New BK odonate! Number 42!

Aeshna grandis female ovipositing at Bränneslätt today

Mrs B dragged me out the door and into the sun this morning and we went up to check out Bränneslätt. This little mire is the best dragonfly location in BK and did not disappoint today. Despite going feet-first into a boggy hole and getting two welly-fulls of water things went well. Aeshna subarctica was on the wing, as well as Lestes sponsa, Somatochlora metallica and Aeshna juncea. I was just about to leave when to my astonishment I noticed a single male Erythromma viridulum perched on a floating weed mat. A BK first and in a slightly unusual location. Now I have to search more likely ponds in BK for this species...

Erythromma viridulum, rapidly colonising NW Skåne as the planet warms up and a predictable addition to the odofauna of BK.

A female Somatochlora metallica posed nicely for me at Bränneslätt

Number 2 found me this nice male Stictoleptura rubra at Bränneslätt, one of the commoner longhorns in BK.

Afterwards we had a picnic at Klarningen but nasty shower soon sent us homewards. Before we went though we managed a brief encounter with the osprey and noted a few waders; greenshank (1), spotted redshank (1) and ruff (1).

New dragonfly in BK

Instead of risking weather and heavy traffic and going for Nehalennia today I elected to stay at home with Team B. The weather was variable with plenty of cloud but we had a good day looking at invertebrates at a variety of sites up on the hill.

First up was a quick look at the Sphagnum bog at Bränneslätt. I was hoping for an early Somatochlora arctica but the weather was not really warm enough to be sure that they are not flying. We did not see one! Plenty of Leucorrhinia dubia on the wing and some females egg-laying. Also more cranberry fritillaries here, which were so cold you could pick them up, which enchanted Numbers 1 and 2.

More secondary genitalia! This is the hamule of a Leucorrhinia dubia, much straighter than that on rubicunda which I pictured earlier.

Crossing the road we strolled down to the man-made pools and adjacent peat bogs. This area is rather good for Odonata and we had two year-ticks here in the form of both Somatochlora metallica and flavomaculata. Also here an Aeshna grandis.

One of two patrolling male Somatochlora metallica at Bjäred today. New for the year, but regular at this site. flavomaculata was flying here too today.

After lunch we checked out the small stream and large reedbed at Hulrugered. A neglected bit of the patch me thinks, and just as I was thinking it, Mrs B earned the team an ice-cream by spotting my first Swedish Cordulegaster boltonii. It perched nicely for photos.

A long-anticipated addition to my BK list and a Swedish tick to boot. Cordulegaster really is a monster Odo. Kudos to Mrs B.

Last stop of the day was a recce into the mire at the eastern end of Älemossen, difficult to get into but full of potential. Just one Libellula quadrimaculata flying when we were there but some good butterflies including purple-edged copper and idas blue.

Idas blue - another first for me in BK.

A rather tatty female purple-edged copper spotted at Älemossen this afternoon.

Postcard from the Elbe

Stopped off in the middle Elbe in Germany on our recent foray into France. The idea was to chase a few dragonflies, but other stuff kept getting in the way. This section of the Elbe was one of the few remaining strongholds of the European beaver before their successful re-introduction to parts of their former range. It was surprising though to be watching a huge adult down to less than 2 metres (with the kids perched on our shoulders) within half an hour of arrival... (my camera was in the car!)

Distant white-tailed eagle, one of a pair harrassing wildfowl along the river.

One of the obvious differences in the bird fauna compared to southern Sweden was that black kites were numerous.

Somatochlora metallica

A good population of white storks is found along this stretch of the Elbe.

Of the 16 species of dragonfly encountered the most pleasing for me was a small population of Erythromma viridulum. Not seen these guys since I left the UK. Our target species Ophiogomphus cecilia eluded us...