A chance to visit a copy of local sites in Greenwich last week. My first stop was the Ecology Park on the Greenwich Peninsula, not far from the Millenium Dome. The park is a great site for dragonflies with the added bonus that it also has a colony of breeding Common Terns.
Sad to say it seems to have suffered during the pandemic lockdown. The outer ditch was almost completely dry and the vegetation is rampant meaning the observation of some parts of the reserve is very limited. The outer boardwalk is closed as it is no longer deemed safe to walk on. I know TCV who run the park are currently trying to raise money to remedy some of these problems.
Nevertheless, it still remains a great place to see dragonflies and I recorded seven species on my visit including Common Darter, Common Blue Damselfly, Emperor Dragonfly, brown Hawker, Black-tailed Skimmer and Migrant Hawker.
There were over 40 Common Terns on the nesting rafts and at least 14 young ones.
My second spot was Vanbrugh Pits, an area of rough vegetation on the eastern side of Greenwich Park and the Northern side of Blackheath.
There was a good range of butterflies here on this visit including Marbled White, Silver-washed Fritillary, Small Copper, Large Skipper and Marbled White. There were lots of Small or Essex Skippers present. it is difficult to seperate these two species when they are still, but in the heat of this day they were very active, which made it all the more difficult.
It was now getting very hot and so I decided to call it a day and return home. On the way, I passed through Lee Station and found this Roesel’s Bush-cricket on the fence.
Pete's Favourite Things 