Damsels and Downpours

 Today I hopped on the bus and took a trip over to Oundle from where I took the short stroll to Barnwell CP. With a further easing of the lockdown measures my bus had been all but hijacked by a garrulous group of grey haired grannies who appeared to be heading off to Peterborough for some shopping and dining. No such distractions for me however as I set my mind to finding some more odes.

Male and female Banded Demoiselles

Although it was overcast when I arrived I set to work scanning the vegetation and soon noted that there had been quite an emergence of Banded Demoiselles with well over fifty being noted. Other species took a little more finding and it was some time before I saw my first of two Azure Damselflies. My next species was the hoped for Variable Damsels as first a female and then a male were seen. this is the third year in a row that I've seen this county rarity here. A single Red-eyed Damsel was next to be seen followed soon after by the only Large Red of the day. By now the clouds were beginning to look more than a little threatening and I was lucky to gain the sanctuary of a bird hide before the clouds opened. Once the thundery interlude had ended I chose to head back into town where I enjoyed several pints before catching my bus home.

Azure, Red-eyed and Large Red Damselflies

Not too much other wildlife of interest was seen today with the best bird being a Kingfisher. A singing Willow warbler was a bit of a surprise however as the habitat seems far from ideal for this species. A Brown Rat was the only mammal seen and the best of a very small selection of butterflies was a male Orange-tip.

Male and female Variable Damselflies