Butterflies & Dragonflies

Some photos from June of Butterflies  and Dragonflies from various visits around the local area some nice sunny days helped with the emergence of some new species for the year . No sign of any Broad Bodied Chasers as yet , I probably hear about them when it's to late , a visit to Belasis Bridge to see the Banded Demoiselle was a literal wash out with the river running high and fast the only thing noted was a Crayfish hanging on to the vegetation trying not to get swept away


11-6-14

 My first and so far only Painted Lady in the front garden in company with three Red Admirals

First Common Darter of the year with two just emerged



10-6-2014

 No idea as yet what this is jut caught my eye

 Green Veined White on Comfrey

 Four Spot Chaser there seemed to be a lot in the grass that had newly emerged  and could be approached closely with care but always with grass in the way

 I like this species it has spread rapidly in the last few years and is now very common with large numbers on suitable ponds

 A very good show of  Northern Marsh Orchid this year these two especially vigorous

 I was photographing another 4SC it flew off then I saw this Exuviae  surprised it was so low to the ground and about a foot and a half from the water , I had assumed they always went up a rush stalk etc: but perhaps on dull days they come up in the thick grass so as not to be easy prey if emergence is delayed , pure speculation on my part  but it was odd that despite 30+ seen this was the only Exuviae seen and I do have a good look for them

These eggs are on Salix no idea what they are seem to rather exposed still there a few days later

Seeing more Speckled Woods now but not as many as previous years or as early

Skippers starting to come out in numbers now

Wall Browns in good numbers in the right habitat

Some more unidentified insects gathering to mate

6-6-2014

Damselfly Exuviae always to far in the water to collect for ID

Anyone that's takes photos of Dragonflies must take hundreds of shots of 4SC  they land nearby inviting you to get there best side , take off and re land in a different pose

What's not to like about these , a sunny day at a pond teaming with life a camera in hand magic!!!

Nothing better than a bloom of flowers , Lesser Spearwort, Ragged Robin, and Northern Marsh Orchid

Another collection of Insects

 

 

Banded Demoiselle & More Dragonflies

Some more Dragonfly photos from a trip out to look for Banded Demoiselle a nice sunny day again we are getting spoilt this year but it will perhaps help species to make up for last year and even give the chance for some to expand North such as Broad Bodied Chaser, and recently Four Spot Chaser also Speckled Wood which are now very common. I enjoy looking for Dragonflies  a very pleasant way to spend these sunny days  next to seawatching that is . Which is where I'm off now  must be a Sooty and a Minkie out there tonight 

 Banded Demoiselle  male on territory 

 Banded Demoiselle another with those black beady eyes

 Signal Crayfish one unwelcome expansion species

 Banded Demoiselle 

 Banded Demoiselle tried to get some flight shots video would have been much better

 This is a Damselfly larvae

and this is one that has emerged

Common Blue Damselfly on a goose feather not hard to guess from what species

 Numerous Leaches seen not sure what they feed on this about the width of your hand

 Male Emperor showed well in flight but always landed  facing me

 Four Spot  Chaser several seen

Starting to show some wear from battling with other Males

Female Emperor egg laying there was also another just out of shot as I could not them both in first time I've had two together 

 Another Leach this one even larger , I wonder if you still use a Cigarette to get them off  I had better carry a couple of Woodbines !!!!

Dragonfly Sortie

A day out looking for Dragons at East Cramlington  produced a Black Tailed Skimmer , Four Spot Chaser and Emperors along with Common Blue , Large Red and Blue Tailed |Damselflies.  The BTS always kept faithful to a small piece of flat wood that was on the edge of the  pond vegetation  but some way off a bit of interaction with FSC and Emperor but it held its ground , it was a sunny warm day so the Emperor flew most of the time occasionally flying high to chase off another then come back to the pond patrolling the edge looking for females it did eventually land a couple of times but mostly they will perch with backs facing the sun which is not always convenient for photographs. There was 3-4 Four Spot Chasers but most holding a patch away from me and the one nearest was just at the long range of my lens , it's amazing how they have spread so rapidly I remember my first a few years ago and now it seems they are present at most ponds and sometimes in very good numbers.

For Spot Chaser

 Blaqck Tailed Skimmer and it's favoured log

 Male Emperor looking as though it's sporting a metal ring

 And here a Common Blue investigates showing the huge size differance ,its amazing how some people describe to me how they have seen huge blue Dragonflies in large numbers which mostly refers to these Common Blue's

Broad-Bodied Chaser

Since I started to develop a passion for Dragonflies the weather for the past couple of years has not been on my side or more importantly in the favour of  Dragonflies, I have made a few outings this year  but not much activity so far the common species of damselfly are still in low numbers and I glimpsed my first Emperor of the year at East Cramlington . So the news of a Broad Bodied Chaser at Big Waters photographed by Alan J  had me up there the next day , a day of sunshine and cloud ,warm in the sun but cool in the shade John also keen to catch up with this  uncommon species at least to Northumberland ,was also present no sign of it at the small pools so we wandered around looking at the flowers till the sun reappeared and we headed back to the ponds and within a few minutes first a Four Spot then the male Broad Bodied Chaser which constantly chased the FSC if it came anywhere near its patch ,it gave cracking views as it posed on the overhanging vegetation but also disappeared rapidly if the sun went in . Alan J also arrived telling us how he first found and photographed it and getting the I.D. when he got home , also around my first few Meadow Browns of the year and a glimpse of a Small Skipper but some heavy cloud put and end to this and we wandered off for a walk. It was good to finally catch up with this species after about four years of trying .

Male Broad-Bodied Chaser

 Ragged Robin

 Broad Bodied Chaser ,I don't have a macro lens so can't capture all the detail I would like

 Again the sort depth of field leaves the tail slightly out of focus

 I find Dragonflies ever more fascinating and just love to preserve a moment frozen in digital pixels ,I'm sure they will become more common in the next few years.

 This had us puzzled at first , it was well over in the pond and I thought  fairly recently emerged and perhaps with a malformed wing or had it come into contact with the FSC as it definitely had pond water drops on it's wing . A Female Common Darter which just remained there

 The Four Spot Chaser one of up to three with a female ovipositing  briefly this is the only time it settled and in the grass and not on a Rush stem as is usual.

A 12 something Cycle ride

Another Sunny day that's a few days in a row just like the olden days , I took to the bike today  to both do some birding and look for dragonflies nothing exciting on the birding side although I noted the farmer seemed to be going to some expense to rid the field at Newsham of the large pond that had formed so that will put paid to the wader passage and the gull roost  again first site I checked for dragons nothing at all there are numerous Northern Marsh Orchids coming through though very small and stunted , but there was plenty of Damsels with Large Reds and Common Blues in tandem and numerous of both species in the teneral stage . My first Four Spot Chaser of the year but it would not settle and I had to wait till it did after about 15 mins , on the Butterfly side only a couple of Wall Browns (there was also a few out on the coast Saturday) ended up at East Cramlington  which is an odd place sometimes its good but very little there today , a pleasant day out my bike computer logged 12  but I'm not sure if it's miles or Kilometres 

Large Red Damsel fly which seems covered in Pollen probably why they don't often land on Buttercup

 Common Blue

 Large Red Male and the attached female (male grasps female around the neck with special appendages )

 Four Spot Chaser it can be common at some sites

 This Male Stickleback  using this curled leaf as a potential nest site