A very dragonfly-heavy list this time. June has arrived so most birds are firmly on their breeding groups. I did manage to see both warblers I wrote about last entry, along with red-backed shrike. Best bird of the list was an absolutely wonderful nightjar that gave unbelievably good views which I saw during a local nightjar census count. Still waiting for oriole (which seems nowhere to be found this year!) and honey buzzard as the final summer birds.
The dragonflies were mostly seen during two trips. The first one was a short cycling trip during a free afternoon after I heard a population of white-faced darters was discovered on a mere in a local forest. After a pleasant thirty-minute ride I arrived at the mere. It was an absolutely gorgeous little place: it was a small mere quite deep within a mature mixed forest, bordered by sedges and a small reedbed on one side. Dragonflies, including several white-faced darters, were flying around over the water or between the trees, while blackcaps and blue tits sang in the background.
Finally, I went on a dragonfly-oriented trip with a friend on a local estate (and a few smaller ponds afterwards), which is well-known for high dragonfly densities and some scarce species. Already in the first patch of reed we saw three species of damselflies - azure, variable and bluetail, of which the latter two proved extraordinarily numerous throughout the morning. Soon we found the first scarce chasers, an apt name until a few years back but they have since increased greatly in abundance and distribution. They were by far the most common anisopteran (i.e., actual dragonfly, in contrast to damselflies) we saw, with numbers probably in the multiple hundreds in a few hours. There were more species of course, including lovely dragonflies like downy emeralds, western clubtails and the occasional green-eyed hawker, but also birds like icterine warbler, and even a handful of butterflies!.
Afterwards we quickly visited a few ponds outside the estate to add a couple of new species. The main target was dainty bluet, a rare species that has recently popped in a few placed in my region. The sun had become blazing hot when we arrived at our final destination, and we still had not seen a dainty bluet. There were a couple of ponds here and there were dragonflies a-plenty, including broad scarlet and a few spreadwings. All damselflies turned out to be blue-tailed or azure. After an hour we gave up, but on our way back I stumbled upon a rather suspicious little bluet, which indeed turned out to be my very first dainty bluet! A very good ending of a lovely trip.
Birds
202. European Nightjar, Caprimulgus europaeus
203. Red-backed Shrike, Lanius collurio
204. Marsh Warbler, Acrocephalus palustris
205. Icterine Warbler, Hippolais icterinus
Amphibians
21. Pool Frog, Pelophylax lessonae
Dragonflies
06. Four-spotted Chaser, Libellula quadrimaculata
07. White-faced Darter, Leucorrhinia dubia
08. Blue Emperor, Anax imperator
09. Black-tailed Skimmer, Orthetrum cancellatum
10. Variable bluet, Coenagrion pulchellum
11. Bluetail, Ischnura elegans
12. Blue Featherleg, Platycnemis pennipes
13. Scarce Chaser, Libellula fulva
14. Red-eyed Damselfly, Erythromma najas
15. Green-eyed Hawker, Aeshna isoceles
16. Hairy Hawker, Brachytron pratense
17. Western Clubtail, Gomphus pulchellus
18. Robust Spreadwing, Lestes dryas
19. Broad Scarlet, Crocothemis erythraea
20. Dainty Bluet, Coenagrion scitulum
21. Ruddy Darter, Sympetrium sanguineum
22. Migrant Spreadwing, Lestes barbarus
Moths
09. Cinnabar Moth, Tyria jacobaeae
10. Middle-barred Minor, Oligia fasciuncula
11. White-shouldered House Moth, Endrosis sarcitrella
12. Bee Moth, Aphomia sociella
13. Dingy Shell, Euchoeca nebulata
14. Common White Wave, Cabera pusaria
15. Apple Ermine, Yponomeuta malinellus
16. Small Square-spot, Diarsia rubi
17. Marbled Orchard Tortrix, Hedya nubiferana
18. Green Oak Tortrix, Tortrix viridana
