Now That Was a Good Day

Reports were beginning to circulate that a number of Southern Emeralds, a recent immigrant to Britain, had been seen near the town of Beaconsfield in Buckinghamshire. Given that most records of this species have come from the south or southeast coast this seemed like an ideal opportunity to catch up with them without travelling too far. As it was also Highland Gathering day here in Corby I grabbed the chance to avoid the sound of those dratted bagpipes and joined two other hopeful fellows for the trip down south.

Two views of Southern Emerald.

On arrival at the site near the town's recycling centre we were greeted by a Silver-washed Fritllary but we couldn't allow ourselves to be distracted and so headed onwards. A large pond drew our attention and we spent some time walking around the margins. Large numbers of teneral Common Darters suggested a mass emergence overnight and they were joined by many Ruddies. This pond also held what must be one of the largest colonies of Common Emeralds that I've seen. The Southerns remained elusive but a few ovipositing Emperors provided some entertainment. Other species on view included Blue-tailed, Large Red, Common Blue and Azure Damselflies. On the butterfly side of things there were plenty of Common and also at least two Holly Blues which seemed to be attracted to the edges of the pond.

Common Emerald, Common Darter and Toadlet.

We were on the verge of baling out when a couple arrived with some accurate information regarding the Southern Emeralds. Armed with this new gen we walked a little further down the path and within minutes had found a female. Happily she posed very well for photographs and we were able to pick out all the important identification features. Satisfied with the quality of the sighting we made the decision to leave as we had further stops on the day's itinerary.

Chalkhill Blue and Brown Argus.

Ashton Rowlant was the first of those stops and we hoped that the Silver-spotted Skippers might be on the wing. Sadly this turned out not to be the case, well we couldn't find any, although examples of the other three orange skippers were seen. My highlight here were the many Chalkhill Blues that were flying around, I don't see this species very often so it's always great to catch up with them. Plenty of Marbled Whites were around as well while several Brown Argus were also noted.

Southern and Small Red Damselflies and Keeled Skimmer.

Our third and final stop today was at Cothill in Oxfordshire which is a site known for having Southern Damselfly and is perhaps the most northerly such one in the country. Luckily for us it turned out to be relatively easy to catch up with a few, I was surprised by how small they appeared to be. Keeled Skimmers were present in decent enough numbers, these are another species that I don't encounter. The third member of our hoped for trio was Small Red Damselfly and this proved to be the most difficult to find. After much searching we eventually found one and enjoyed good views of it. Having had such an excellent day it was only natural that we should toast our good fortune with a pint in the Merry Miller but after that it was time to head home. To top it all off the pipes had finished by the time that I got home - result!

Close ups of the Southern Emerald.

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