Late Rally Saves Day.

I had another day off today and spent the early part of it at the Maxey reserve near Peterborough with my brother looking for the reported Purple Heron. Unfortunately the bird did not show (for us anyway) during our stay though we did see a couple of Marsh Harriers as some form of scant compensation. As this area has had Variable Damselflies I had a brief look but without a permit I could only look at a channel on the edge of the reserve and couldn't find any. What I did see were a few Azures and a Hairy Dragonfly while a tatty looking Small Tortoiseshell was probably a survivor from last year.

Veteran Small Tortoiseshell and Azure Damselflies.

A lunch stop in the picturesque village of Wansford followed after which my brother dropped me off at Barnwell CP. There were examples of both Four-spotted (6) and Scarce Chasers (3) in the reeds on the fringe of the Town Lake, other chasers were seen but not identified as they flew off. One of the three Hairy Dragonflies that showed today was quite obliging as it landed for just long enough for me to take a picture.

Hairy dragonfly, Scarce and Four-spotted Chasers.

On the basis of what I saw on Monday at Wicksteed I checked each and every Azure Damselfly just in case but I could not turn any of them into a Variable. Numbers of both Banded Demoiselle and Red-eyed Damselfly continue to build with examples of each returning to their watery habitats for breeding. A single Common Blue joined two Large Reds and about ten Blue-tailed on the list.

Banded Demoiselle, Large Red and Red-eyed Damselflies.

Pick of a small butterfly list was a first for the year Red Admiral while the best birds were a Cuckoo, the regular Cetti's Warbler and two drake Mandarins.