Quick splash and dash

A quick splash and dash today at Eyeworth Pond, with the specific aim of seeing small red-eyed damsels. 

When we arrived, there was zero odo activity, nada, zilch ...

But then the sun came through the clouds, it got clearly warmer, and a first common blue damsel made his appearance.

Not long after, a female emperor started ovipositing.

And it didn't take long for male emperors to appear. Funny to see two male emperors chasing each other, but as soon as a brown hawker appeared, they forgot all about their spat and started chasing the brown hawker together. The enemy of my enemy is my friend, right?

Meanwhile, on the water lily leaves, red-eyed damsels were staking out their territories. 

And we were pleased to see a small red-eyed damsel as well!

Having seen the small red-eyed damsel, we decided to take a walk across Howen Bottom to the north of the pond. Loads of holly blues, a few graylings, and a small tortoiseshell! First one of the year for me!

When I was a kid, small tortoiseshells were the most common butterfly species, and now I'm glad to see one once or twice a year ....

Anyway, here are today's tables, combining the butterflies we saw around the pond and on the heathland (one = 1; few = 2-4; several = 5-9; many = 10+):