I took a bit of a chance with the weather after work today as there were more than a few threatening looking clouds promising to rain on my parade. Happily the rain stayed off for the duration and didn't start until just after I arrived back home. My main goal was to try and find some Variable Damselflies in the vegetation alongside the stream and I'm happy to say that my efforts met with some success!
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| Female Variable Damselfly and FFTY Blue-tailed. |
Despite those clouds there were enough sunny spells to tempt a few damsels out and the first to show were several teneral Banded Demoiselles, their shiny wings and red eyes betraying their tender youth. A growing number of Azure Damselflies were on view and these included several females. I checked each one very carefully but my initial efforts to find a Variable came to nought. My first Blue-tailed Damselfly of 2021 helped to salve the pain of dipping and I saw what was probably the same individual on several different occasions. There was a brace of Large Reds to add to my day list but I left the best to last. Appearing fashionably late in the proceedings a female Variable Damselfly showed just before I left, this is the fourth year in a row for the Weldon Variables which is still one of only three known sites for them in the modern county of Northamptonshire.
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| Banded Demoiselle, Azure and Large Red Damselflies. |
In all honesty I was concentrating on the damsels too much to pay much attention to other wildlife but I did notice a few Orange-tips flitting around. Once again a Sedge Warbler was singing next to the pond while the fledged Grey Wagtail was still hanging around the stream being fed by its parents.
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| Still there, juvenile Grey Wagtail. |
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