Since the weather forecast was for a nice day, I decided on a visit down to Potteric Carr for some Dragonfly action, I was getting very little out at the ponds, so I headed south after work.
I arrived about 12 noon and entered the reserve and walked down the mother drain road, finding a few Common Blue Damselfly on my journey around to the loversall bank ponds. I was also finding a few Large Red Damselfly as well and quite a lot of Azure Damselfly. There was very little around the ponds and no Chasers especially, then I remembered the new ponds closer to the visitor centre, I hadn’t been to Potteric for a few years.
It was at these ponds that I found lots of Four Spotted Chasers, a few Emperor Dragonflies with one egg laying female, but none of my favourite Broad Bodied Chasers. I flushed up a Painted Lady Butterfly then I noticed a different Dragonfly on the path, turned out to be a female Black tailed Skimmer, a nice ending to a few hours at Potteric Carr.
A few bird highlights whilst I was there were Little Egret, Common Tern, Grey Heron, Garden Warbler, one I didn’t see was a Purple Heron, which was reported as a one day, however the bird was seen again the day after.
However why I had come over to Potteric Carr was mainly to see the breeding Black-winged Stilts, the news when I saw hadn’t been broken. As of 27th June the whole family seems to be doing well, with 4 chicks, the first breeding of these birds in Yorkshire. Video can be seen by pressing THIS
Bird List : Blackbird, Blackcap, Black headed Gull, Chaffinch, Chiffchaff, Common Tern, Coot, Gadwall, Gret Heron, Lapwing, Little Egret, Magpie, Mallard, Robin, Shoveler, Woodpigeon
Butterfly List : large White, Painted Lady, Speckled Wood
Dragonfly List : Black tailed Skimmer, Blue tailed Damselfly, Common Blue Damselfly, Emperor, Four Spotted Chaser, Large Red Damselfly
Huddsbirder 