The rare Scarce Chaser (Libellula fulva) was discovered in good numbers by Dick Medley on the River Avon in Worcestershire.
The Scarce Chaser
Although Dick was sure of his identification he wanted the record verified and called upon Mike Averill, the Worcestershire Dragonfly Recorder, to visit the area. With identification confirmed Mike followed the R. Avon southwards into Gloucestershire and emailed me to say that he had seen this early summer dragonfly in each kilometre square north of Tewkesbury.
That same evening Martin Matthews telephoned me to say that he too had seen the dragonfly near Twyning, and within the next couple of days Colin and I were taken to the Worcestershire site by Dick.
As you can imagine this dragonfly has caused great excitement in the Odonata world! There are very few locations in Britain where this dragonfly occurs. The nearest sites to Gloucestershire where they have been recorded are on the R. Avon in Somerset and in Wiltshire.