Yellow-spotted Whiteface memories

Yellow-spotted Whiteface (Leucorrhinia pectoralis) is a nice, not so common little dragonfly that I am lucky to know some sites for. I saw at least a dozen on a real hotspot for dragons and damsels yesterday. I remember my very first that where shown to me by some visiting british bird watchers, Glyn Sellors and his humorous, lovely bunch of guys of which sadly at least 2 are not among us anymore. Thank you for all the good laughs Mike & Mike & Glynn!

Frejas Fritillary at last

On my third attempt I finally spotted my first two Frejas Fritillaries in the county of Västmanland. It flies in the same habitat as Pearl-bordered Fritillary here, but in comparison it´s slightly bigger and duller in coloration, both features visible in flight. Only when you get a proper look you can see the different pattern and the white X on the underwing. I´ve been trying many times through the years to see this butterfly here on it´s southern limit. It´s a northern species much more common on moors and heathland up in the mountains of Lapland. Although known from only a couple of sites, with very few records per year here, this year also revealed new sites which indicates it´s likely to be overlooked after all.

Eurasian Baskettail in Fläckebo

Yesterday when doing garden work, a larger Dragonfly passed by and caught my eye. I noticed the wings where very smokey brown and it puzzled me. Luckily it landed in the rough grass not far away. I  gently approached till I could get a proper view in my bins and what I saw made me stunned. It looked like a Eurasian Baskettail! (Ephiteca bimaculata) - a species I had only seen once ever before and just flying over a river, not landing to perch. So I did not get any pictures that time. Now this guy sat still right in front of me and remained for a couple of hours, probably very newly hatched. I called my friend and dragon-enthusiast Markus Rehnberg and asked if he´d ever seen one of these in the county? He replied "I have now"! He was just standing on another spot (by a different lake some 40 km away) where he could see several specimen, also sitting in the vegetation as if newly hatched. These creatures are know as notorious "flying-dragons", very difficult to see perched. On average 3,5 records have been reported annually the last 6 years in the county. Needless to say, I was very happy to see and photograph this great looking dragonfly. Today I saw several individuals by the lake, and flying over meadows. Clearly this species is overlooked and probably much more common than we know.

Irish Damselfly! Finally!

Crescent Bluet, a.k.a. Irish Damselfly (Coenagrion lunulatum) is one of few damselflies I have not (knowingly) seen before. Damsels have just started to fly here and last week when I was out butterflying on a bog, I photographed the only blue damsel I saw in that habitat. At a closer look on the computer I started to see characteristics known for C. lunulatum; green underside, green eyes, the wings covered segment 2 so I couldn´t see that, but the tail pattern looked good. Finally the blue spots on the top of the head where clearly separated. I consulted a few friends and experts who all confirmed my suspicion, indeed it was a Coenagrion lunulatum. My first ever and a species (although probably heavily overlooked) with just a handful of records reported in the county. Most other records from more deciduous areas with smaller wetlands. I did not expect to find it on a pine bog! It is however not unknown to appear in such habitats as well.

Montague´s Harrier arrival

Last week I saw the first Montague´s Harrier for the season, a female near Fläcksjön in the Black River Valley. Today the first male appeared as we drove past the large open fields of Saladamm, north of Sala. I got some half decent/half crap pictures but it´s such a delightful bird I will share them anyway. They are probably the best I ever got anyway! This is a special year for me since I have received the honorable mission to survey this species in our county (Västmanland). A task I very much look forward too since it is a real favorite bird of mine. It´s also a scarce breeding bird with only a few pairs in the area and not even every year. They are quite eruptive and unpredictable, turning up and disappearing. Difficult to survey too, since they hunt over vast areas and are very secretive around the nest.

Northern Lynx sightings

There seem to be several Northern Lynx in the Black River area right now. Local nature conservation authorities report from camera traps of one or possibly two different females with cubs. I got lucky to see a single adult male on this passed saturday 25:th of April, slowly walking in front of my car as I drove a quiet forest track. Unfortunately it disappeared behind a bend before I got my camera out. Since I was guiding I focused to make the clients see it, which they didn´t. They could have - because it was just in front of their vehicle, but they focused on a bird in a tree top at that (crucial) moment...This picture of a presumed male, was taken on the 22:nd April by Håkan Olsson from his photo-hide for Capercaillie at the same site as Birdsafarisweden operates a few miles away. There´s also another adult male with a transmitter necklace moving in the area.

Capercaillie high season

The leking season of Capercaillies are in full swing now. After a cold period with northerly winds the last few days have been more calm and slightly warmer. And that gives effect on the leking Grouse. Ulf Jonfelt (www.jonfelt.se) got these pictures from one of our hide this very morning.