28 JULY 2025 – BAT WILLOW HURST COUNTRY PARK

Although I was due a visit along the Stort towpath between Bishops Stortford and Spellbrook. I wanted to try something a little different. I decided on a trip to Bat Willow Hurst Country Park, which is part of a new housing development just north of Stortford Town – where a new park was created opposite basically to take water (run-off) away from the estate, and where three lakes were constructed for this purpose. The lakes now form part of  a new Country Park, where - as well as using it for country walks - one can observe many dragonfly/damselfly species, butterflies, other insects, and wildflowers. I last visited the park two years ago, so another was well overdue.

It was a fifteen-minute walk from my house to catch a bus that took me near to the entrance to the park. I arrived shortly after 10.30 a.m. The weather was warm with intermittent sunny and cloudy conditions, with a light NW breeze, at least initially.

The first lake was sizeable (the largest of the three) and steep sided. but there was little to see, apart from a lone Mute Swan (a second summer male I believe) and several quite large Carp that were swimming near to the surface (including what I could only describe as an albino type fish with a distinctive red-orange tail fin, that may well have been a Golden Orfe). Some Willows were growing around its periphery, together with young Oak, Hawthorn, and Hazel trees. The southern end was largely free of vegetation except for minor growth of rushes. The rushes were considerable thicker on the remaining sides of the lake. There wase no discernible dragonfly activity.

The second ‘lake’ - more of a large pond really, and the only other one to contain water (the third being completely dry currently) - was much less accessible, being very steep-sided, and difficult to manage for someone who - like me - uses a stick for support. The reeds here were considerable and widespread around all sides, with spaces to get down to the water’s edge. The was a sizeable area of Willow too. The difference here being that the pond was more sheltered than the larger lakes, so dragonfly and damselfly activity was more pronounced. Species here included :- both Common and Azure Damselflies; both Red-eyed and Small Red-eyed Damselflies (although I only found two of the latter - both males); Blue-tailed Damselfly; Common and Ruddy Darter; a single male Emperor Dragonfly (which was seen around lunchtime when the sunlight seemed warmer); a single female Brown Hawker (which was egg-laying); and a very fleeting Black-tailed Skimmer. I was hoping to see Willow Emerald Damselflies, but it may have been a tad too early in the season for this species, and none was seen. Maybe a return visit in mid-August might prove fruitful.

Surprisingly, since my last visit, the pond had been stocked with fish, including some quiet large Common Carp; Rudd and possibly Roach too, and strangely a Goldfish (or maybe even a Golden Orfe) which might have been abandoned by a member of the public.

Butterflies were much less obvious - maybe the lack of sustained sunshine, and often breezy conditions at times were to blame - but species seen were :- both Large and Small White; Meadow Brown; Gatekeeper; Common Blue; Brown Argus; a single male Small Copper, and a lone Red Admiral. I didn’t know this at the time but only half-a mile away at Stansted Airport Lagoons, Mike Harris (a birding friend) was watching several Clouded Yellow Butterflies …………….but none to my knowledge had drifted over to Bat Willow Hurst - at least not whilst I was there!!

I was however delighted to find at least three Wasp Spiders with their distinctive Orb webs, along the edge of the pond - the first time I’ve found the species at this location - and this made my visit much more worthwhile.

I decided to walk back into Bishops Stortford Town from here, passing through Grange Paddocks Meadow, then Cannons Mill; then Grange playing fields - following the course of the River Stort (which was overgrown with Reeds and Purple Loosestrife - a beautiful wildflower indeed) without seeing much in the way of wildlife - and finally catching a different bus home. I’d been out the best part of five hours - most of that time spent walking; and it had been tiring indeed.

POSSIBLE GOLDEN ORFE

COMMON BLUE BUTTERFLY (F)

COMMON BLUE BUTTERFLY (F) UNDERWING 

POND SKATER

RUDD

GOLDEN ORFE (or abandoned Goldfish)

RUDDY DARTER

WASP SPIDER

WASP SPIDER

 

14 JULY 2025 - FINGRINGHOE, ESSEX

John had booked an MOT on his car (which passed) so we weren’t able to set off until shortly after 10.00 a.m. from mine.

About an hour later, we arrived at Fingringhoe Nature Reserve - operated by the Essex Wildlife Trust and immediately set off after checking out the most recent sightings.

Firstly, we attempted to find White Letter Hairstreaks on elm trees from the car park, but only got Commas, Peacock, Red Admiral butterflies, and Hornets nesting in a bee ‘hotel’ nearby. Then, as we’d arrived later than anticipated, we did a rather rudimentary circuit of the reserve, in an endeavour to get as many butterfly, dragonfly and bird species as possible before returning to the car for lunch and setting off to a hide on the River Colne in time for high tide at around 3.00 p.m.

Our first decent record was of a single male Purple Hairstreak that I found feeding on Bramble; it wasn’t in any sort of prime condition (although I missed another one nearby that was in a better state) but I managed a couple of telephoto shots before we moved on. Other Purple Hairstreaks were seen at varying locations, normally on Oak trees. Other butterflies included Red Admirals; Peacocks; Commas; Speckled Woods; Gatekeepers; Meadow Browns and both Large and Small Whites. Mike found a female Peregrine soaring overhead with gulls, which was unexpected here. Dragonfly species included a single Ruddy Darter and a Brown Hawker, but nothing exceptional; and a species of Ichneumon Fly which refused to settle as it hawked around for wasp burrows to lay eggs in. On the way back to the car, a single butterfly flashed by us (I was behind the guys so didn’t get a good view) but John thought it was a White Admiral, and sure enough it was relocated along the ride when eventually we gained super close views as it settled on a bramble, in competition with Whites and Red Admirals. Fortunately, I was able to fire off several shots before the butterfly zoomed off - as they are extremely strong flyers. It was a first for the year for all of us, and our good fortune to see it. Back at the centre another (or the same one maybe) was on a buddleia bush with Red Admirals and Peacock butterflies.

After consuming our lunches and spending another futile 20 minutes or so looking for White Letter Hairstreaks (well, to be fair we did in fact get glimpses of Hairstreak species on the elms but were unable to specifically identify them as White Letters) we headed down to Margaret’s Hide in time for the high tide. Meanwhile, the Hornets were a little more active at the bee ‘hotel’ but of course I needed to be extremely careful when taking photographs for obvious reasons.

On the way to the hide, a Turtle Dove could be heard ‘purring’ gently somewhere close by, and it didn’t take long before John had the bird in his scope and we were enjoying excellent views of this beautiful, enigmatic dove, that this year had shown a decent recovery in migration numbers from the disastrous numbers of recent years.

The guys tramped on to the hides whilst I lingered long behind trying to take in the excellent numbers of butterflies – mainly Gatekeepers and Meadows Browns, with a sprinkling of Small Skippers, Small Heaths and Common Blues, along the extremely dry pathways, together with a few dragonfly species such as Ruddy Darters; Common Darters and Common Blue Damselflies. Nearing the hides I picked up male and female Common Blues, a male Brown Argus, and a Small Copper butterfly.

Into the hide and I’d just missed a distant Spotted Redshank feeding along the banks of a dyke off the River Colne, but was just in time to see a Common Greenshank and an adult Whimbrel. There were many Common Redshanks and Black-tailed Godwits - well in excess of 200 individuals, almost all still in their reddish summer plumage - huddled together on mud islets, or out on the still exposed mudflats - with  small numbers of Grey Plovers, and Little Egrets, with sporadic gatherings of Oystercatchers and Black-headed Gulls - all waiting for the rising tide to push them off; which of course it did eventually - indeed considerably earlier than we believed it would. It was only 2.30 p.m.

On the way back to the car - with a Turtle Dove still purring in the distance - we enjoyed another brief encounter with a White Admiral - before  finally taking drinks in the café. The last bird we saw was an adult Red Kite soaring over the complex in the mid-afternoon sunlight, but still no signs of any White Letter Hairstreaks on the elms in the car park.

We’d seen fifteen species of butterfly; six species of Dragonfly; and around twenty or so species of birds.

HORNET

HORNET

HORNET

PURPLE HAIRSTREAK BUTTERFLY

RUDDY DARTER (F)

RUDDY DARTER (F)

RUDDY DARTER (M)

WHITE ADMIRAL BUTTERFLY

WHITE ADMIRAL BUTTERFLY

WHITE ADMIRAL BUTTERFLY

BLACK-TAILED GODWITS and other birds

 

 

 

8 JULY 2025 – SOUTHERN COUNTRY PARK

I wanted to get out early to miss the heat of the day (predicted to be around 25 degrees C – which is just about my limit these days) so I started out at 0910 hrs taking in Thorley Wedge on the way.

A flowering buddleia was paying host to several species of butterfly and a few bee species. So I stopped awhile to photograph Red Admiral; Peacock; Comma; Large Skipper, and Gatekeeper butterflies (ignoring the Large and Small Whites on this occasion), then made my way along the pathway until a grassy knoll revealed a lovely male Brown Argus butterfly (my first of the year and a new species for me for Thorley Wedge) and a superb black and yellow species of Ichneumon Fly, which was also new to me. Then, on to Southern Country Park.

I’d just left Thorley Wedge, and as I was crossing Villiers Sur Marne I noticed something on new fencing that I knew was a moth of some kind, and when I approached I was delighted to discover that it was a beautiful Leopard Moth, a species I’d not seen since moving to Stortford 23 years ago; and of course I took a couple of shots before moving on.

On the outskirts of SCP there is a Care Home, which apart from housing elderly residents, has a small population of breeding Jackdaws, so I stopped a while to at least attempt to photograph a few juvenile Jackdaws that were preening on the chimney tops.

Into the park itself – it was approaching 10.00 a.m.; and the first butterfly I saw was a female Common Blue which I photographed, then I made a beeline for the walkway along the northern reedbed where I was hoping to see a good selection of dragonflies; but I was to be sadly disappointed, because the only species to be seen was a couple of Black-tailed Skimmers. So, where were all the Azure Damselflies; the Broad-bodied Chasers; the Emperors; the Blue-tailed Damselflies etc?? I walked the length of the walkway- and apart from the skimmers, the only wildlife of interest was a pair of Carrion Crows and a family of Magpies; the only life on the lake were a Moorhen and a plethora of Mallards.

I walked the eastern flank of the lake but there was nothing of interest, and not a single butterfly over the adjoining grasslands; not one! At the southern end of the lake, I found a lone Azure Damselfly and no other species – not even any Common Darters which usually would be present at this time of year. I really couldn’t work out what was going on.

I walked down to the Chalky Bank area, but again there were very few butterflies – a couple of Common Blues, several Ringlets and Meadow Browns, and some Gatekeepers. I continued along the bank continuing all the way round Middle Wood and down to The Wedge where I was confronted with hardly any insects at all. And then, all of a sudden, a few Large White became obvious, then a Marbled White…………….and another, and as I approached a huge bank of Scabious I was virtually surrounded with butterflies…………………… Large Whites (in huge numbers), Small Whites; Meadow Browns; Gatekeepers (so many it was impossible to count them); several Peacock Butterflies, Red Admirals, and a lone Painted Lady in almost pristine condition - but extremely difficult to photograph as it was continually on the move; a couple of Common Blue Butterflies, Small Skippers, a lone Large Skipper, and at least three Brown Argus (two males and a female). I was in butterfly heaven for a while. And then I began to realise why it was that up until then I’d seen hardly and butterflies and dragonflies…………………… I was looking too early in the day!!  And now, at around 11.30 a.m. the insects were taking advantage of the warming temperature – now probably approaching 24 degrees C.

Having sated myself on butterflies, I turned towards what is known as The Old Pond and immediately noticed damselflies flying at the pond edges – a male and female Banded Demoiselle, a few Azure Damselflies; a single Blue-tailed Damselfly, and a lone Common Blue Damselfly. In the pond, small shoals of fish - probably Roach - were coming to the surface, undoubtedly looking for insects to eat (or gulping for air - it was hard to tell). Above me a juvenile Common Buzzard called continually but didn’t show itself. Comma Butterflies and Large Whites flitted over nearby brambles.

Walking up to the Spring Meadow (previously known as the Maze field) I was hoping to see clouds of Marbled Whites - as I’d seen here in previous years - but only two worn individuals were found. The species usually has a small window of about 3 weeks or so to emerge and mate before dying off - beginning in mid-June; but it seems the extreme temperatures of late had caused the species to emerge slightly earlier than usual, so that now in  early July they were almost gone - hence the small numbers seen. It was something I had no control over due to recent heart surgery during the main period, so this year I’d missed the main event.

Although the temperature had increased substantially since I arrived mid-morning, I decided not to return to the lake for dragonflies and damselflies, leaving that instead to another day. But as I left the park, heading for the Pennington Fields - which is a sort of annex, just outside the main park area - a female Southern Hawker flew close to my head - a new species for the year. Pennington Fields was full of Teasel and Ragwort, with several Marbled White, Peacock, and a couple of Red Admiral which I stopped to photograph. Further round a single (female) Common Blue flew round at my feet, before a lovely male (in pristine blue) eventually settled and allowed me a couple of shots before shooting off and away.

It was almost 12.15 p.m., and the heat was getting to me; so, at that point I headed for home for lunch and to process the 118 photographs I’d taken throughout the morning. That was going to take me quite a while.

BROWN ARGUS (M) - THORLEY WEDGE

ICHNUEMON FLY Sp - THORLEY WEDGE

LEOPARD MOTH - NEAR THORLEY WEDGE

PAINTED LADY BUTTERFLY

PEACOCK BUTTERFLY

RED ADMIRAL BUTTERFLY

RINGLET BUTTERFLY

BANDED DEMOISELLE DAMSELFLY (F)

ROACH (or RUDD)

COMMON BLUE BUTTERFLY (M)

COMMON BLUE BUTTERFLY (M)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

3 JULY 2025 – HATFIELD FOREST

This was my first outing in nearly a month following heart surgery - and with John and Mike - we headed for Hatfield Forest, hoping to ‘clean-up’ on Butterflies and Dragonflies in particular.

It was already very warm with almost unbroken sunshine to begin with, so the conditions augured well, and as soon as we were through the main entrance we were seeing Silver-washed Fritillaries in good numbers, with Ringlets and Large Whites bring up the rear.

Down to the car park by the Shell House, we made for the Decoy Lake and on the way looked for Purple Hairstreaks on a tall oak opposite the Shell House Café and quickly found several zipping through the foliage and waited patiently for them to come to rest before confirming the identity.

Below the oak were brambles simply alive with Ringlets; Gatekeepers; Meadow Browns; Commas, and Large Whites - with a sprinkling of Small Whites too. At that time none of the Hairstreaks were venturing to the brambles. It was already obvious that butterflies here were having a good year. At the lake, a Common Tern was seen, and another shortly after.

At the Decoy lake we were delighted to find that it was in excellent condition (compared to previous years) with Coot; Moorhen and Mallard families present, and good numbers of dragonflies and damselflies too. Species seen here included a male and female Emperor Dragonfly; at least two Brown Hawkers; three or four Four-Spot Chasers; Common Blue and Azure Damselflies; both Large Red-eyed and Small Red-eyed Damselflies; a couple of Blue-tailed Damselflies; a couple of Common Darters, and a Black-tailed Skimmer. Then we set off for Purple Emperors.

Along the rides towards Collins Coppice there were huge numbers of butterflies – more Large Whites - far exceeding the Small Whites in numbers; more Ringlets than I’ve ever seen before; Meadow Browns; good numbers of Gatekeepers; Large and Small Skippers (there could well have been Essex Skippers too, and although the guys were lucky, I missed out); initially, small numbers of Marbled White butterflies, that grew as we proceeded; a very tatty Painted Lady that John thought could well have indicated that it was a recent migrant; a couple of Brimstones (males only); and of course good numbers of Silver-washed Fritillaries - which I confess are one of my favourite butterflies, so very elegant in flight. On the way, we saw at least three Common Buzzards and three Red Kites (including a juvenile bird).

Taking a detour across towards Lodge Coppice we walked along another open ride with more butterflies flitting this and that way - more Marbled Whites and Silver-washed Fritillaries, though none staying still long enough to photograph well, which I found especially frustrating. The guys both thought this was mainly down to the extremely warm and sunny conditions. Further along the ride a way, we approached a tall, broad oak where Purple Emperors were seen by the guys in 2024, but at first nothing was stirring. And then, quite suddenly, a male did a circuit at the top of the oak, then (presumably the same individual) made two more brief forays that satisfied us all, before we came away.

Nearby, Mike found a White-legged Damselfly (the species was also seen here in 2024) which was photographed well; and John found a lovely Hummingbird Hawkmoth that mesmerised us for a short while; and a male Emperor Dragonfly flew by.

I was keen to visit a nearby ride that previously was good for Silver-washed Fritillaries – and where I’d taken my more memorable photographs of the species in previous years. And although we found our way through, it wasn’t until much later that we realised that part of this ride - along with others throughout the forest - had been fenced off to ‘recuperate’ for one year only. Yet the butterflies were still here in exceptionally good numbers. Our second White-legged Damselfly, was also seen here.

We stopped for the day then (it was approx. 1.45 p.m.) and although the heat remained, the sunshine was beginning to fade under cotton-wool clouds. So, we made for the Shell House Café for a very welcome Cappuccino each, before heading home.

It had been a memorable day indeed - the numbers of butterflies (and the individual species); and a broad selection of Odonata being something we would all remember for a long time.

17 Butterfly species recorded. 12 Dragonfly species recorded.

BRIMSTONE BUTTERFLY (M)

LARGE SKIPPER (M)

LARGE SKIPPERS MATING

PEACOCK BUTTERLY

RED ADMIRAL with BEE Sp

RINGLET

RINGLET

SILVER-WASHED FRITILLARY

SILVER-WASHED FRITILLARY

SILVER-WASHED FRITILLARY

WHITE-LEGGED DAMSELFLY