Stroud Comes Out!

Delighted to see a male smashing things up (including a Common Darter dragonfly) high up over limes above the gates to Rodborough Fort, Stroud, Gloucestershire, this afternoon, SO 850040. He wasn't very visible, and this was a neckache job - 

Rodborough Fort was lived in by Tom Bainbrigge Fletcher (1878-1950) who gave Rodborough Common to the National tRust in 1937. He was an ace entomologist, a specialist in micro Lepidoptera. After serving as Naval Paymaster he was appointed - wait for it - Imperial Entomologist in India for the Raj, the best job title ever. He would be so pleased to have iris bossing things about over his gate...

Here's the map - 

There are sallows in the copse surrounding the Fort (the area is not shown as wooded on the map), but it is quite possible that males are hill-topping there, coming up from sallows lining the Stroud Canal to the north and east. Those sallows need searching for larvae...

When I moved to Gloucestershire (my father's home county) in 1992, I never dreamed that iris would follow me there. But he has, and now he's taken over my main Glos heartland...

Also today, 3 males and a female seen at Knepp, and a few more at Waterperry Wood, Bernwood Forest, Bucks/Oxon, and a very worn female on the ground at Chambers Farm Woods, Lincs.  They're still going, at least high up and very locally...