Poor Start

My brother was good enough to take me along to the Brampton Valley Way near Hanging Houghton where I confidently expected to add Beautiful Demoiselle to my county year list. Sadly things did not work out that way as I saw nothing other than a solitary Common Blue damselfly. I'm not sure what has happened as this has been quite a reliable site for at least a couple of years.

Yellow-legged Gull and Small Red-eyed Damselflies.

Disappointed we continued on to Wicksteed Park where we enjoyed a good walk in decent conditions. Highlight was a Yellow-legged Gull on the main lake though we also had views of a Sparrowhawk and several Sedge Warblers. Some Small Red-eyed Damselflies were present on both lakes making this the forth site that I've seen them at in the county this year. Few dragons other than  several Emperors and the only damsel seen in any sort of numbers were Common Blues. Of the butterflies seen an Essex Skipper was the best.

Emerald Damselfly and Emperor

At Weldon my brother's and my path diverged, he heading home and I heading to Priors Hall. Plenty of damsels and dragons here and although I didn't find the hoped for Willow Emeralds I did see enough interesting stuff to make the visit worthwhile. A single Emerald Damselfly was the highlight, it may have been the male from last week. Other damsels observed were Banded Demoiselle, Blue-tailed and Common Blue. Commonest dragon was Ruddy Darter as more and more mature males are taking up territory around the ponds. Several Commons were also noted though these were immatures and newly emerged individuals. Black-tailed Skimmers and Four-spotted Chasers were sparring over the ponds and both Brown Hawker and Emperor were also noted.

Brown Hawker and Black-tailed Skimmer.

Among the butterflies a few new brood Peacocks and a fresh Common Blue were best though Essex Skipper was a welcome find too. Plenty of other butterflies around with six species of brown being seen, July tends to be a very good month for them. Of the other wildlife recorded today a fishing Osprey was the highlight and for the second week running I had at least one Siskin pass overhead. A Brown Hare rounded off today's sightings before I ventured into the George at Weldon for my first pub pint since March.

Essex Skipper and Peacock.