A break in the wind and the promise of some decent temperatures and maybe some sunshine was a good enough reason to take a walk along Latchmore Brook on Tuesday morning. The walk up to Latchmore Shade only produced a Large Red; not even a sign of Beautiful Demoiselles!
Across the stream to follow the opposite bank, a few teneral Keeled Skimmers rose from the heather but the main boggy pool was devoid of any action. Not quite warn enough. Certainly not warn enough for any Scarce Blue-tailed just yet, so I followed the flush as far as I could up the hill encountering more Large Red and some diversity in the form of Southern and Small Red.
There was an ugly black ribbon of cloud obscuring the sun for most of my visit and I found myself frustratingly waiting for a glimmer of sunlight to bring out the Scarce Blue-tailed. I did have a couple of Broad-bodied and Four-spotted Chasers pay a brief visit, and a tandem pair of Large Red were seeking out the best spots to deposit their fertilised.eggs.
After an age of staring at the pool I began to get a insight into what it must be like to watch paint dry…
Finally, a break in the gloom, and the welcome sight of a few males appearing as if from nowhere to satisfy my tenacity.
As yet I haven’t been fortunate to find a Scarce elsewhere other than hovering over their chosen pool, and it’s always a challenge to grab a shot from a distance – especially with so much emerging vegetation.
I mentally crossed my fingers hoping one might perch on a blue or yellow bloom, but had to be content with the usual low down stems.
I was quite prepared to stay put and wait for some more sunshine, but I had again run out of time. I returned via the stream, passing the boggy pool where still nothing was to be seen. At least the stream provided a few Beautiful Demoiselles and a couple of Broad-bodied chasers to round the visit off.
On the way back I bumped into a couple of dragonfly enthusiasts who asked me if I’d seen any other species than the latter. Under different circumstances I would’ve been prepared to show them the best areas for their quarry, but all I could offer was a general clue. If you were the couple I hope you found what you were looking for and I can only apologise for not having time to be of any further help.