DAVID'S NATURE BLOG

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.