Wissey and Welney

On Saturday 10th June I took a stroll along the river Wissey at Wissington.  There were lots of dragonflies in evidence including over 200 Common Blue Damselflies.  Among them were at least 12 Red-eyed Damselflies.

Red-eyed Damselflies, near Wissington, 10th June

There were quite a few Black-tailed Skimmers there too, but among them there were also at least 3 Scarce Chasers.  When I started getting interested in dragonflies in the mid 90s this species was restricted in Norfolk to one or two sites along the Waveney Valley but they've spread a lot since then.  Even so I wasn't expecting to see this species today.

Black-tailed Skimmer, near Wissington, 10th June

Scarce Chasers, near Wissington, 10th June

There were plenty of lovely Banded Demoiselles along the river too.

Banded Demoiselles, near Wissington, 10th June

I initially put this bee down as White-tailed Bumblebee but was surprised to see they are showing as quite range-restricted in Norfolk (maybe I've misidentified others - I thought they were common and widespread?).  Anyway, on closer inspection I think it is actually a Buff-tailed Bumblebee.  It was feeding on Russian Comfrey.

Buff-tailed Bumblebee, near Wissington, 10th June

I've recently been looking for various species of clearwing (moth) with the help of a set of pheromone lures, by far the easiest way to see most species in this elusive family.  Previously I'd only ever seen one clearwing, a Hornet Moth several years ago.  I'd had a couple of lures out this morning but put them away after deciding it was too windy.  A few minutes later I saw this drop down on to the grass - my first Red-tipped Clerarwing and without using a lure (the lures I'd had out earlier weren't for this species)!  Sadly I didn't manage to get a very good photo of it before it flew off.

Red-tipped Clearwing, near Wissington, 10th June

Not much else in the way of moths - just 2 Silver Ys.