Hicks Lodge Revisited - Almost!! - on 5th September, 2018

I was starting to think that I ought to do a bit of local birding, as birds (apart from those in my garden) seem to have been somewhat off the agenda lately, with my main focus having been on dragonflies and damselflies. Hicks Lodge, with its trees, lakes, and grassland seemed to be the place to go, so off I went.

I parked by the south entrance to the site and started to take the track northwards. I'd got part way when I was reminded that a new public footpath had been opened which headed off to the west of the south access track. It passes a lake which I'd often thought might be worth visiting, so I diverted from my original plan.

Reaching the lake, there was no indication of the direction of the onward public right-of-way, so I took an anti-clockwise route starting out onto the northern side of the lake. I soon saw a large collection of geese, which included a small flock of domestic geese, and somewhat larger flocks of  Canada Geese and Greylag Geese. 

mixed geese - Hicks Lodge, West Lake

There were a several patches of wild flowers adding some colour to otherwise relatively barren land immediately surrounding the lake. I found the occasional patch of Fox and Cubs particularly attractive.

Fox and Cubs (Pilosella aurantiaca) - Hicks Lodge, West Lake

Inevitably, I was drawn towards the water's edge. Here I found a pair of Blue-tailed Damselflies mating.

Blue-tailed Damselfly (Ischnura elegans) (male + female in cop) - Hicks Lodge, West Lake

Driven by my original intention to seek out some birds, I left the edge of the lake but, other than Magpie, and the geese, little was seen. I did, however, photograph a Small Copper butterfly.

Small Copper (Lycaena phlaeas) - Hicks Lodge, West Lake

Seeing so little away from the water, I returned to the water's edge and immediately spotted a female Southern Hawker dragonfly. I watched as she disappeared into some waterside vegetation and didn't emerge again, so off I set to try and find her. Sadly she saw me before I saw her - or so it seems - as she flew off as I approached. I must have spent nearly an hour trying to photograph her as the process repeated itself over and over again. Eventually I gave up without having taken a single shot - disappointed as female Southern Hawkers are not the easiest of dragonflies to find and photograph.

Whilst I was trying for shots, the flock of Greylag Geese flew off to go and forage on another area of the Hicks Lodge site.

Greylag Goose (Anser anser) - Hicks Lodge, West Lake

Having given up with the Southern Hawker, I continued my circumnavigation, stopping to photograph more Small Coppers. I think the plant might be Common Fleabane.

Small Copper (Lycaena phlaeas) - Hicks Lodge, West Lake

Shortly after this, the Canada Geese took to the air and followed the Greylags.

Canada Goose (Branta canadensis) - Hicks Lodge, West Lake

As I was at the water's edge, a 4x4 approached and drew up alongside me. It turned out to be the owners of the land that I was on, who had seen me on their  security cameras, and wanted to know what I was doing. Unbeknown to me, the public footpath was on the other side of the lake! I presented my credentials and they very kindly allowed me to continue my wanderings.

Little more was seen until I got to a small pond at the far end of the lake. On the far side of this, I found a solitary Emerald Damselfly. This is a species that I have seen very little of this year - I don't think that they have fared well in this exceptionally hot and dry summer.

I started to take some shots, with results that I was not entirely happy with.

Emerald Damselfly (Lestes sponsa) (female) - Hicks Lodge, West Lake

The sun had not been shining when these shots were taken, and it was only when the cloud thinned that I realised I'd been shooting into the light. I managed to get to a point 180° round from my original position without disturbing the damselfly, and got some rather better shots.

Emerald Damselfly (Lestes sponsa) (female) - Hicks Lodge, West Lake

She then started waving her abdomen up and down. I'm not sure of the significance of this action.

Emerald Damselfly (Lestes sponsa) (female) - Hicks Lodge, West Lake

It was now time to be headed homeward after a quick call to Lindsay to say I was going to be a bit late!

I suspect I'd seen more Small Copper butterflies that morning than I'd seen in the whole of the past decade. This was particularly gratifying as the decline of this species has been causing great concern. I could not, therefore, resist taking more shots as I headed back on the southern (legitimate!) side of the lake.

Small Copper (Lycaena phlaeas) - Hicks Lodge, West Lake

As I approached the gate that would take me away from the lake, the domestic geese came in from the field where they had been foraging and took to the water. OK, so these are not a birdwatcher's bird, but they do have a certain elegance.

domestic geese - Hicks Lodge, West Lake

In the event, I arrived home at the originally expected time, so salvaged some brownie points.

The morning hadn't been what I'd set out for it to be, but it was, nonetheless, very enjoyable - and a new place under my belt.

Thank you for dropping by. I have something planned which I hope might give me a few avian shots for a future post, but the weather forecast does not look favourable, so it's currently in the lap of the gods.