WAB at Thursley Common

Fourwings · #1 (**permalink**) 25-06-2007, 09:09 AM

Where do I start, this has to be one of the best weekends I have ever had, fantastic company, a stunning reserve and more excellent wildlife than you could possibly hope to see.

Thursley Common has got to be the best place to see Dragonflies/Damselflies in the UK, we recorded a massive 20 species in under 8 hours!, the list was as follows;
Damselflies
Large Red Damselfly, Small Red Damselfly, Common Blue Damselfly, Azure Damselfly, Blue-Tailed Damselfly, Red-Eyed Damselfly, Emerald Damselfly, Beautiful Demoiselle,
Dragonflies
Keeled Skimmer, Black-Tailed Skimmer, Four-Spotted Chaser, Broad-bodied Chaser, Scarce Chaser, Common Darter, Black Darter, Emperor, Brilliant Emerald, Downy Emerald, Golden-Ringed, Common Hawker.

In addition to this we also saw Adder, Smooth Snake, Common Lizard, Silver-studded Blue butterfly, a whole host of Beetles etc.....
Oh, and the there were the birds, Dartford Warbler, Tree pipit, Nightjar, Hobby, Woodcock etc....
I nearly forgot, we also secured permission to return to the common after dark to do a Mothing session

, many thanks to the Warden for giving us permission & all his help in setting up a magical day. I will let Oscar fill in the species list for this.
I could go on and on, but I wont, I'm going to leave it to the others to contribute to this as there must be so many excellent images to come from this outing.

Finally before adding a few of my favourite images I'd like to say a massive thankyou to everyone who helped to make this weekend so successful, Wild woman, Chris, Oscar2006, MTR, Boddie, HobJob, Za, Nikon Nige, Zebathal, T.Goodlife.
Nice one guys

Golden-Ringed Dragonfly

Female Beautiful Demoiselle

Small Red Damselfly

Male Keeled Skimmer

Silver-studded Blue Butterfly

Adder

Steve.

glsammy · #2 (**permalink**) 25-06-2007, 09:14 AM

I'm so glad your weekend was so successful Steve, with some superb shots. You did the right thing going away, the weather around here was and is terrible, we're surrounded by flooded villages, I couldn't get out as far as the A46, simply no route open!

Gill Catton · #3 (**permalink**) 25-06-2007, 09:41 AM

green green green green......

what a fab day, sad I missed it, Smooth Snake!!!! I've never seen a Smooth Snake!!!!

Glad you had such a good day and looks like the weather held for you too!

John · #4 (**permalink**) 25-06-2007, 10:13 AM

I am dead envious Steve

I am stuck here with a bad back and you guys go off and enjoy yourself.

Fab images as usual. By the sound of it this should become an annual visit.

John

Fourwings · #5 (**permalink**) 25-06-2007, 11:34 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Gill Catton

green green green green......

what a fab day, sad I missed it, Smooth Snake!!!! I've never seen a Smooth Snake!!!!

Glad you had such a good day and looks like the weather held for you too!

Sorry you weren't able to come Gill, you would have loved it there and I could really have done with your knowledge of plants, talk about being out of my depth!!

I didn't see the Smooth Snake either, it made a very rapid exit stage left once found

Fourwings · #6 (**permalink**) 25-06-2007, 11:36 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by John

I am dead envious Steve

I am stuck here with a bad back and you guys go off and enjoy yourself.

Fab images as usual. By the sound of it this should become an annual visit.

John

Sorry to hear about the back John, hope it gets better soon.
I have a very funny feeling that this wont be the last WAB visit to Thursley!

Fourwings · #7 (**permalink**) 25-06-2007, 11:40 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by glsammy

I'm so glad your weekend was so successful Steve, with some superb shots. You did the right thing going away, the weather around here was and is terrible, we're surrounded by flooded villages, I couldn't get out as far as the A46, simply no route open!

Thanks Graham, I still have 200 RAW files to sort through, taken with a Nikon D70 very kindly loaned to me by Nigel.
We were exceptionally lucky with the weather, we managed to dodge the showers and get a couple of hours on the common on Friday afternoon.
Saturday was perfect, warm, sunny, with a bit of cloud cover but thankfully no real rain as such.
Sunday was not so good, but after the fantastic day we had on Saturday nobody felt cheated.

demicav · #8 (**permalink**) 25-06-2007, 02:02 PM

Sounds like you all had a great time and it must be a fantastic place for wildlife. I'm very envious of the Smooth Snake, I've yet to see one.

Za · #9 (**permalink**) 25-06-2007, 03:49 PM

I had a great day, even though I got lost, went to the wrong common, and after 4 hours of walking met up with the others at noon

oh after I fell in a bog!

This is stumpy

Emperor laying eggs

Not sure on this one

One of the many Common Lizards basking on boardwalks

A baby Adder

And I think a 4 spot chaser

A great day out and a big thanks to the group for making it so.A better bunch would be hard to find.
Za

Fourwings · #10 (**permalink**) 25-06-2007, 03:56 PM

A few people based images from the Meet starting with two excellent group shots by Za
Funny how a Golden-Ringed Dragonfly can attract a crowd!!

Nikon Nige, Hobjob, T.Goodlife, MTR, taken by Boddie

The same group with Nikon Nige doing a great rendition of "I'm a little teapot"

Wild woman

Boddie & Wild woman, don't ask!!

Mothing on Thursley Common, from the right - Boddie - Tim - Wild woman - MTR - Chris - Oscar2006

Wild-Woman · #11 (**permalink**) 25-06-2007, 04:09 PM

We certainly did have a brilliant time and yes, it is an outstanding area for wildlife. I envy anyone who has that common close to them.
Good job Steve lives in the Midlands, he'd never be in!(Nor would I actually)

I'm having a few problems uploading pictures at the moment, so I'll give it a go later on.
Got a few member shots to show you too!

Chris and I are planning a trip back there in a few weeks so we can see how the species list may have changed.
The Brilliant and Downy Emeralds were impossible to get shots of, as they didn't settle and boy can they shift. I was just so awestruck to see them and my personal list increased by 7 in a few hours as did Steve's I believe.

Thursley will certainly stay with me and Chris for all time.
As I said in the other thread, great company, superb reserve and the weather was on our side on Saturday.

demicav · #12 (**permalink**) 25-06-2007, 04:54 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Za

I had a great day, even though I got lost, went to the wrong common, and after 4 hours of walking met up with the others at noon

oh after I fell in a bog!

This is stumpy

Emperor laying eggs

Not sure on this one

One of the many Common Lizards basking on boardwalks

A baby Adder

And I think a 4 spot chaser

A great day out and a big thanks to the group for making it so.A better bunch would be hard to find.
Za

Great photos. I had to laugh at stumpy, saw one in Wales recently, it's amazing how they drop the tail when they're in danger.

Ollie · #13 (**permalink**) 25-06-2007, 05:23 PM

So pleased to hear you all had a great time and how lucky you were with the weather. Some great images posted already and I look forward to reading and seeing more from this trip
Roger

mrs fish · #14 (**permalink**) 25-06-2007, 06:57 PM

I'm glad to hear you all had a great time and your photos are great

red_fan · #15 (**permalink**) 25-06-2007, 07:13 PM

Wish I had gone now - green with envy at the shots. I never see as many species when I visit - although having so many pairs of eyes obviously helped.

Any indications of best areas would be a help as I am planning a visit later this week (weather permitting)

Stephen

nightshade · #16 (**permalink**) 25-06-2007, 07:15 PM

Lovely photos,I am so pleased you all had a good time it bodes well for
future meets.
Hey WW you look just as I imagined you would
I did try to decoy the weather,honest

Oscar2006 · #17 (**permalink**) 25-06-2007, 07:28 PM

Just a few of the Moths we recorded were:

Double Square-spot, Bordered White (southern variety), a great big "Billy" Goat Moth

, The Festoon, Speckled Beauty, Heart and Club, Rosy Marbled (I thought this was a micro moth and spent an hour trying to find it on UK Moths!) and also a couple of Pine hawk-moths.

Photos may follow soon, If as and when they get uploaded by Fourwings and myself.

Hopefully Nikon Nige may post a couple of lines about the Butterflies he recorded nearby at Alice Holt Forest - Bucks Horn Oak

Oscar

Boddie · #18 (**permalink**) 25-06-2007, 07:38 PM

It was a super weekend with great company. We were treated to a great many species, the weather was kind to us and we had a good laugh. All the ingredients for a top weekend.

I really enjoyed myself and thank all of those who turned up.

Oscar2006 · #19 (**permalink**) 25-06-2007, 07:56 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Boddie

It was a super weekend with great company. We were treated to a great many species, the weather was kind to us and we had a good laugh. All the ingredients for a top weekend.

I really enjoyed myself and thank all of those who turned up.

Yes, must second that; especially Boddie's joke about the 6 blokes in the supermarket....

MTR · #20 (**permalink**) 25-06-2007, 08:07 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Boddie

It was a super weekend with great company. We were treated to a great many species, the weather was kind to us and we had a good laugh. All the ingredients for a top weekend.

I really enjoyed myself and thank all of those who turned up.

I agree with Boddie
A great weekend, thanks to everyone who turned up.
Special thanks to Oscar for the curry night, superb!!
And no Ticks!!!!!

Wild-Woman · #21 (**permalink**) 25-06-2007, 08:16 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Oscar2006

Yes, must second that; especially Boddie's joke about the 6 blokes in the supermarket....

And there was me thinking it was a dessert!

Oscar2006 · #22 (**permalink**) 25-06-2007, 08:23 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Wild-Woman

And there was me thinking it was a dessert!

Innocence is still a wonderful thing.....

Fourwings · #23 (**permalink**) 25-06-2007, 08:36 PM