☔ Sunday 16th July 2017 ~ Visits to Brandon Marsh last Friday and today and frankly with the amount of disruption both on the pools and in the reedbeds, which seems to occur daily these days, I'm always surprised to find anything of interest during my visits to the hides! This is one reason why I've adopted the idea of bypassing them in favour of exploring the woods and meadows that Brandon's diversity provides.
 |
| Small Copper ~ River Meadow |
Friday, despite cloudy skies I managed a nice selection of butterflies and moths, particularly around River Meadow, where a single
Purple Hairstreak was along the treeline. The meadow itself provided the usual array of
Meadow Brown and
Ringlet butterflies. Five
Small Copper but no sign on this occasion of any
Marbled White, doing so well this year.
Gatekeepers are in abundance now and another butterfly seemingly doing well,
Red Admiral, with 15 sightings throughout the reserve!
 |
| Shaded Broad-bar |
I'm spending more time seeking out moths, for me a real learning curve and came across
Common Carpet and
Shaded Broad-bar, feel free to correct my ID at any time! Both
Six-spot Burnet and
Narrow-bordered Five-spot Burnet could be found along the 'Tip', plus several
Cinnabar. Dragonfly's included:
Brown Hawker,
Black-tailed Skimmer and both
Ruddy and
Common Darter.
 |
| Gorgeous Broadleaf Helleborine |
Today, no surprise to find East Marsh pool disrupted once more, ringing birds seem to take priority, to the detriment of any visitor but to be honest, my visit was mainly to catch up with the Sunday regulars! After a brief spell in East Marsh hide a walk over to the 'Tip' area and River Meadow.
 |
| Broadleaf Helleborine ~ Lovely shade loving Orchid! |
On route, a look at a nice specimen of
Broadleaf Helleborine, so often bypassed by visitors and despite the rain now falling, a couple of
Common Blues on the 'Tip', possibly 2nd generation and a welcome find (pretty scarce on the reserve this year!)
 |
| Green Lacewing |
Purple Hairstreak once more along the River Meadow treeline and an opportunity to photograph a
Green Lacewing near the Farm reedbed ended another frustrating visit!
 |
| Purple Hairstreak ~ River Meadow |
