Thursley Common......

12 July - An afternoon visit to Thursley Common and the boardwalk, in hot but cloudy conditions. A good variety of dragonflies and damselflies seen - Small Red (4) and Emerald (6) Damselflies, with Emperor, Four-spotted Chaser (8) Black-tailed Skimmer (5) and Black Darter (7) Dragonflies around the boggy pools. Quite a few people out with cameras, being a fine weekend day.

Purple Emperor at Savernake.......

11 July - A morning visit to Savernake Forest by the column, more cloudy than forecast but several views of a male Purple Emperor fairly high in one of the master trees, perched on a leaf and also seen in typical gliding flight. Photos JM, photos 2-4 show the extent of cropping of my shots.

New Forest specials.......

4 July - A last sunny morning at the end of the fine weather spell, and at Acres Down Silver-studded Blues were flitting low over the heather (1-3). At Slufters Pond nearby (an acidic pool,4, in the Forest) a freshly emerged immature male Black Darter signalled the start of the flight season (5-6), while Keeled Skimmers (7) buzzed low and Emperors (8) patrolled the pool. Common Blue Damselflies were on the weedy margins.

Ravensroost again.....

1 July - A sunny morning at Ravensroost for a quick walk down the main track, and a lot of butterfly activity - 19 Silver-washed Fritillaries (7) and 7 White Admirals (4-6) the main targets, and very active, rarely settling in the sunshine.....also seen, 4 Commas (8), 3 Large Skippers (10), together with Ringlets (9) and Meadow Browns. I also got my first ever proper perched view of a Brown Hawker (11). Photos JM.

Ravensroost Wood.....

29 June - an afternoon visit in intermittent sun, and my first White Admiral of the season briefly in typical gliding flight - also seen, 4 Large Skippers (3,4), a Green-veined White (2), Ringlets (5) and Meadow Browns - also 2 Brown Hawkers, and Common Blue Damselflies (6).

Large Blues at Daneway.....

24 June - The fine spell continues, and a visit to Daneway Banks near Sapperton resulted in good views of 3-4 Large Blues (2,3). Butterflies in general were very active in the warm sunshine, but hard to photograph as only settled fleetingly, but I managed a couple of shots of one of the many Marbled Whites (4,5). Large Skipper, Ringlet, Small Tortoiseshell and Meadow Brown also seen.

Whitecross Green Wood

14 June - A very late first post of the year, as I've been travelling for birding a lot - butterflies earlier in 2014 have included the usual Brimstones, Orange Tips etc and it seems to be an early season due to the good weather. Yesterday I saw a single Silver-studded Blue in the New Forest. This afternoon, in intermittent sun and a temperature of 21-22c, I saw at least 10 Black Hairstreaks (2,3) at Whitecross Green, including a couple of fairly faded individuals. Also seen were good numbers of Large Skippers (4,5), a Brimstone, and 2 Ringlets. Dragonflies included 2 Emperors and a Brown Hawker.