Shozzer and I headed back over to Stanwick to have another try for Lesser Emperors hoping that the better weather might work its magic. Those hopes were sadly dashed and it may well have been too hot for some of the larger dragonflies, they often seek shade when temperatures get too high. There was the odd interesting sighting to make the trip worthwhile but overall it turned out to be a bit of a damp squib.
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| Small Red-eyed Damselfly and Southern Hawker |
On the lake near the visitor centre I saw my first Small Red-eyed Damselflies of the year as well as some of their larger cousins. Few dragonflies were on the wing, there were several Brown Hawkers and Emperors and also my first Ruddy Darter of 2025 while a Black-tailed Skimmer was seen ovipositing. Not surprisingly Common Blues were the commonest damsels though there were plenty of Banded Demoiselles along the Nene too where two male Scarce Chasers were also in residence. On the way back to the car a male Southern Hawker was another year first and it obliged us by perching for a minute or two. There were no birds of note here and the butterflies on show did not throw up any surprises.
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| Ruddy Darter and Emperor |
Having failed at Stanwick we tried our luck at Summer Leys but it was even hotter here and there was not much ode activity to observe. New additions to the day list included Four-spotted Chaser but we had no luck with the hoped for Norfolk Hawkers. Realising that today was not going to be our day we decided to abandon ship and head towards home. Our final stop was at the Coach and Horses in Welly and it was the only time that we actually got what we were aiming for, in this case a damn fine pint of beer!
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| Scarce Chaser, Brimstone and Great White Egret |
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