Date: 30 July 2026
Location: Tice’s Meadow and Church Crookham
Duration: 2 hours
Habitat: Meadow, wetland margins and grassland
Activity: Butterfly survey, wildlife observation and photography
Key species: Common Blue (Polyommatus icarus), Small Copper (Lycaena phlaeas), Gatekeeper (Pyronia tithonus) and hawker dragonfly (Aeshnidae).

Field Notes

I spent the morning carrying out another butterfly transect at Tice’s Meadow. The effects of the prolonged dry weather were still very noticeable, particularly around the pond, where the water level was considerably lower than I would normally expect to see.

Despite the dry conditions, the reserve was full of insect activity. Butterfly numbers were comfortably higher than during the equivalent visit last year, showing just how valuable the mixture of habitats at Tice’s Meadow continues to be for invertebrates.

Common Blues were particularly noticeable and seemed to be everywhere along parts of the transect. They are incredibly striking when they settle with their wings open and the blue upperwings catch the sunlight. Seeing so many also gave me plenty of opportunities to become more familiar with them in the field rather than relying solely on photographs for identification.

After the survey, I drove over to Church Crookham for a walk with the camera. There was again plenty of butterfly activity, including Common Blues, Small Coppers and Gatekeepers, so I spent some time photographing them and practising with the Sony a6700.

One of the more interesting encounters was a hawker dragonfly patrolling the area. It repeatedly flew towards me before moving away and continuing its patrol, occasionally coming close enough for me to attempt some photographs. Trying to capture such a fast-moving insect was difficult, but it was good practice for following a subject in flight and anticipating where it might move next.

I am becoming more familiar with the Sony with every outing. The autofocus is starting to feel more natural and I am gradually learning which settings work best for different situations. There is still plenty to learn, particularly when photographing insects in flight, but I can already see an improvement in the photographs I am taking

Photographs