Norfolk Hawkers in err.. Cambridgeshire.

A friend and I headed off to the Paxton Pits nature reserve in Cambridgeshire where our main target was the colony of Norfolk Hawkers that have recently become established at this excellent spot. Using information kindly supplied by a member of the UK dragonflies Facebook group we were hopeful of achieving our goal.

A view of Paxton and a dodgy shot of Norfolk Hawker.

Our first highlight on arrival was a Scarce Chaser seen near the visitor centre, a likely Emperor had to go unconfirmed. As we walked along we realised that many of the small blue damsels flitting around were Variables, a great sight given how rare they are in Northants. Rather a lot of Common Blues and Azures were also present while many of the lilies hosted Red-eyed Damsels. Four-spotted Chasers while not abundant were common enough and we saw a few Hairy Dragonflies.

Scarce Chaser and mating Variable Damsels.

Having reached the place that our information suggested might be good for the hawkers we were delighted to see at least ten hunting. Although several did perch briefly there were always people passing by that flushed them before we could take a shot. While good views were obtained I really wanted a pic so we headed to another area where Water Soldier was common. Blue-tailed Damsel made its way on to the site list and I also managed a fairly rough shot of a Norfolk, oh well any picture is better than none. Among the many newly emerged individuals weakly flying towards cover was my first (unphotographed) Black-tailed Skimmer of the year.

Red-eyed and Common Blue Damsels.

Among the other wildlife seen was one or two Holly Blues, male and female Cuckoo and also at least five Smooth Newts.

Smooth Newt and Blue-tailed Damselfly.

With a little bit of time to spare we stopped at Waddenhoe back in the sainted lands of Northants. As well as many Banded Demoiselles we came across two Scarce Chasers as well as both Red-eyed and Blue-tailed Damsels. It was a good way of bringing what was yet another good day's wildlife watching to an end.

Waddenhoe and a male Scarce Chaser.