No Beauty Spot At Eyebrook

 During the week a chap posted a picture of a Beautiful Demoiselle on the Leics/Rutland FB page that had been photographed at Eyebrook Reservoir. It seems as if this is likely to be the first record for the site and that was reason enough to prompt a visit from myself, Phil and Cheryl. Happily the forecast thunder storms did not arrive and we enjoyed a sometimes cloudy and sometimes sunny blend of weather during our sojourn at the res.

Little Stint (right) with Black-tailed Godwit

Before we got down to the business of finding the demoiselle Phil and I stopped at the Sharp End to have a look for any waders that might be about, Cheryl had got out earlier so she could have a stroll around the reservoir. Highlight was the reported Little Stint which made up for my dip here a couple of weeks ago. It was on the opposite shore of the res so my attempted record shots were predictably dire! Other waders were also on the move, three Golden Plovers dropped in while we were there while a Whimbrel flew over the bridge while I was looking for odes. Other waders in the area included a Dunlin, twenty plus Ringed Plovers, a Greenshank, at least two Green Sandpipers and five Black-tailed Godwits. We did not see the Garganey that was noted earlier but you can't win them all.

Speckled Wood and Willow Emerald.

We could not find the Beautiful Demoiselle at the bridge but did manage to catch up with a few other odes. Several Willow Emeralds were on either side of the bridge where a few Banded Demoiselles were also present. Brown, Southern and Migrant Hawkers were hunting in the general area and there were a few Common Darters over the brook itself. Butterflies were few in number but Comma, Speckled Wood and Small White were seen. Aside from the aforementioned Whimbrel the best bird was a Kingfisher which passed by at least twice before we left in search of lunch.

Banded Demoiselle and Southern Hawker