I dumped the bushcraft kit today and armed with just my old world war two respirator bag with 3/4 litre of water, camera, and binos, I headed into a different wood for a change. This wood is owned by the Forestry Commission, and is part of a very ancient woodland. Some pottery dating from the 12 century has been found in the area, and there are small ponds scattered through the woodland. It’s well managed and the wood is regularly harvested and coppiced.

This doesn’t detract from the ancient species and multitude of different species. I believe 25 species of butterfly have been identified there. With this managed woodland comes the problem of more people, but they seem to respect the area. Today, although noisy, I noticed some cub scouts learning about fire making. This got me thinking. Good enough for them, good enough for me. The Forestry Commission are getting a call on Monday from me seeking permission to wild camp. It is a wonderful wood and easy to hide away once off the beaten track. I’ll let you know how I get on.

It was to the small ponds that I was heading today. It’s dragonfly time, and with the temperature as it is (27 degrees) and sunny, you can’t fail to see some of the spectacular species. I’ve always loved dragonflies. They’ve not changed much in appearance (except size) since prehistoric times. They are beautiful and ferocious at the same time.

I spent hours at the ponds photographing them, watching them mate, and watching them ovipositing, the method which they dip their “tails” into the water to lay the eggs. Apparently some of the larvae stay under water for two years. The ugly larvae heads out of the water and metamorphoses into a wonderful creature.

Some of the smaller blue damselflies are difficult to identify and I’m not particularly skilled at this, but I think there was azure damselflies amongst the small red damselflies, and the broad bodied and four spotted chasers. The only one I couldn’t catch on camera was the impressive Emperor dragonfly, who just would take time out from his patrolling to allow me to catch him on camera.

I walked back to the car park pleased with my efforts and having put the camera away, I took a well deserved drink. No sooner had I done this, a Muntjac deer walked straight in front of me. I fumbled for the camera, but the deer went straight into the thick woodland and out of sight. Oh well.

The fire lighting with fire steel and birch bark as tinder was a success and soon I had a good lunch on the go.

I used my small folding sit mat (a new purchase and pictured in the photo) for the first time. This is a good cheap addition to my kit. So often I’ve sat down on damp ground and regretted it. This sit mat is light and folds up quite small.

After lunch, I decided to make a few simple tools including a tri-pod stand for the rucksack, and another rough spoon. The tri-pod reminded me to practice my lashings as this attempt wasn’t too successful. It did the trick for this occasion though. I realised on the bushmoot that you don’t always need expensive paracord for everything and most of the instructors had balls of cheap nylon string or ordinary twine. Great for small jobs where strength isn’t a necessity.

I walked to the outskirts of the woods a watched the dragonflies again. I realised that, like the strong sun, there wouldn’t be many more occasions this season when I would be able to view them. I spotted a couple of the large Emperors (again, too swift for a photo) and a pair of Large Reds coupling and ovipositing on the wing. Apparently, this is the only species of dragonfly in the UK that do this, and I was pleased to get a picture. The warm sun brought out a few butterflies and I spotted a Red Admiral amongst the blackberries on the wood edge.

A great day for wildlife finished with a low swooping fly-past of firstly a Sparrowhawk and then a Greater Spotted Woodpecker, with a Kestrel hovering in the distance

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All seemed peaceful with the world as I laid out in the sun and soaked up the warmth of the late summer. I felt I had to go back into the wood and do something else, but it was just too nice and I drifted off to sleep listening to the sound of the insects.