Result at Pitsford.

There have been several reports and some amazingly good photos emerging of Lesser Emperors being seen at Pitsford reservoir. This news was reason enough for Alan Shorrock and I to pop over there and chance our luck. So far I've dipped on every single rare dragonfly that I've gone for in Northants so it really was a case of keeping those fingers crossed!

Holcott Bay.

Having purchased our permits from the fishing lodge we set out for the nearby Holcott Bay which has been the focus for Lesser Emperor activity over the last couple of days. Unfortunately our arrival coincided with a cloudy period and our first attempt ended in failure. Mention should be made of the vast numbers of horse flies that blighted our visit as both of us fought a running battle against them for the duration of our visit. Feeling that a lack of sun would lead to a lack of dragons we went for a bit of a wander around the reserve before returning to the LE site.

Southern Hawker and Common Blue Damselfly.

A period of sunshine was bringing out an increasing number of dragons which included Southern and Brown Hawkers as well as several Emperors though there was no sign of our hoped for quarry. Our vigil was not a total waste of time however as first a Yellow Wagtail and then a Clouded Yellow went past. Several Red-eyed Damselflies were noted at this point which made a nice change from the myriad of Common Blues swarming over the water.

Ruddy Darter and Small Red-eyed Damselfly.

Having been moved away from the water side by a warden we went for another walk looking as we went for Willow Emeralds as this part of the res looked to have clear potential for this recent county arrival. While a couple of possibles were noted we couldn't get a confirmed sighting. No doubt however about the Migrant Hawker that perched obligingly for us and which was my first of the year. From here we headed back to Holcott Bay where our patience finally paid off.

Brown and Migrant Hawkers.

Standing with another observer Shozzer picked out a Small Red-eyed Damselfly before our target arrived. A cracking male Lesser Emperor gave great flight views as it passed in front of us patrolling along the edge of the reeds. It made several passes and showed very well though sadly it did not land which means that I got no photos of this historic event. As this was both my first county sighting and also a first for the UK I'm not going to complain.

Red Admiral.

Of the other wildlife noted today included several Kingfishers which were nice and also a small selection of butterflies that included Brimstone, Ringlet and red Admiral.