Thursley Common Walk, 25 June 2005

The warmest and sunniest week of the summer came to an abrupt end, of course, just before the Elmbridge visit to Thursley. Saturday June 25 was overcast and never got above 18ºC, not really dragonfly weather. Anyway, seven hopefuls beside myself turned up and we did a tour of the most productive areas.

Results as far as dragonflies were concerned were poor, with just two dragonflies proper and five species of damselfly mainly lurking in the vegetation.

Dragonfly species were:
Emperor, Anax imperator: male at the Moat Pond
Downy Emerald, Cordulia aenea: male at the Moat Pond

Damselflies:
Large Red, Pyrrhosoma nymphula: three
Small Red, Coriagrion tenellum: male and two females
Blue Tailed, Ischnura elegans: two or three
Common Blue, Enallagma lyathigerum: a fair number but not frequent

Butterflies were absent, not surprisingly in the overcast weather, but moths were a little more frequent than is usual at Thursley with four species of 'macros' seen, all geometers: 3 or 4 Common Heath, 2 Bordered White (Pine Looper) and one each of Grass Wave and Common White Wave.

Birds were rather few, with no sign of Hobbies, but the other Thursley speciality, Curlew, did appear, with the local pair calling and protesting about two Crows that were hanging around their breeding area. They would have had well-grown young by this time.

An unusual sighting for Thursley was a Turtle Dove, sitting on the pylon wires. This is a bird that is usually heard rather than seen. Otherwise, just Stonechat, Tree Pipit and Swallows.

Thursley is not a flowery place in June (very little Heath or Heather out yet) and the orchids out on the bog (heath variety of Early Marsh, Dactylorhiza incarnata) were just past their best, but the Meadow Thistle, Cirsium. dissectum (a badly named plant if ever there was one) were well out, though numbers were low as the bog had suffered from the low rainfall that had lasted ever since winter.

So, Thursley was not really seen at its best, but those that attended seemed to think it a worthwhile effort; thanks to all those who turned out on a fairly grim summer Saturday. We even coincided with the Elstead paper boat race, something I have never done in thirty-odd years of Thursley visits.

DON TAGG