21 June 2026

 

With a sunny morning and no other commitments I walked for a couple of hours around the Blue and Red courses today.  Lots of insects around the courses, particularly butterflies and dragonflies.  Ringlet is a very dark Butterfly and is named because of the eye-like rings on its underwing.

Ringlet Aphantopus hyperantus [3rd Blue]

Pained Lady is more colourful and is a migratory butterfly.  They are quite common this year.  This one was on the 3rd Blue.

Painted Lady Vanessa cardui [5th Blue]

There is plenty of long grass on the Blue course at the moment.  Bad for my golf, but good for the Small Skipper which you can see making short flights between stems.  

Small Skipper Thymelicus sylvestris [5th Blue]

The largest dragonflies on the estate are the Emperor Dragonflies.  They quite often settle on the gorse.  This was one of many on the 5th hole. This one is a male - you can tell by the bright blue abdomen.  Females have a green abdomen.

Emperor Dragonfly Anax imperator [5th Red]

Another common dragonfly is the Black-tailed Skimmer.  There are always lots of these around the pond on the 3rd Blue.

Black-tailed Skimmer Orthetrum cancellatum [3rd Blue]

Eating a dragonfly on the 3rd Blue was a Spotted Flycatcher.  This is the first time this year that I have seen them on the course.  I saw a pair this morning on the red course and this evening on the Blue.  Hopefully one or more pairs will next again this year.

Spotted Flycatcher [3rd Blue]

On the 2nd on the Blue there were a few Greenfinches.  These also nest on the estate - there is a small colony in the hedge behind the practice area.

Greenfinch [2nd Blue]

6 August 2022

 

I had a walk around the courses first thing this morning.  Wherever the grass hadn't been watered it was a rather crispy brown.  Nothing too unusual bird-wise, other than a Hobby which I saw very briefly behind the sixth green on the Blue course.  The family of Spotted Flycatchers were in their usual spot on the left of the 4th Blue.  Another family of 5 or 6 birds was on the 13th Red.

Spotted Flycatcher [4th Blue]

Spotted Flycatcher (juvenile) [13th Red]

Lots of other common birds about, particularly Long-tailed Tits, which seem to appear in waves of 20 or 30 birds, often interspersed with Treecreepers, Chiffchaffs, Goldcrests and Blue Tits.

Long-tailed Tit [4th Blue]

There also a few species of dragonflies and butterflies about.  This Black-tailed Skimmer was on the 3rd Blue.

Black-tailed Skimmer  Orthetrum cancellatum [3rd Blue]

Brown Argus is a fairly common butterfly found on calcareous grassland, so it was no surprise to find several on the Doghouse practice area.  

Brown Argus Aricia agestis [Doghouse practice ground]

On the 5th Blue I came across this Common Wave moth feeding on a Creeping Thistle.

Common Wave Cabera exanthemata [5th Blue]

There are also plenty of late-flowering plants around the courses - providing splashes of colour among the brown grass.

Common Restharrow Ononis repens [Doghouse practice ground]

Soapwort Saponaria officinalis [14th Red]

Harebell Campanula rotundifolia [15th Red]

12 June 2021

Baking hot day today.  Lots of dragonflies around today - I was able to spot 5 species:

Beautiful Demoiselle - The ones with dark wings that are common on the first few holes of Blue.

Azure Damselfly - Small blue Damselfly.  Lots around the water on the Blue.

Black-tailed Skimmer - The males have a blue body and the females are brown.  These are common in the area to the left of the 15th Red.

Emporer Dragonfly - Britain's bulkiest Dragonfly, with a blue and green body.  On the pond to the left of the 4th Blue and in the rough on the Red.

Four-spotted Chaser - Brown Dragonfly with spots on its wings - lots of them around the pond on the 4th Blue.

Black-tailed Skimmer (male) Orthetrum cancellatum [15th Red]

Black-tailed Skimmer (female) Orthetrum cancellatum [15th Red]

Emperor Dragonfly Anax imperator [15th Red]

Four spotted Chaser Libellula quadrimaculata [4th Blue]

Azure Damselfly Coenagrion puella [1st Blue]

Beautiful Demoiselle (male) Calopteryx virgo [1st Blue]

I visited the water a couple of times on the first few holes of the Blue, allowing me to spot some new flowers for the year:

White Waterlily Nymphaea alba [1st Blue]

Water Forget-me-not Myosotit scorpioides [1st Blue]

Celery-leaved Buttercup Ranunculus sceleratus [1st Blue]

Brooklime Veronica Beccabunga [4th Blue]

A group of baby warblers, this time Blackcaps - to the left of the 13th Red. Here is one of them..

Blackcap [13th Red]

There were a couple of Kestrels hunting over the 9th Blue.

Kestrel [9th Blue]

On the 15th Red was another black and crimson day-flying moth, the Cinnabar.

Cinnabar Tyria Jacobaeae [15th Red]