DAVID'S NATURE BLOG

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.