Roydon Common

Following a morning visit to Houghton Hall, Linda, Sue, Peter and I enjoyed a circular walk around Roydon Common this afternoon. The main targets were odonata, but the whole place had more or less dried up: however, we eventually found a patch of open water surrounded by Juncus A careful search revealed both Common and Willow Emerald Damselflies, as well as Ruddy and Common Darter: one individual seems like a good candidate for immature male Black Darter. I've seen the species in the West Country on a number of occasions, and the 'inverted Ts' towards the end of the abdomen, black legs and bi-coloured pterostigmata seemed good for this tiny species.

Other interest was provided by a delightful family group of Roe Deer and a few Stonechats.