Back came Antonio at 10:00 to collect me to go in search of the last of the five European White-faced Darters. I get a bit disoriented about the direction we are driving in from Jelly’s Hoeve but, after half an hour or so, we dove off the road and parked beside a track entering a forest.
After a short walk we came across a woodland pool complete with the obligatory cotton grass. It was not long before Antonio was spotting our target, the Small Whiteface/White-faced darter (Leucorrhinis dubia) flitting about, although initially they did not seem particularly keen on having their photographs taken. Some did begin settling but on the path and I do so dislike ground shots. Still, if that’s what they do, at least it’s realistic behaviour.
While we were waiting for better posed opportunities with the males, clever old Antonio spotted a female beautifully posed on some vegetation back from the path. Then a male or two started posing much more favourably on leaves, which look so much nicer. The set; excellent!
During an overcast interlude when darter activity closed down, I did find a small collection of Small Red Damselflies (Ceriagrion tenellum) lurking about in some tall grass stems. Since I don’t get these on my home turf they are always interesting to see and a quite delightful little damselfly, though they can be tricky to photograph given that they tend to keep low in the habitat.
Antonio had another duty in the afternoon so the morning was it but he had met his target, showing me all five Whiteface species in three days.
Thank you and bravo!
In the afternoon I was keen to investigate a flush that Francine had found in the middle of Havelte. She reported seeing “a Bluetail” there but had had no camera. Flushes are classic Scarce Blue-tailed Damselfly/Small Bluetail (Ischnura pumilio) territory and I was just a little curious. We hopped on our fietsen and went and found it.
There are actually three small pools along the southern edge of a triangle of grass. I saw nothing but a Broad-bodied Chaser on pools one and two but eventually, I did see what was obviously a Blue-tailed Damselfly settle on a blade of grass on the opposite side of pool three. I focused on it and sure enough we had ourselves a Scarce Blue-tailed Damselfly (ischnura pumilio). Watching a while, I counted getting on for half a dozen. There was actually a “regular” Blue-tailed Damselfly (Ischnura elegans) which would have been a bit depressing had I seen that first.
I’ve seen Scarce Blue-tailed Damselflies in the UK only twice before so this was something of a thrill, sad puppy that I am.
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