Summer 2019 at Longham Lakes

30th August
Between 14:40 and 15:40, a maximum of 23 Swifts in one scan, along with c450 Sand Martins, c25 House Martins and 10 Swallows. Also 6 Sedge Warblers, 6 Willow Warblers, 2 + each of Common Whitethroat, Chiffchaff, Blackcap, Reed Warbler and Cetti’s Warbler and 1 Kingfisher (Nick Whitehouse.)

29th August
I am over the moon to find a new bird for Longham today, a PIED FLYCATCHER!! The bird was just north of the Scarlet Darter pond in the wood on the left. Showing very well but only for a couple of minutes before vanishing. The Longham bogey bird has finally fallen!! Best of the rest was a Garden Warbler and a Wheatear (Matt Bell.)

26th August
Ringing-wise, it was a bit of a strange morning as the mist lingered until almost 9am and there wasn’t much evidence of life! However I managed 15 new birds and 3 re-traps as follows: Blackcap 7, Wren 2, and singles of Robin, Song Thrush, Dunnock, Long-tailed Tit, Chiffchaff and Reed Warbler. Two of the re-traps were recent Robins but the third was a Long-tailed Tit which I ringed in August 2016 as a juvenile. I have also caught it in both years between (March 2017 and December 2018). This morning it was in close company with the newly ringed Long-tailed Tit (Roger Peart.) Later on, disappointingly quiet  this morning, but Lesser Whitethroat still present in mixed tit and Willow/Chiff flock. Best of the rest was a Peregrine on the pylon (George Green.)

24th August
Lesser Whitethroat again today in amongst a mixed flock of tits and Willow/Chiffs in hedges along the east side of the South Lake near the Water Company compound. This is my 3rd record this year compared to only 1 in the past 8 years! Slight improvement in numbers of waterfowl with 13 Gadwall, 2 Teal (my first of the autumn here) and 9 Little Grebes. Only other notable sighting was a Clouded Yellow (George Green.)

20th August
Longham Lakes this morning was generally very quiet birdwise, but still large flock (50+) of Willow/chiffs in wood at SW corner of the site. Sadly nothing of interest amongst them. Otherwise best birds were Common Sandpiper and Kingfisher. Damsels & dragons more exciting with still 1 Lesser Emperor patrolling the west shore of the South Lake, several Migrant Hawkers and plenty of Brown Hawkers (George Green.)

18th August
This afternoon there were a good number of Sand and House Martins hawking over the lake. Nice to see 2 Little Grebes and 3 Great Crested Grebes back on the lake, Coot numbers going up as there were 50 today, a Common Sandpiper on the island with 12 Lapwings. Also some Brown Hawkers and Black-tailed Skimmers along with a few Painted Ladies still about (Martin Wood.)

17th August
Between 10:00 – 11:15 there were: Swift c180 reducing to c80 by the time I had left the site; Sand Martin c 600; House Martin c 300; Swallow c100, all also thinning out somewhat by late morning. Also a few Whitethroat, Willow Warbler, Chiffchaff, Reed Warbler and Cetti’s Warblers in pathside/lake edge vegetation (Nick Whitehouse.)

15th August
Ringing this morning from 5.30 to 8.30am revealed a mixed bag of species – 2 each of Robin, Reed Warbler and Blackcap and one each of Wren, Blackbird, Cetti’s Warbler, Whitethroat and Chiffchaff (Roger Peart.) There was a Greenshank today near the small island on south lake (Matt Bell.) Despite the recent changeable weather, there was still plenty of Odonata activity, with a male Lesser Emperor patrolling the SW corner of the south lake which was my first sighting since late July. Also plenty of Brown Hawkers around (George Green.)

13th August
Today I found a BEAUTIFUL DEMOISELLE along the path immediately west of the north lake. I was surprised since it seemed the wrong habitat and late in the season for this species (George Green.) This is a FIRST FOR LONGHAM, and represents the 27th Dragonfly/Damselfly species recorded on-site – amazing!

Many local birders complain about the surprisingly low numbers of small birds, particularly migrants, at Longham Lakes. However for over an hour around mid-day a huge flock of small birds moved through the wood and nearby bushes in the SW corner of the site near the main dragonfly pond. I was with Matt Bell and birds were constantly moving through. It was impossible to count numbers but it must have been at least 100+ birds. Many of these were Chiffchaffs and Willow Warblers, but between us we also saw several Blackcaps, at least 1 Garden Warbler (a site tick for Matt), a Lesser Whitethroat (only my 3rd site record) and a Spotted Flycatcher. In addition there were good numbers of Long-tailed, Blue and Great Tits, Nuthatch and Treecreeper. Best of the rest – 10+ Swifts (George Green, Matt Bell.)

In the evening (13th) between 6.30 and 8.30pm I had the nets by the layby up and caught 7 Chiffchaffs, 2 Blackcaps and a Wren, all new birds, no re-traps (Roger Peart.)

That’s a pretty lively day all round for this site!

11th August
Huge flock of hirundines feeding over the lakes on arrival at 09.30 including a conservative estimate of 500+ Sand Martins. Also 20+ Swifts which is a high count for this site in August. Not such else, the best being 4 Gadwall, 4 Pochard and a Common Sandpiper (George Green.)

10th August
There were c200 Sand Martins and c50 House Martins skimming the white crested waves over South Lake, and 4 Swifts. Other highlights were 10 Lapwings out in Hampreston Fields, 3 immature male Pochard in the South West corner of South Lake and 3 Tufted Ducks with a single duckling in tow (Martin Wood.)

3rd August
I had a short ringing visit this evening – not much about but did catch 4 new Chiffchaffs (1 juvenile and 3 moulting adults) and a very juvenile Robin. Also a re-trap Chiffchaff – female with a fading brood patch, ringed 7th September last year as a juvenile. Reared here & returned to breed?? (Roger Peart)

24th July
Single male Lesser Emperor showing well in flight patrolling the SW corner of the North Lake and a probable sighting of another in the SE corner of the South Lake. Surprisingly the Red-veined Darters seem to have virtually disappeared – I only found a single male today. The lakes are very quiet birdwise, my highlight was a female Tufted Duck with 3 tiny chicks. The first I have seen this year (George Green.)

22nd July
Very quiet ringing this morning, just caught 10 new birds and 2 re-traps. New were: 4 Robin (one adult, 3 juveniles), 2 Chiffchaffs (one adult in moult, 1 juvenile), and one each of Blackbird, Dunnock, Cetti’s Warbler and Reed Warbler. One re-trap was a Great Tit ringed last October, the other a Robin ringed last week. Robins are surging ahead in the year totals – 8 now of which only one was an adult, plus last week’s retrap of a 2017 bird (Roger Peart.)

20th July
I spent the afternoon searching for Odonata from 14:15 to 16:50 hours: Black-tailed Skimmer – 6, Brown Hawker – 6 , Emperor – 1, Lesser Emperor – 1, possibly 2 patrolling along the top end of the Causeway bank of North Lake, Red-veined Darter – 2 and White-legged Damselfly – 5. Bird wise the lakes were very quiet with not much out on the water bar a few Herring Gulls, 20 Mallard, 2 Coots and 1 Tufted Duck and Mute Swans, best I could find were 8 Lapwing (Martin Wood.)

18th July
10 Odonate species seen at a cloudy Longham Lakes this lunchtime, including male Lesser Emperor (South Lake), 10+ Red-veined Darters, a lovely female White-legged Damselfly and a male Ruddy Darter on the dragonfly pools, second site record (Phil Saunders.)

17th July
A rather elusive Lesser Emperor along the east side of the South Lake, plenty of Red-veined Darters and more White-legged Damselflies than I normally see including in areas I haven’t seen them before. No sign of any Common Emerald Damselflies (George Green.)

16th July
There were 2 Lesser Emperors today – 1 patrolling the NE corner of the South Lake near the slipway and 1 patrolling the SE corner of the South Lake. Also 20+ Red-veined Darters and plenty of Small Red-eyed Damseflies. Also my 1st site Common Darter for this year (George Green.) [Reports of Emerald Damselflies today seem to be mistaken.]

15th July
I had a short ringing session at Longham this morning. Two of the three nets each caught 2 juvenile Robins and the other one caught a re-trap Robin first ringed in July 2017 as a juvenile. I also caught a juvenile Dunnock. Disappointingly no migrants – but as I was setting up the poles and nets last night I did catch two Chiffchaffs, one juvenile and one adult (Roger Peart.)

12th July
Persistence paid off this afternoon with a rather showy Lesser Emperor at Longham Lakes, Dorset. Patrolling up and down after 16.00 (Mike Gibbons, via Twitter)

10th July
Red-veined Darters are still around (Ian Ballam.)

9th July
Later afternoon at Longham Lakes hit the jackpot with at least 5 Lesser Emperors. Also a Roe Deer swam across part of the lake (Chris C., via Twitter)

8th July
At least 40+ Red-veined Darters and a male Lesser Emperor present this pm. The Lesser Emperor was favouring east shore of south lake just right of grey railings opposite pumping station (George Green.) Also a White-legged Damselfly near the pond in the south-west corner (Alan Hayden and Leo Pyke.) A few Common Darters and Brown Hawkers are around (British Dragonfly Society website).

7th July
Among all the other dragons and damsels on site at the moment are Small Red-eyed Damselflies (Martin Wood.)

6th July
There was yet another new dragonfly for Longham Lakes today. Martin Wood found and photographed a RUDDY DARTER today (photo below), the 26th Odonata species recorded here. Also about 6 Small Skippers, plus Meadow Browns, a Painted Lady and a Red Admiral with about 10 Marbled Whites.

5th July
At least 50+ Red-veined Darters (probably many more) at Longham Lakes this morning, many mating and ovipositing. In fact after the Common Blue Damseflies, they were by far the next commonest Odonata on site! Also brief sightings of 1, possibly 2 Lesser Emperors (George Green.) Also a Brown Hawker, a Grass Snake and a Pike, the latter in South Lake (Ian Ballam.)

3rd July
Huge numbers of Red-veined Darters today. Also I had 1 Lesser Emperor. Both species must be getting a foothold now (Matthew Bell.)

2nd July
First signs of autumn with a Redshank (not a common bird here) and 3 Common Sandpipers on the island at the north end of the South Lake [George, it’s only just past midsummer!] Spent most of my time looking for Odonata. Sadly no sign of the Scarlet Darter in a 2 hour search. I bumped into two other Odonata enthusiasts who had been looking all morning for the Scarlet Darter again without success. My highlight was a Golden-ringed Dragonfly (George Green.)

30th June
There were several hundred Marbled Whites about (Peter Moore, via Twitter.) Plenty of Red-veined Darters and White-legged Damselflies (Olly Frampton, via Twitter.)

29th June
Longham Lakes has, not for the first time, gone dragonfly crazy. In addition to yesterday’s SCARLET DARTER, much admired by quite a few visitors, Phil Saunders saw a fly-by VAGRANT EMPEROR today, the first for Longham Lakes and the 25th Odonata species recorded here. In fact, that wasn’t all. He says on Twitter: “Well that was a crazy few hours at Longham Lakes! 15 odonate spp, incl. Scarlet Darter, a fly-through  Vagrant Emperor, 2 Lesser Emperors (singles on both lakes), 25+ Red-veined Darter across the site (including 3 pairs copulating) and single Hairy Hawker, Scarce Chaser and White-legged Damselfly. Completing the list were Emperor, Brown Hawker, Black-tailed Skimmer, Four-spotted Chaser, Azure Damselfly, Red-eyed Damselfly, Beautiful Demoiselle, Large Red Damselfly and Blue-tailed Damselfly.

An unexpected floral find was a Pyramidal Orchid (third orchid recorded on-site after Green-winged and Bee Orchid [latter on 9th June, see below]). I did have a brief view of a Cinnabar moth. Marbled Whites were again fairly numerous as were Meadow Browns and there were singing individual Chiffchaff, Blackcap and Greenfinch (if you can call it singing!) near the layby area (Roger Peart.)

28th June
For the second time, two years after the first, from 8th-9th July 2017, a SCARLET DARTER turned up at Longham Lakes today (via Hampshire Dragonflies.)

26th June
One male Red-veined Darter on the usual dragonfly pond in the SW corner of the site. I found an immature Broad-bodied Chaser perched in the woodland border immediately west of the pond (George Green.)

25th June
There was a pair of Red-veined Darters today ovipositing in the “dragonfly pond” to the south-west of the main South Lake (George Green.)

24th June
There were Marbled White (butterflies) around and also a Tiger moth species flew past [presumed Scarlet as it’s day-flying moth] (Roger Peart.)

23rd June
Insect highlights this afternoon consisted of a Red-veined Darter and a Painted Lady. Birdwise not much about, but counted 46 Tufted Duck, 1 Great Crested Grebe, 2 Cetti’s Warblers, 2 House Martins, 1 Swallow and the usual geese, 2 Greylags with a juvenile (Martin Wood.)

9th June
The site’s first Bee Orchids were discovered today, 4 in all around the lake shore (Geoff Budden.)

2nd June
A late evenings walk round North Lake, a magical display of 200/300 Swifts a, along c30 House Martins and oddly only 4 Swallows seen. The two Oystercatchers were still on the island, perhaps will be see chicks soon? Two Cetti’s Warblers singing, and 4 Reed Warblers and a few Reed Buntings (Martin Wood.)