Woodwalton darters

Ruddy Darter, male Common Darter, female.

More moths

Another rather poor catch last night (only 75 individuals of 25 macro species). But amongst them where some rather nice commoner moths including these three.

Dog's Tooth, 8 August 2007, Farcet Fen
This is one of my favourite moths. I just love what I call the 'Warrior Mask' markings - dig those fangs!

Green Carpet, 8 August 2007, Farcet Fen.
A common species, I caught five last night, but this is a real cracker - the best-marked one I have seen this year.

Wormwood Pug, 8 August 2007, Farcet Fen.
One of the easier pugs! This one was huge, even larger than the Bordered Pug on the same carton (which unfortunately winged its way to feedon before I could pot it for a photo!).

Twin-spotted Wainscot

Caught at light, 6 August 2007.

This is only my second record of this local species, the first was on 9 August last year - only three days out! Also caught the same date as David caught one at Earith.

White-line Dart - new for the fen

Caught at light, 4 Aug 2007

This was the first of two White-line Darts caught on 2 & 4 Aug. A new species for mew, the fen and VC29sw.

Rosy Footman

Rosy Footman, Farcet Fen, 21 July 2007

I caught this cracking moth the other weekend when Liz and I had a coupleof friends over from Germay staying with us - Jurgen (a very German name) and Elizabetta (a not so German name cos she's one of those nice Italian ladies). I think they find me very amusing in general, but they certainly thought I was seriously amusing when they witnessed the joyous reaction of pulling a Rosy Footman from the moth trap. Well, it was a first for me and only the 49th record for Hunts! Thats exciting enough, but doubly so in a crap summer!

Small Red-eyed Damselfly, Farcet Fen

A pair of ovispositing Small Red-eyed Damselfly, Farcet Fen.

Click the image above for a larger picture.

I knew it was only a matter of time before I found this species on the fen. Brian Stone found them in central Peterborough last year, but I don't know of ay other sites locally to have recorded them either last year or this year (not heard of any anywhere so far this year). Is this the first site to record this species in Hunts?

On the above record shot (taken at about 8+ metres range with my Panosonic FZ-30) note on the male the blue on the underside of segments 2, 3 and 8 of the abdomen and the tomato-red eyes (not the ruby-red of LRED). The female is the blue form and you can just make out that she has full off-yellow shoulder stripes.

Large Red-eyed Damselfly occurs out here too, but I have never recorded them from this location on the fen, so as asoon as I saw a red-eye in this area I knew I was on to something!

This species continues to spread west and north through England since its discovery in Britain in 1999 and is already as far north s Yorkshire.

In addition to this ovipositing pair there were three other males present.

Peregrines breed in Peterborough!

Fledged juvenile Peregrine Falcon

Centric’s Peterborough Power Station, June 2007

© Mike Harris/Centrica Energy

Read the full story and how I confirmed the county's first ever breeding Peregrines here.

White-legged Damselfly, Elton Water Meadows

The awful weather predicted for today didn't look like it was going to materialise, and needing a break from work on the book (Watching British Dragonflies) I decideed to go and look at some live beasties for a couple of hours.

The Natural Stone had seen two of my fave odonates, White-legged Damselfly and Scarce Chaser, near his home in Elton which ain't too far from the house. I see Scarce Chaser annually at Woodwalton Fen NNR, but I have to travel further afield for White-legged Damsels, so scoring the latter in particualar would be sweet.

Immature female (form lactea) White-legged Damselfly. The white legs are very obvious, but they are not swollen like the males, which are spectacular, especially when he is displayin. Alas all the adults, inc. a handful of males, were all very active and camera shy!

Alas no Scarce Chasers seen, but plenty of White-legged Damsels, most of them (95%+) where the above young female form lactea.

Banded Demoiselles, Elton Water Meadows

Adult female. Amzing how the false, or psuedo-, pterostigma can disappear from some angles.

Adult female. Here the psuedo-ptrostigma is clearly visible.

Adult male. Look how the blue panel in the wing looks black from this angle.

Adult male. With the light directly on the insect the true colour of the panel and the wing venation and structure is easier to see.

Dorset, 8-15 June

The week saw me retreat to Dorset with Liz and mum-in-law Elsie. The plan was whilst they were out playing I would be working on my forthcoming dragonfly book, Watching British Dragonflies.

The Music Room at Little Woolgarston - our terrific home for the week - and just a short walk along the downs from Corfe Castle (and the NT tea garden for sticky treats!).

Some gorgeous fungi near the cottage.

I decided to take the trap to help de-stress between spells of working on the book and it paid great dividends. V Moth - new for me

Foxglove Pug

Green Pug

Small Elephant Hawkmoth

Whitepoint
A visit to the Middlebeare and Arne area. This is Hartland NNR - a great area for drags - and lived up to expectations with 11 species in one afternoon between here and Arne. Liz and I also managed a breif but good view of a Sand Lizard at Arne which typically scarpered before the camera could be engaged!

Buck Sika Deer at Arne

Doe Sika Deer at Arne

Sundew on Middlebeare

Common Lizard at Arne

Common Lizard close up!

Quad (Four-spotted Chaser)

Small Red Damselfly - in all its finery

Female Keeled Skimmer

A teneral male Emerald Damselfy

Male Emperor dragonfly

A teneral male Common Darter

Female Broad-bodied Chaser

Side view of the BBC

Dyrad's Saddle Polyporus squamosus - a bracket fungus with funky English and scientific names!

Back at the ranch, Liz found this Nuthatch preening on an open branch about 12m away

And so to bed for the wee Nutter

Challard Down running east from Corfe Castle and just north of the cottage

Pyramidal Orchid - typical of chalk downland

Male Common Blue

Pyramidal Orchid - the white form

Returning to the cottage we found a hornet in the living room on two different days.


Eyed Hawkmoth

Side view of the curvey Eyed HM.


Barred Yellow roosting under a birch branch near the trap.

The beautifully named Brussels Lace - a new moth for me - roosting on the trunk of a birch tree near the cottage