Today saw me pay a second visit to Northamptonshire with a couple of birding friends with again some new Butterflies and Damselflies being the aim.
First stop was to revisit Glapthorn, where after a brief view of a Black Hairstreak, and acting upon information gleaned whilst on site on Friday, we made our way to the opposite corner of the wood where we located a pretty freshly emerged male Silver-washed Fritillary, my first new species of the day, and an excellently timed visit as the first one for the year had only been recorded the previous day.
Whilst we were looking for the Fritillary, I very fortunately noticed a 'roosting' Elephant Hawk Moth in the vegetation in front of us, and despite its mangled right wing it was very nice to see one away from a moth trap.
With our success at Glapthorn, we moved on to Upton Mill on the western outskirts of Northampton, where after careful checking of the riverside vegetation I located a White-legged Damselfly, my second tick of the day! With further checking of the riverbank we located a few more individuals, with one staying still long enough for some photos.
We then moved on to the River Tove at Towcester where I quickly located my third new species of the day in the form of a Beautiful Demoiselle, its all dark wings separating it from the Banded Demoiselles that we get back in Norfolk. We located a second Beautiful, with also a number of Banded also being present, along with a White-legged Damsel, but with the warmth of the day running out and one more stop on the agenda, I only had time to grab a quick record shot before we had to move on.
Whilst we were looking for the Fritillary, I very fortunately noticed a 'roosting' Elephant Hawk Moth in the vegetation in front of us, and despite its mangled right wing it was very nice to see one away from a moth trap.
With our success at Glapthorn, we moved on to Upton Mill on the western outskirts of Northampton, where after careful checking of the riverside vegetation I located a White-legged Damselfly, my second tick of the day! With further checking of the riverbank we located a few more individuals, with one staying still long enough for some photos.
We then moved on to the River Tove at Towcester where I quickly located my third new species of the day in the form of a Beautiful Demoiselle, its all dark wings separating it from the Banded Demoiselles that we get back in Norfolk. We located a second Beautiful, with also a number of Banded also being present, along with a White-legged Damsel, but with the warmth of the day running out and one more stop on the agenda, I only had time to grab a quick record shot before we had to move on.
Final stop of the day was Bucknell Wood nr Silverstone, but despite searching we couldn't locate any Wood Whites, although as it was getting right towards the end of their flight period, we were probably a bit late in the year so will have to wait for either a potential second brood, or there is always next year. Some compensation was had though with at least half a dozen newly emerged White Admirals present, and all in all an excellent day with three new species and great company too.
