I organised a trip last year with Dan Pointon to try and see Scotland's "big three" odonata: the White-faced Darter, Azure Hawker, and Northern Emerald. These three species are notable because they are mostly found in peatland habitats in Scotland, with the Azure Hawker and Northern Emerald primarily located in the northern part of the country. I had previously seen White-faced Darter, so my goal was to try and see a Northern damselfly.
As the weekend approached, the weather wasn't looking great for observing Odonata, but thankfully, it improved, and we were able to go on the trip as planned.
I left the house mid-morning and drove north, planning to see a long-staying Western Sandpiper in Ayrshire. However, news broke that a Bridled Tern had been found in the tern colony on the Ythan Estuary in Aberdeenshire. There was also a Broad-billed Sandpiper present from a few days prior, along with an Iberian Chiffchaff further south, so I decided to change my plans.
Let the weekend begin!
I arrived at Tentsmuir in Fife early in the afternoon and took the short walk to where the bird had been seen, meeting up with two other birders.
Tentsmuir
It wasn’t long before the Iberian Chiffchaff started to sing and eventually showed itself at the top of the pine trees.
Best shot I could get of the Iberian Chiffchaff
After enjoying some great views of the bird, I heard news that the Bridled Tern was still present, so I headed north. A couple of hours later, I arrived on site and met up with Dan and Owen Parsons, who was working in Inverness. They greeted me with the unfortunate news that the bird had flown out to sea! Fortunately, by the time I reached the shoreline overlooking the tern colony, the bird had returned and was resting on the beach.
What a bird, and only my second for Britain
After enjoying good views of the bird, we made our way further down the estuary in search of the Broad-billed sandpiper. However, due to time constraints and with no sighting of the bird, I had to let this one go as I wanted to get to our accommodation. Fatigue was starting to set in.
Dan, being Dan, called me while we were driving and said, "I reckon we should give these Northern damselflies a try before we head back." I replied, "Go on then, we'll give it a go." Upon our arrival, we parked the cars and walked into a small clearing, where there was a small pool. As soon as we reached the end of the boardwalk, we managed to spot one resting on a reed.
“Spades” symbol marking at the top of the abdomen
Northern Damselfly on the list! Listed as Endangered in the British Odonata Red List 2008. This species is restricted in the UK to the Scottish Highlands.
We had one of our target species on the list and two to go. Next, we headed to our accommodation in Boat of Garten, Cairngorms, where we met Mr. Stoke-On-Trent, Phil Jones, who had already ordered us food. What a star!
After eating, we headed out with our moth traps and set them in place for the night's catch.
Dan and Phil, setting up the traps
What a day, bring on tomorrow.
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