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]

22 June 2025

 Played a couple of times on the Blue course this weekend and had a walk around the Red course.  It itsnoticeable that the rough is getting longer.   One of the more attractive plants that you may come across if your driving is errant is the Musk Mallow.  There are plenty on the Red course.  This one was behind the 4th.

Musk Mallow [4th Red]

I have looked hard, but seen very few snakes around the estate over the last three or four years.  Last week I saw a very small grass snake next to the 13th tee on the Red but was unable to get a photo before it slithered off.  On the Blue course however I came across this Grass Snake in front of the 2nd tee.  It had captured a frog, and unless I have badly misread the situation, the frog was having a pretty bad time.

Snakes are able to dislocate their jaws in order to swallow prey that is wider than their mouth.  Even with this trick this snake looked to have bitten off more than it could swallow.  

Grass Snake [2nd Blue]

There were a pair of Spotted Flycathers around the 3rd and 9th on the Blue.

Spotted Flycatcher [8th Blue]

After the excitement of hearing and occasionally seeing a Lesser Whitethroat on the 5th Red in May I came across a pair of Common Whitethroats today, clearly nesting close by.  These are a little less secretive than the Lesser Whitethroat and I was able to get a couple of photos.  The male is in the top photo and is a little more colourful than the female (bottom photo)

Whitethroats [5th Red]

It is good to see that the Stock Doves are still nesting somewhere near the greenkeepers' shed on the 16th Blue. This pair was on the roof today.

Stock Dovers [16th Blue]

Linnets are always a feature of the course in summer.  They nest in the gorse, particularly on the 5th and 15th on the Red. This one was singing on 15th.

Finally I came across this moth in the car park.  It is called Burnished Brass due to the colouring on it's upper wings:

Burnished Brass Diachrysia chrysitis [car park]

18 May 2025

 

I played the Blue course again today.  Nice to see the Yellow Flag Irises coming into flower in the marshy area on the 9th.

Yellow Flag Iris pseudacorus [9th Blue]

The caterpillars of the Peacock Butterfly feed exclusively on nettles.  There were plenty on this patch.  The adults are more attractive than their larvae!

Peacock caterpillars Aglais io [5th Blue]

Lots of Mistle Thrushes around the estate at the moment.  This one was near the 6th green.

Mistle Thrush [6th Blue]

Really nice to see that Spotted Flycatchers have returned again this year.  This was one of a pair by the 10th tee.

Sptted Flycatcher [10th Blue]

9 June 2024

 

Lots of sunshine in the early morning this weekend.  It was nice to see that the Spotted Flycatchers have returned.  There are usually three or four pairs that nest on the estate.  Today I saw a pair behind the 10th tee on the Blue and to the right of the 9th fairway.

Spotted Flycatcher [10th Blue]

There was a Herring Gull on the 11th fairway on the Blue.  I don't see them very often at Frilford, more usual are Lesser Black-backed and Black-headed Gulls.  They are large gulls with a light grey back and black wingtips, more usually seen steeling your fish and chips at the seaside.

Herring Gull [11th Blue]

In Two Pine Fen, some of the rarer flowers are starting to appear.   These Meadow Thistles are dotted about but easy to see.   Narrow-leaved Marsh Orchids grow in the middle and stout footwear is required to visit.  I can also see a lot of Marsh Helleborine coming into bud.

Meadow Thistle Cirsium dissectum [16th Red]

Narrow-leaved Marsh Orchid Dactylorhiza traunsteinerioides [16th Red]

Another of Frilford's rare flowers, the Maiden Pink, is in flower to the right of the 10th tee green.

Maiden Pink Dianthus deltoides [10th Green]

There is also a nice display of Southern March Orchids to the left of the 3rd fairway on the Green.

Southern Marsh Orchids Dactylorhiza praetermissa [3rd Green]

30 August 2023

I walked a loop from the 1st Blue around to the 16th Red this morning.  There are a few characteristic plants that provide a last gasp of summer in late August.  The Heather provides some autumnal colour, particularly around the 15th hole on the Red.

Common Heather Calluna vulgaris [15th Red]

In Two-Pine Fen, Grass of Parnassus is a rare flower in southern England and grows just in front of the stream on the 4th Green.  Devil's Bit Scabious has characteristic globular flowers and grows in quite large quantities.

Grass of Parnassus Parnassia palustris [4th Green]

Devil's-bit Scabious Succisa pratensis [4th Green]

I stopped for a while behind the 10th green on the Blue course where a large wave of Blue Tits (40-50 birds) passed through, with a Nuthatch and a couple of Spotted Flycatchers mixed in.

Nuthatch [10th Blue]

Spotted Flycatcher [10th Blue]

30 July 2023

 

I played the front nine of the Blue course a few times over the last couple of days.  The brood of Canada Geese that live on the 3rd/4th look pretty near fully-fledged now.  They did present a potential obstacle as I lined up my putt on the 3rd, but moved out of the way to see me 2 putt for the usual 5.

Canada Geese [3rd Blue]

On the way to Blue course, just to the left of the bridge I came across a patch of these fungi, known as the Death Cap.

Death Cap Amanita phalloides [1st Blue]

You will probably guess from the name that they don't make good eating.  In fact they are considered to be the most poisonous fungi on earth.  If you are feeling a bit peckish pre-round and tempted to chew on one, you may want to consider this note on the symptoms of poisoning:

'Within 6 to 12 hours after consumption, violent abdominal pain, vomiting, and bloody diarrhea appear, causing rapid loss of fluid from the tissues and intense thirst. Signs of severe involvement of the liver, kidneys, and central nervous system soon follow, including a decrease in urinary output and a lowering of blood sugar. This condition leads to coma and death in more than 50 percent of the incidents.'

There are a lot of Brown Hares around the courses at the moment.  One behaviour that I see a lot is that they crouch down very low in an attempt to stay hidden.  This is very effective in the thick rough where I have almost trodden on a couple - less effective on the short grass though..

Brown Hare [5th Blue]

It is the time of year when there are lots of young birds hunting insects around the estate.  They quite often hunt together in waves of various species.  I had an enjoyable 20 minutes this morning on the 10th tee watching a mixture of Treecreepers, Spotted Flycatchers, Blue Tits, Long-tailed Tits and the odd Treecreeper.

Spotted Flycatcher [10th Blue]

Treecreeper [10th Blue]

2 July 2023

 

I had a walk around the Blue first thing this morning and the Red early afternoon.  The highlight of the morning was some nice views of Spotted Flycatchers on the 4th.  I have seen them in the same spot in the tree to the left of the fairway for the past couple of years.  A family nest in the cluster of trees to the left of the stream.

Spotted Flycatcher [4th Blue]

On all of the courses there are large numbers of Small Skippers in the rough.  These two appeared to be squabbling over a patch of Common Centaury.

Small Skippers Thymelicus sylvestris on  Common Centaury Centaurium erythraea [4th Red]

There were a couple of Red Admirals on the bridge between the Red and Blue courses and this one helpfully settled on a sunny patch.

Red Admiral Vanessa atalanta [1st Red]

The Small Heath is a rather inconspicuous butterfly that I have seen a bit over the last few weeks over the long grass, particularly on the Red course.

Small Heath Coenonympha pamphilus [4th Red]

This Water Mint was flowering early near the 4th tee Red, a long way from water.  This plant is very common on the Blue course from late July onwards.

Water Mint Mentha aquatica [4th Red]

Closer to water, there was a large influx of Lesser Black-backed Gulls on the reservoir.

Lesser Black-backed Gulls [Reservoir]

27 May 2023

 

Spent a fair amout of time at Frilford in the sunshine today.  There was plenty of birdsong.  I saw or heard five species of warbler - Willow Warbler, Chiffchaff, Whitethroat, Blackcap and Garden Warbler.  Whitethroat and Garden Warbler were singing in the same tree on the right of the 13th Red.

Garden Warbler [13th Red]

Whitethroat [13th Red]

Chiffchaff [8th Blue]

The pond was busy with birds on the 3rd Blue.  Moorhen, Tufted Duck and Little Grebe were on the water, with a Grey Heron standing watch.

Grey Heron, Tufted Duck, Little Grebe, Moorhen [4th Blue]

It was good to see a pair of Spotted Flycatchers back on the 8th Blue and a Hobby flying past swiftly as well.

Spotted Flycatcher [8th Blue]

Near the 1st tee on the Red there were two Collard Doves on the telegraph wires.  They are common everywhere else, but I don't see them at Frilford very often.

Collard Dove [1st Red]

More species of Orchid are starting to appear.  There is a good patch of Common Twayblade to the left of the 3rd fairway on the Green and some Southern Marsh Orchids nearby.

Common Twayblade [3rd Green]

Southern Marsh Orchid Dactylorhiza praetermissa [3rd Green]

In Two-pine Fen one Early Purple Orchid is still out and the Common Spotted Orchids are just coming into flower.  There are also a lot of Marsh Orchids.  These are very difficult to differentiate, but I think that this photo is a Narrow-leaved Marsh Orchid.

Narrow-leaved Marsh Orchid Dactylorhiza traunsteineri [16th Red]

Early Purple Orchid Orchis mascula [16th Red]

Common Spotted Orchid Dactylorhiza fuchsii [16th Red]

There are also plenty of insects about at the moment.  Lots of Mayflies around the third on the Blue and a few beautiful Demoiselles near the stream.

Beautiful Demoiselle Calopteryx virgo [3rd Blue]