Warm at Weldon

With temperatures continuing to hold steady and knowing that I'm away for the weekend on non nature spotting pursuits I resolved to head out after work. An evening appointment at a local pub meant that I couldn't venture too far so I chose to go down to Weldon.

Gatekeeper and violacea form Blue-tailed Damselfly.

On arrival at my usual pond I was more than a little disturbed to see that several chavvy type folks were going for a bit of a wade through the water. I opted to walk along the stream instead and soon encountered  rather a lot of Banded Demoiselles. A single female White-legged was seen briefly, I don't think that there is a strong population around here though Blue-tailed were common. Of the butterflies present the best were the many Gatekeepers that were found, they really seem to have appeared in good numbers here. Another highlight were the several Marbled Whites feeding on either thistles or knapweed.

Small Red-eyed and Red-eyed Damselflies.

On my return to the pond I was grateful to see that the wading chaps had disappeared and so I was left free to wander around the edges of the pond with minimal disturbance. Small Red-eyed Damsels were present in good numbers and despite the attentions of the local sparrows seemed to be doing OK. There were still a few Red-eyeds about but their numbers seem to be declining a bit. A few Common Blue Damselflies were found but there were not that many damsels on view.

Chub and Banded Demoiselle.

Of the various dragons seen today it was Black-tailed Skimmers that seemed commonest though Four -spotted Chasers were not too scarce. Other species seen this afternoon included Emperor and Brown Hawker but there was little else to report.

Green-veined White and Comma.