Dipping at Paxton

I made my way down to Weldon again today with a view to catching up with those elusive Varied Damselflies. First notable sighting of the day was Alan Shorrock who was intently staring at the vegetation next to the stream and clearly had a similar target in mind to me. Having exchanged pleasantries we combined our efforts and continued with the search.

Weldon Variable and Azure Damselflies.

Luck was with us on this occasion as a single male was finally found after numerous Azures had been eliminated from our enquiries. He stayed still long enough for some pictures and happy with the results we moved on from the stream to the pond. Species seen during our walk as well as the Variable were Banded Demoiselle, Azure, Blue-tailed, Large Red and Red-eyed. By this point we had pretty much exhausted the possibilities here and so decided to move on. Knowing that Norfolk Hawkers were beginning to emerge at Paxton Pits in Cambridgeshire had us heading off in that direction.

Paxton Variables

Sadly the Norfolks did not show for us though they did for others, our failure was probably down to the fact that their season has just begun and also the showery and changeable weather. Some dragons did show with a few Hairy Dragonflies, some Scarce Chasers and about half a dozen Four-spotteds. Variable Damsels might be rare in Northants but they're common at Paxton and we saw many. Azures were common too and other species recorded were Banded Demoiselle, Blue-tailed and Common Blue Damselfly.

Four-spotted Chasers.

A few butterflies were seen on our walk around and between us we observed Holly Blue, Orange-tip, Brimstone, Small White and Small Copper. Pick of the birds on site were Cetti's Warbler and Hobby.

Orange-tip and Small Copper.