Scarlet Darter. Silverlake, Dorset 13th July 2025

I never got around to going to see the Scarlet Darters in Dorset in 2024 and regretted it afterwards. So when I saw that they were back out in good numbers again last year I made the effort to go. Actually, it's too far for me to drive these days so the effort was really my husband's. Rob has absolutely no interest in insects but kindly ferries me around in the summer to see them. After about an hour's wait I managed to get some nice shots of one near the waters edge and later, on my way back to the car park, I happened to spot one land in a bramble patch and was able to sneak up on it!

The Dragonfly Lake at Silverlake, Dorset.

 Scarlet Darter - Crocothemis erythraea

Grey-backed Mining Bee, Red-vented Sallow Mining Bee, and Early Colletes at Blashford Lakes.

In early April last year I visited Blashford Lakes in Hampshire, hoping to see a couple of new bee species. Grey-backed Mining Bee - Andrena vaga  first appeared here a few years ago and there's a good colony now, Red-vented Sallow Mining Bee- Andrena ventralis, which was first found here as recently as 2023, new for Britain and Early Colletes - Colletes cunicularius, which I'd looked for and failed to see at Braunton Burrows a couple of years ago.

I did managed to see all three target species although my photos of A. vaga and A. ventralis leave a lot to be desired as I had to take them from a distance of at least 8ft (not ideal for bees to say the least). The bees nest in a patch of ground and a specially built 'bee bank' which are in an area with no public access. There's barbed wire on the gate so you cant even lean on it for a better look. The fence line around the area is also built up with layers of brushwood making it hard to get a decent view. I had to poke my lens through a gap in the branches to get the photos I did. I'm quite pleased with the results given the circumstances. You can get good views with binoculars it's just photography that's limited. The bees do sometimes land outside of the enclosed area and can be seen collecting pollen or nectaring on nearby sallows too. The Early Colletes are in a different area of the site and I found some nesting females near the car park, they were also a challenge to photograph as they were very active and rarely stationary!

Grey-backed Mining Bee 

Female laden with sallow pollen at nest site. Many females are constantly followed and watched by the aptly named Satellite Fly - Leucophora sp. A kleptoparasite waiting for an opportunity to enter the bee's nest to lay its own eggs. This can be seen in the next three images.

Grey-backed Mining Bee -  Andrena vaga female nectaring on female sallow catkins.

Red-vented Sallow Mining Bee

Male Andrena ventralis

 

Female Andrena ventralis 

This is a much smaller bee than A.vaga so these photos from 8ft away are the best I could do. 

Early Colletes  

Early Colletes - Colletes cunicularius
 


 

The Maer Exmouth. Early Spring Insects.

I was in Exmouth on the 30th April. It was quite cool and windy but sunny, so I thought I'd have a look for some early flying bees at at the Maer. The main pollen source in this area was swathes of Alexanders and in the more sheltered spots it had attracted a nice variety of bees and also a few Ladybirds. Nothing very exciting but it's always a real treat to see my first solitary bees of the year.

Male Andrena Mining Bees

  Grey-patched Mining Bee - Andrena nitida

 

 Orange-tailed Mining Bee - Andrena haemorrhoa

 Short-fringed Mining Bee - Andrena dorsata

Female Andrena Mining Bees

Short-fringed Mining Bee - Andrena dorsata

Orange-tailed Mining Bee - Andrena haemorrhoa

There was also a small nesting aggregation of Bronze Furrow Bees in a compacted pathway.

Bronze Furrow Bee - Halictus tumulorum

Ladybirds

The ubiquitous Harlequin Ladybird - Harmonia axyridis

10-spot Ladybird - Adalia decempunctata

2-spot Ladybird - Adalia bipunctata

Sand Lizards at Higher Hyde Heath Dorset

While sorting and editing photos from last year I found a folder from way back in May 2017 of Sand Lizards -Lacerta agilis at Higher Hyde Heath in Dorset. I'm not sure why the photos never made it onto here, but here they are. Better late than never I suppose. 

The famous tile pile, with female Sand Lizard just about visible in centre. If you stand quietly far enough away the lizards come out onto the tiles to bask in the morning sun. Notice how they flatten their bodies onto the surface to collect as much heat as possible.I took all these photos with my Canon super-zoom.

FEMALES

PAIRS

 MALES

 Sand Lizard - Lacerta agilis

And here's a Common Lizard - Zootoca vivipara Seen at the same site for comparison.

Green Woodpeckers

Back in the summer a family of Green Woodpeckers were frequenting the children's playground outside our flat, which is infinitely preferable to the children. (Yes,I'm a miserable old git, I admit it) They particularly like the wooden supports of the zip wire frame which do rather look like dead trees. I took a few photos of them from the comfort of my living room window. Best views I've ever had by far! Photos are of adult and one of three juveniles which were present.

Marsh Sandpiper at Black Hole Marsh, Seaton Wetlands

Back in August I was tempted out to Seaton Wetlands to see a Marsh Sandpiper, a bird which was always on my most wanted list when I was a more active birder back in the day. I did see it, but it remained either very distant or hidden for most of the time I was there. It did venture a bit closer once but was horribly backlit in the early morning sun, so my photos aren't really that bad if you squint a bit! I think I was hoping for a bit too much to be as lucky as I was for the Black-winged Stilts earlier in the year. Unfortunately this trip was to be my last outing of the year as I crashed my car on the way home and it was written off, so I've been off the road ever since. I'll be back...I hope.

Anyway here are the photos, just don't zoom in! 

 

Marsh Sandpiper