Rousham Lakes - 23 May

Downy Emerald : Up to 10 including 3 males chasing one another and 1 female ovipositing!

1 Azure Damsel
7 Common Blue Damsels
6 Red- Eyed Damsels
4 Four Spotted Chaser

Wayne Bull

Note: this private site produced a number of Downy Emerald records in 2003/2004 but none since. It is one of a few sites in the north of the county for which there are several historical records of Downy Emerald between the mid 1990s and the mid 2000s. 

There is no public access to most of these sites and so the lack of recent records could well be due to lack of observer coverage. 

It is great to know that Downy Emerald is still present at one of these sites, and in such large numbers.  Given this, it seems likely that the other sites could well also still hold this rare species. We will not know for sure unless access can be arranged to them!

Stephen Burch