armatum again and again

The fantastic weather in the afternoon led to an exciting run of discoveries, with Coenagrion armatum found at two further sites in BK, this time in Skåne and therefore qualifying for the Atlas.

Had a spell birding around Gröthögarna in the early morning, on tenterhooks most of the time waiting for confirmation of my black scoter. Eventually just before 0900 the sms came through that the bird had been reported by Nils Kjellen - phew, being a single observer is harrowing at times. Birding at Rålehamn, Norra Ängalag and Ripagården was rather subdued. Barnacles were moving in a very small way, and yellow wagtails were on the ground in small numbers. Norra Ängalag produced the best birds with my first BK little tern of the year, as well as single ruff and dunlin.

 A Chrysomela populi at Rammsjöstrand brightened up the afternoon

In the afternoon Mrs B and I took advantage of the fact that the kids were at a party and got out into the unfeasibly warm weather (28 degrees, sorry of you are in the UK reading this). Dragonflies were flying and we headed first to check the pond at Glimminge. My first Ischnura elegans and Enallagma were on the wing and we did not have to wait long before a Coenagrion armatum male sauntered past! Bloody hell! Also here a grass snake and plenty of common newts and even a few great cresteds.

Checking a few wetlands around Rammsjöstrand failed to turn up any more armatum so we headed for Flytermossen. And guess what here we found seven armatum including two females! Just amazing!

Libellula quadrimaculata was a year-tick for me today (here recently emerged at Rammsjöstrand)

Flytermossen (Torekov) finally produced some female Coenagrion armatum, as well as at least five males, my first multiple sighting.

Coenagrion armatum at Flytermossen

woohoo! Coenagrion armatum in BK!

A dream Odo - a trip out to Eskilstorpsdammar this morning hoping for Sympecma instead turned up a single male Coenagrion armatum. I was completely stunned. A first for BK that takes my Odo list in the municipality to 41!

Heading out the door this morning to make the most of a sunny morning turned out to be a great idea, despite a huge amount on the the 'To Do' list... Checked out Klarningen first for birds, water levels continue to drop out of proportion to neighbouring wet areas, when will they fix the leaks? Birds were in short supply with a female merlin that landed briefly in the tree behind the tower the standout highlight. Also gadwall (male) and shoveler (pair).

Next I walked into Eskilstorps dammar where birds were more exciting; a singing garden warbler and a visible (for once) grasshopper warbler being BK year-ticks. Also here a nice hobby through and a singing sedge warbler. But it was the Odos that excited me. Unbeknownst to me the day I left for Öland the flood gates opened and Odos appeared en masse in Skåne, so I was rather surprised to find so much going on around the pools. Pyrrhosoma nymphula and Coenagrion pulchellum were emerging in numbers. A single Coenagrion hastulatum was perhaps the first reported this year in Sweden. Larger stuff was on the wing too but disobliging in the strongish wind, Cordulia aenea, Libellula quadrimaculata and Leucorrhinia rubicunda all gave UTVs. But the big surprise came on the return leg when a re-working of the small pools near the holiday huts turned up a single male Coenagrion armatum. Happy days, my 41st Odonate in BK, I was on cloud 9. What a stunning result.

Gotland diary

Just back from nine days on Gotland with the family. If you have never been, then go!

21/5 driving to Gotland the long way through Blekinge
Driving cross-country gave me an opportunity of checking a few sites en route and we stopped first at Hercules dammar. A quick look here confirmed that we should try and get back on a camping trip during the summer. A white stork sat on top of a nest at the stork centre and the environs of the pools was busy with dragonflies, with Erythromma najas being a year-tick. A hobby was hunting dragonflies too and high overhead four black terns shuttled between wetlands.

Hercules dammar was a great site, reminiscent of very good 'Broadland' habitat but with more wildlife! This Erythromma najas was my first of the year.

Driving through Blekinge we stopped hopefully at three Coenagrion armatum sites. I was astonished by these spots (they seemed fairly ordinary, I always thought this species was a bit picky habitat-wise). Sadly we failed to turn up the species at any of the sites - too early I guess - but we did find a new Coenagrion lunulatum site near Berntorp.

22/5
We timed our arrival on Gotland perfectly to coincide with Sweden's eighth Western Bonelli's warbler. Just half an hour from where we were staying and quickly under the belt before we went fossil-hunting. In the afternoon I checked out nearby Närsholmen but there was little evidence of a fall. As usual I was surprised to find breeding turnstones, I always think of them breeding further north.

23/5 Torsburgen
Before breakfast I checked a very quiet Närsholmen and then had a look at a new site, the nearby Lausviken. Fantastic spot for waders that produced knot (1 - year-tick)), a flock of 17 broad-billed sandpipers (ditto), 32 dunlin, ruff (2) and greenshank (2). After breakfast I finally got round to checking the cottage garden and found the obligatory male collared flycatcher singing by his nest-box.

Spent the day with the team. The highlight being a sunny walk around the incredible plateau hill-fort at Torsburgen. Bird-wise rather quiet but great for invertebrates with small pearl-bordered fritillary and best of all 1-2 swallowtails (the latter my first in Sweden).

A walk around Torsburgen produced my first Swedish swallowtail butterflies.

24/5 south Gotland
My pre-breakfast look at Närsholmen was rather quiet, just one collared flycatcher. Nearby Lausviken was better though, although I am always a sucker for waders. Today's quota included knot (2), Temminck's stint (1), curlew sandpiper (2, year-tick), dunlin (35) and 16 broad-billed sandpipers. Driving away I finally picked up my first red-backed shrike of the year.

Närsholmen is a great spring orchid spot with plenty of elder-flowered orchids, but interestingly burnt-tip orchids were early this year and got me thinking about trying for Lady's slipper orchid...

Picking up the team we all headed down south. First stop was Grötlingboudd where the hide pool produced a single black-tailed godwit (year-tick) and 8 Temminck's stints. Next stop was Falludden. I really love this site, it has migrant trap written all over it. The marshy woodland here had at least two red-breasted flycatchers, I climbed into one of the large bushes and enjoyed close views of these great little birds. With time pushing on we elected not to visit Stockviken, a move that I was later to regret... It rained most of the afternoon and Hoburgen was deserted, just one yellow wagtail flying about. Back at home I discovered that a white-winged tern had been spotted at Stockviken during the afternoon and so headed back down south after dinner. I had just half an hour on site but this was enough to enjoy the splendid white-winged tern, along with a supporting cast that included a female red-necked phalarope, a Caspian tern, five garganey and some displaying ruff. A good day for birds.

25/5 north to Fårö
My pre-breakfast session at Lausviken produced another different set of birds although the broad-billed sandpipers remained (though just 8 this morning). New in were 35 gadwall, a white-tailed eagle, six Temminck's stints and right out in the middle of the bay a single black-tailed godwit (which eventually flew south right overhead).

Picking up the team once again we headed north. First stop was a chance to look for penduline tit at Landträskdammen. Unfortunately 'we' were quickly distracted by Odonata and found Gotlands first colony of Coenagrion armatum and plentiful Sympecma fusca (both lifers). I was on cloud-9. The armatum find is easily my best to date in dragonfly terms here in Sweden.

Coenagrion armatum

Moving on we headed for some fossil-hunting at Lickershamn, a site that conveniently was also hosting a 2K yellow-billed diver. It took some time to find but I got great views. Also here one black-throated diver (adult) and a single Slavonian grebe. Last year we never got close to visiting the island of Fårö, but with Ma B on board we went the extra mile and got on the ferry and had a fun afternoon looking at the crazy limestone formations on the beach and even managed a fantastic male Montagu's harrier low over the road at one point. But then we had to drive back...

The famous 'rauksteinar' at Langhammar beach on Fårö. Well worth seeing and surrounded by a large Arctic tern colony.

26/5 Kallegateburg
Spurred on by our success with dragonflies we tried to find Sympecma paedisca - a species only known in Sweden from two sites on north Gotland and only recorded in two years by the same couple. Everyone who has searched since has dipped and we too failed to find any despite coming up with plenty of fusca. Both sites were man-made and unremarkable, but I would love to come back at the end of April to have a proper look.

Slavonian grebes breed on many of the waterbodies on Gotland.

The focus of the day though was our visit to nearby Kallegateburg - the famous site for Lady's slipper orchid on Gotland. Fantastic habitat, although very dry this year. Although we had one close encounter with a nutcracker it was the invertebrates and flora that stole the show. Runnels of water next to the boardwalk produced my first Libellula depressa of the year. Boggy pools held raft spider (Dolomedes fimbriata) and the butterflies included my first Swedish little blues, dingy skippers and northern chequered skippers. It was a magic place and then we reached the slipper orchids. Magic, they were just opening, perhaps 5% being properly open and all in mint condition.

A northern chequered skipper at Kallegateburg, I have a feeling this may have been a lifer.

A female Libellula depressa laying eggs on a small stream whilst being buzzed by Libellula quadrimaculata males. The male depressa were busy holding territory overhead.

I do not botanise much but this species has fascinated me for some time. Great to finally get to see it and the site where it is found on Gotland is just superb.

27/5
Spent seven exhausting hours at a kid's amusement park (Pippi Longstocking's place) today and driving home we were rewarded with a corncrake that flew across the road in front of the car at Bjers.

armatum, who art in heaven

Look at the claspers on that! I nearly fainted when I realised what the little green Ischnura-like damsels were that were flying low through marginal vegetation at Landträskdammen this morning.

Hallowed be thy name. Ever since I started looking at dragonflies in 1986 I have wanted to see Coenagrion armatum or Norfolk damselfly. It went extinct in Norfolk in 1957 and has not been seen in the UK since. Well today I found a thriving colony at Landträskdammen in northern Gotland, not only a much-wanted lifer but the first record for the island. Result! Within seconds of identifying my first armatum I turned round and was face to face with my first Sympecma fusca. Too good. Two lifers in two minutes. Also present here were Coenagrion pulchellum, Coenagrion hastulatum, Leucorrhinia rubicunda and Libellula quadrimaculata.

Sympecma fusca - not the most exciting looking of the European Odonates but this one over-winters as an adult which makes it special in my book. My second dragonfly lifer of the day.