Records for 1st July 2009

In a bid to survey another tetrad in the Cotswold Water Park [CWP], I braved the sweltering conditions and walked around lake 26. The most noticeable feature were the huge numbers of Common Blue Damsels - the whole lake was covered in them. There must have been at least 100,000!!!
Red-eyed Damselflies were obviously having a good season here, there were around 140 in the lily pad areas including tandem and ovipositing pairs.
Black-tailed Skimmer was the most numerous anisopteran with an estimated 120 present including mating pairs and ovipositing females.
4-spotted Chasers were still hanging in there with 31 individuals starting to look worse for wear!
Smaller numbers of Blue-tailed and one [still!!] Large Red Damsel plus a solitary Banded Demoiselle completed the damselfly list.
One Brown Hawker and 9 patrolling male Emperors plus two ovipositing females finished the species total of nine for the day.
While trying to obtain some in-flight shots of a patrolling male Emperor, a Comma flew out across the lake and was promptly captured and consumed on the wing!