Broad-bodied Chaser

Up at 5.30 a.m. for the last breeding bird transect of the year at Thorpe Wood. The canopy is now fully developed, making it rather dark and gloomy, whatever the weather, and many of the birds have stopped singing. Nevertheless, I recorded quite a few species including family parties of blue tits, great tits, robins, chiffchaffs and wrens, as well as a pair of treecreepers.

I followed this with an early morning walk along the river - glorious light and lots of insects basking on the vegetation, much of which was still soaked from last night's rain. The highlight of my trip was the Superb Ant-hill Hoverfly Xanthogramma pedissequum, a species which I've not noticed before (see extra). It has a predominantly southern distribution, and is found in a variety of grassy habitats, including wide woodland rides, open-structured scrub and the edges of wetlands.

But the most beautiful creature of the day was recorded from one of our garden ponds. An absolutely pristine Broad-bodied Chaser dragonfly spent some time perching on the top of a Pendulous Sedge flower, perhaps sizing the pond up as a possible breeding site. This is always a handsome dragonfly, but the blue on the abdomen of this individual was almost purplish in hue, contrasting with the row of yellow spots along the side of the body.