Chalfont Road, Maple Cross

A morning walk in glorious sunshine to the barley fields off Chalfont Road produced several species of Butterfly and Dragonfly. If you don't know this area very well you will quite easily miss the small man made pond that is a fantastic breeding site for the dragonflies. This pond is in fact part of the M25 drainage system that was built when the motorway was widened some years ago. Behind it lies an area of meadowland that holds many species of blooming flora which in turn attracts the butterflies.

                                                     Broad-bodied Chaser (male).

I noted two male and a single female Broad-bodied Chaser at the pond, the males chasing each other around in a territorial dispute. A lone male Emperor Dragonfly patrolled the air space above the pond picking off its victims with an incredible turn of speed. Throughout my stay it did not rest at all. Along the reed fringed margins Common Blue and Blue-tailed Damselflies were noted.

                 
                       Common Blue (male) feeding on what I believe to be Common Bird's-Foot-Trefoil.

                                                                    Large Skipper.

At the meadow several species of Butterfly were noted, Large Skipper, Meadow Brown, Small Tortoiseshell, Marbled White and Common Blue.

Birds observed of note included a singing male Common Whitethroat near the pond while on the pond a pair of Common Moorhen were busily feeding their second brood of young. Interestingly the sub-adults from the previous brood were noted feeding the young of the latest brood.