath by the Forest. A Garden Warbler was heard singing from the Cottage garden and while we walked back round the perimeter of the Pond on the way back to the car, a few Red Kites and Common Buzzards were seen soaring overhead. By now, it had clouded over but it was still warm.

A cracking day again with superb company and that sighting of the Purple Emperor on the footpath at Abbots Wood and the Hobbies picking off Dragonflies at Woolmer Pond will live in my memory for a long, long time. Yes, what a day.