Our first report this evening comes from the Department of Insects Not Respecting Human Boundaries. Over on Facebook, the Warwickshire County Odonata Recorder commented overnight on the photo of an ovipositing Hairy Dragonfly that I also posted here yesterday, and informed me that he’s seen Hairies breeding in the pond at Colletts Wood near Dorsington, which as the dragon flies is less than three miles from the Community Orchard at Cleeve Prior. So my little clan at Cleeve could easily have moved over from there.
The Warwickshire Recorder also told me that he’d received a report of three Common Clubtails being seen at Marlcliff Weir last weekend, and asked me to keep an eye out for them if I was over that way. Which I was, purely by chance, later this morning, when I had occasion to go to Bidford. After completing my errand I walked along the south side of the Avon as far as the weir, checking the nettle beds insofar as I was able to, given that they’re very deep and wide, and also checking for exuviae on the supports of the fishing pegs I was able to access. I was going to say that all this got me was wet, but that wouldn’t be quite true: I did get wet when a sharp little shower blew through unexpectedly, but when the sun then emerged for all of about five minutes before the cloud started to build again, I also got shots of half a dozen male Banded Demoiselles that suddenly emerged from the nettles.
As for the Common Clubtails, it would be wonderful if they had reappeared on the Avon, but I have to say that I’m sceptical – not least, because this is one of only two Warwickshire Clubtail sightings added to iRecord in the past seven seasons. That doesn’t make it untrue, of course, but without seeing some evidence I wouldn’t bet my house on it.
R: C2, D6.
