Swallowtail Time

(or, Visiting Old Friends ptII)

One of the joys of living in our part of Norfolk is that in late spring/early summer  the UK’s largest, most colourful butterfly can be seen.  Of course you need to know where to look, they don’t pop up everywhere.  You also need our old friend the un-predictable weather to be favourable.  A good spell of warm, sunny and wind free conditions will bring this enigmatic insect out of it’s pupa deep in the reedbeds to grace the area we call ‘Broadland’

What it’s all about, the ‘Norfolk’ Swallowtail (Papilio machaon ssp britannicus) perhaps my best shot to date

Last weekend was ideal so a trip to my favourite haunt Hickling Broad was in order.  The usual area was disappointing, there had been clearance work over winter and few nectar flowers were available.  A few hundred yards further on and there was a good amount of Red Campion and with it a newly emerged, mint condition Swallowtail eagerly fueling up.  This beauty allowed plenty of photo opportunities.

Pushing the shutter up to 1/1000th almost freezes the action. Those wings are nearly always fluttering

The dragonfly season is also now in full swing.  The early species were dominated by the Four-spotted Chasers (Libellula quadrimaculata).  I have never seen so many in one place, almost swarm like!

Fresh Four-spotted Chaser, one of thousands

Male Broad-bodied Chaser (Libellula depressa)

As well as these ‘old friends’ there were a couple of surprises.  Firstly a butterfly that has been in very low numbers in my part of the world and I have never seen at this site, the Wall Brown (Lasiommata megera).

The Wall Brown, a small butterfly that nearly always is seen sunning itself on the ground (or walls!)

LBJ?

So, a small brown bird sitting in an alder tree.  I was so pleased to get this shot even though I was using my macro lens!  This is a Cetti’s Warbler (Cettia cetti).  This bird first bred in the UK in 1972 and unlike all the other warblers (except one) does not migrate.  As an insect eater it’s population could crash in harsh winters.  The thing is the Cetti’s is extremely difficult to see, keeping deep inside vegetation by rivers or ditches.  It gives away it’s presence by it’s explosive call repeating the cetti name (though it was named after an 18th century Italian zoologist, Francesco Cetti).  An unusual fact, this is the only UK bird with 10 tail feathers, good luck trying to count them!

All in all a great day out and I’m glad to get my upload issues sorted so I could share it.

 

Lost Dragonflies

It’s been a few weeks since I have subjected you, my dear readers, to a dragonfly post.  It’s not that I have been ignoring these gorgeous aerial assassins, oh no far from it.  I have been clicking away and recording my sightings so that on a wet, windy, Friday I can overload your senses with their varied beauty.  Today is that wet, windy, Friday.

And to hold your attention and stop you dozing off, at the end of the post is something a little bit special.  No cheating and skipping through the images so you can get on and do your daily chores, I may be asking questions so pay attention at the back!

At the start of July we visited the Pingo trail at Thompson Common in sth Norfolk to see these Scarce Emerald Damselflies (Lestes dryas). Now hands up those who can remember from last year what a pingo is?

A female ‘common’ Emerald Damselfly (Lestes sponsa) at Winterton Dunes. Almost impossible to tell apart from Scarce Emerald by eyesight in the field. The females of both species lack the blue powdery colouring known as pruinescence

Anax imperator, even the Latin name sounds formidable. This is the Emperor dragonfly, our largest odonata, patrolling a pool at Winterton

One of the latest species to appear is the Migrant Hawker (Aeshna mixta). Usually constantly on the move, nice to capture one hanging around

Even in the garden it’s hard to avoid the attention of dragons. Mrs H trying to swat up on her German language had a Common Darter (Sympetrum striolatum) desperately trying to get in on the act!

Right we are nearly at the end so here is the first surprise.  Yesterday (5th) I was pond watching when a damselfly landed on a lily pad.  First glance and I thought it was a Blue-tailed.  Second glance and it was not right as the blue was at the very tip of the abdomen and the eyes seemed reddish in colour.  Quickly grabbed the camera and confirmation, a Small Red-eyed Damselfly (Erythromma viridulum).  This damsel first colonised the UK in 1999 and have spread to many areas.  I remember seeing some of the first and it was quite exciting for dragonfly watchers.  They are not that common and I would never have expected one in the garden.  This is the 13th species I have recorded at our pond in the year we have lived here.

Star of the pond, Small Red-eyed Damselfly

So we come to the end of the post and the BIG surprise.  I know, the photo isn’t great lots of vegetation in the way but this is a bit special.  A couple of days ago I was wandering around Winterton Dunes watching the dragonflies in a feeding frenzy and one caught my eye.  I couldn’t place it but as it sped around I kept seeing a bright blue band and my mind went into overdrive.  It had to be one of two species, both rare vagrants from Southern Europe.  Then, by sheer luck, it settled for just a few seconds right close by just enough time for two shots.  There we have it a Lesser Emperor (Anax parthenope).  Only first recorded in the UK in 1996, it has bred but is still a very rare beast.  Even better.  I returned the next morning and it was still there in the same area only now there was two!  This time there was no photo opportunities but you should have seen the size of my smile!

Lesser Emperor Winterton, Norfolk

So that’s it class you can all run along now and play nicely.  If you wish to see more of these beautiful creatures check out  https://blhphotoblog.wordpress.com/british-damsel-dragonflies/

What, Even More Dragonflies?

As I mentioned last week everything is bursting into life.  So as not to rush around like a ‘headless chicken’ I tried to plan places to visit and species to see.  Had to make the most of the heatwave as today it’s broken with heavy showers and thunder due.  I have seen and photographed lots of interesting things in the last ten days but I thought I would treat you all to more odonata including a couple of first time sightings!

Standing guard over the garden pond. Male Broad-bodied Chaser (Libellula depressa). His manner with the visiting ladies leaves a lot to be desired!

My old buddy John came up from Hertfordshire for a couple of days.  We visited Strumpshaw Fen primarily for Swallowtail butterflies.  The butterflies were notable by their absence but the dragons put on a great display.

Love the orange colouration of newly emerged Scarce Chasers (Libellula fulva). The males turn blue with a powdery substance called pruinescence whilst the females are brown

Banded Demoiselles (Calopteryx splendens) are gorgeous and always worth a photo

Another blue dragonfly on a stick? This is a male Black-tailed Skimmer (Orthetrum cancellatum) which usually only rest on the ground!  Seen at Hickling Broad

Red-eyed Damselfly (Erythromma najas) usually rests on floating water weeds like lilies. There were hundreds on the Suffolk Stour

So what about these two lifers?  I always like to have a target to aim for.  If you fail to see what you travel a long way for this can leave an empty feeling.  A successful trip and it’s big smiles for days.  Damselflies are not the most ‘in your face’ creatures.  Unlike their big, brash, colourful cousins the dragonflies, damsels keep low in the vegetation and go about their business in a slow, quiet way.  Make no mistake these tiny insects are vicious predators in their own right.  A day out to the Suffolk/Essex border produced the first and also a look at ‘Constable Country’.

White-legged Damselfly (Platycnemis pennipes)  Flatford Suffolk. A very distinctive species, this is an immature male which will turn pale blue

The next target was going to be much more tricky.  The species can be found only at one site in East Anglia, it is usually found in the south, south/west of the Country.  I happened to meet an old friend who knew the exact spot for this tiny damselfly.  The place is kept somewhat secret to protect this delicate species.  I knew roughly the area but armed with a map, x marks the spot, I found them.  Without my friends help I would still be searching now!  Let me introduce…..

Scarce Blue-tailed Damselfly (Ischnura pumillio) At just over one inch (27mm) long proof that good things come in small packages!

I still have one more rare species to see locally however it should soon be time for the summer butterflies so who knows what I will post next!

Observing Dragons

This last week has seen an explosion of activity on the odonata front.  Not surprising really, after the awful spring we are now in full-on summer mode.  Early morning and it’s emergence time at the pond.  As the heat builds the damselflies are returning in numbers to mate and lay eggs.  So much to see I’m struggling to decide where to venture to next.

“Oi! Get that thing out of my face!” Looks like Mr Grumpy got out of the wrong side of the pond this morning. Newly emerged Azure Damselfly (Coenagrion puella)

A trip to Hickling Broad produced this pleasing shot of a female Broad-bodied Chaser (Libellula depressa)

Also at Hickling this rather pretty damselfly. Female Blue-tailed (Ischnura elegans) colour form rufescens

Spotted this immature female Red-eyed Damselfly (Erythromma najas) last week at the Cut-off Channel. Quite common but not a species I see that often

The Hairy Dragonfly (Brachytron pratense) is difficult to photograph as it’s always on the move in sunny weather. This lady caught a rather large lunch so had to settle to eat it nicely. Most dragons eat their prey in flight

Circle of life. The Large Red Damselflies (Pyrrhosoma nymphula) are returning to my pond to mate and lay eggs

With most very rare species I find myself hitting the road and travelling for hours to see them.  Not so with one dragonfly.  In the County of Norfolk the Downy Emerald (Cordulia aenea) can only be found in two adjacent ponds and as luck would have it they are just ten minutes away.  I won’t name the ponds due to the fragile nature of this species hanging on and limited access though most keen dragonfly enthusiasts know of them.  Yesterday (7th) I managed to obtain my first half decent images.  The males constantly patrol the pond margins and if they settle it’s high up on a leaf in the overhanging canopy.  The lighting is not ideal as you are looking into the sun.  No matter, I came home with a big grin on my face (just don’t ask how many shots I took to get six reasonable ones!).

Downy Emerald (male) Norfolk

If you haven’t done so already why not check out this page https://blhphotoblog.wordpress.com/british-damsel-dragonflies/

The ‘Birth’ of a Dragonfly

Two posts in one week?  What have you lucky people done to deserve this.  As you know I have been avidly ‘pond watching’ of late as the dragon and damselflies have been emerging, in the case of the Large Red Damselflies in good numbers.  One of my aims was to capture the moment a dragonfly left it’s watery home of the last two years and ‘transformed’ into a winged beauty.  Well this morning I got my wish…..

The larvae climbs an Iris leaf

After getting a good grip the thorax splits and the emergence begins

Next the head appears

Then the body

Almost there. At this point it took a rest and started pumping up the body to full size

With a deft forward flip and it’s out

Next task get them wings inflated

Ta-dah! A newly minted Broad-bodied Chaser (Libellula depressa). The new wings will have the fluids pumped into them after which they will then open to the typical cross position.

This whole process from start to finish took two hours and was fascinating to watch.  I then had to go out.  When I returned a couple of hours later the dragon had flown.  Earlier this week I witnessed a damselfly emerging, in contrast to the dragon it took only fifteen minutes!

Have a great weekend!

Southern Migrant Hawker, a return to ‘The Ditch’

In July last year I was shown the delights of the Canvey Island ditch in south Essex by John Wiltshire.  It was a very hot, sunny day and our target, the Southern Migrant Hawker dragonfly, was in no mood to settle to have it’s picture taken!  On Friday I decided to treat Mrs H to a day out as things have been somewhat topsy-turvy just lately.  It was going to be hot but with some cloud at times so somewhere nice and scenic with a bit of interest for me, where better “To the ditch!”  Ok so it’s not that scenic, I may have glossed it up a bit to wangle a day’s dragonfly watching but pack a nice pic-nic and let’s make the most of a glorious summer day.  Two hours and a hundred and thirteen miles later and we were ‘darn sarf’.

Southern Migrant Hawker (Aeshna affinis) Deja-vu?

So a quick recap.  The Southern Migrant Hawker is a rare dragonfly in the UK.  It only colonised after an influx in 2010 and is mainly found around the Thames Estuary (hence the trip to Canvey) where it was found to have bred. It is medium sized, about 2.5 inches (60mm) long with (the male) striking bright blue eyes and black & blue abdomen.  As last year, the males were holding territory along the ditch, patrolling up and down looking for emerged females.  On the territory boundary a small clash would ensue if two arrived at the same time.  I was hoping if the cloud covered the sun for a while then they might settle, wrong.  They went into a feeding frenzy.  Nothing for it, I would have to resort to in-flight shots.  Now I know some of you have tried this amusing form of wild life photography but for others who have not, this was my approach.  Keep on the macro lens (they can come close plus the lens is sharper) set to manual focus, use shutter priority (I set 1/1250th sec), lowest iso you can get away with, in bright sun it was 320 and let the apperture sort itself out.  Watch your subject, they tend to have a flight pattern and will hover for a second or two, now is the time to focus and shoot.  Easy yes?  No!  A hit rate of about 1 in 30.

Southern Migrant Hawkers egg laying

We noticed a pair in tandem where they fly with the male grasping the females neck (who says romance is dead?) and they dropped into the ditch.  Tina’s sharp eyes picked them out, they were ovipositing.  Most dragons lay eggs directly into the water or submerged water plants, affinis lays in the cracks in mud with the male lowering his mate down.  Here the eggs go into diapause (dormant) waiting for the winter rains to fill the ditch or until conditions are right, maybe a year or two, then the life cycle is completed in very quick time.

Marbled White (Melanargia galathea). Fading fast but still pretty

There were lots of butterflies in the field including a few Marbled Whites which were coming to the end of their flight period.  Also hundreds of smaller dragonflies, the darters.  Mrs H was sitting in the shade and called me over to see a very friendly female Ruddy Darter (Sympetrum sanguineum).  It was sitting on a grass flower and going into the obelisk position.  This was to keep the insect cool by ensuring the minimum amount of sun was on it.

And curtsy…. Tina’s new friend

Well not a bad day out but when the herd of cattle moved into the field, complete with calves, it was time to call it a day and head for home.

Hunting Dragons

Well, right now I should not be here, in front of the laptop, tapping out another post.  I should in fact be 500 miles away and enjoying a weeks holiday in Berlin, probably sitting in a bar overlooking the River Spree with Mrs H and the Lemming enjoying a nice cool pilsner (or three).  For obvious reasons (unless you have been on another planet for the last few months) the vacation is binned 😢.

Friday dawned warm and sunny.  I still have ten days off work and frustration is starting to build, so I jumped in the car and drove the ten miles to one of my favourite sites in the Norfolk Broads.  The joy and relief washed over me like a wave as I stepped out along the footpath between reed bed and wet woodland.  The rich, dank smell of bog, ditch, mud and water plants is nicer than the finest perfume.  Greeted by the excited chatter of Sedge Warblers marking their territories among the reed.  They finish their song by fluttering up several feet and parachuting back down.  In the alder trees, Willow Warblers sing their sad descending refrain and from a bush by the dyke a majestic Marsh Harrier eyed me with suspicion before gliding off.  As quick as a flash a Hairy Hawker appeared, snatched an insect then sped away, my first dragonfly of the season.

Mini dragon! This is a freshly emerged or teneral Variable Damselfly (Coenagrion pulchellum). Over the next couple of days it will acquire it’s blue colouration

During the winter scrub clearance had been taking place.  A couple of areas looked pretty sad but the short term loss is the long term gain.  The Broads are not a natural feature.  They are the result of flooded medieval peat diggings.  Over the centuries nature moved in and some of this nature is rare and precious.  Left to it’s own devices the Broads would eventually silt up and revert to wet woodland or carr.  The reed beds (another man made feature to supply thatching material for roofs) would be lost and so too those iconic creatures that have made it home, Bitterns, Harriers, Bearded Tits, the unique Swallowtail butterfly and a whole host of others overlooked by all except the conservationists and naturalists.

A male Variable Damselfly in full colouration

It took a little while to get my eye in.  The winter had left my observation skills a bit rusty.  Eventually I picked out the weak flutterings of damselflies.  Most had yet to attain full colour and are known as teneral.  They are difficult to track at the best of time and even harder in this form and they tease and torment as they settle, allow you to get in position to get a shot, then fly off a couple of feet away.

Male Azure Damselfly (Coenagrion puella). One of our most abundant odonata but a joy to see the first of the year

I walked the path enjoying every sighting, a Kingfisher on a branch over the Dyke, Buzzard cruising above the wood, various spring butterflies and more Hairy Hawkers though it was far too sunny for any to settle.  As I turned around to retrace my steps I was stopped in my tracks.  On the path ahead sat a Swallowtail butterfly, so fresh not a mark on its wings.  This is the 8th of May, even if the weather stayed fair I would not have expected to see this stunning beauty for at least two weeks!

So beautiful and so early. Swallowtail (Papillo machon ssp britannicus). There are many Swallowtail species around the world, this one can only be found in the Norfolk Broads

A fantastic ending to my ‘escape from lockdown’.  The weather is about to change for the worse and I expect the Swallowtail will succumb but there will be others and more mornings like this one.  It can’t replace the hollow feeling of not seeing my daughter but it put a smile on my face.

Kiss of Death

Friday afternoon was quite pleasant despite a fresh northerly straight off the sea.  Thought it would be nice to have a wander around Upton Fen looking for dragonflies.  One area was particularly good, an area of cut reed on the edge of the woodland, nicely sheltered.  A newly emerged Migrant Hawker (Aeshna mixta), wings soft and shiny, struggled into flight.  Seconds later it’s brief life was snuffed out as a patrolling Brown Hawker (Aeshna grandis) took advantage of an easy meal.

Not for the squeamish but this is nature

All this happened right at our feet!  Mrs H was not overly impressed, I was ecstatic.  The image above has created quite a stir on a dragonfly facebook group, not something that is often witnessed let alone photographed.  The Brown Hawker is a big dragon it’s body 3 inches (75mm) long, the Migrant Hawker is 2.5 inches (63mm).  The brown didn’t eat all the migrant it was soon airborne catching more ‘normal’ prey.  I think it was just taking advantage of something weaker.

The Brown Hawker with a normal catch

Ol’ Blue Eyes. The Southern Migrant Hawker

Can not hide the fact I was disappointed to return from Cumbria without having seen the two dragonflies I had targeted.  I should not be greedy, after all I have seen and photographed five new species this year.  Yet I am greedy!  A plan was hatched sometime ago where John from Hertfordshire would take me to a special site to see a special dragonfly (or two!).  The site is called the ‘Canvey Ditch’ so let me set the scene.

Canvey Island is in south Essex.  It is in the Thames estuary east of London and is not noted for being a beauty spot.  On the north side of the busy A130 that leads to the town centre is a cattle field, not very wide, that is split down the middle by a very narrow ditch at the most only a few feet across.  For the most part of it’s 1.5 miles the ditch is dry or at least muddy and has an abundance of reed and true bullrush growing from it.  The banks were dotted by hawthorn bushes.

A super start to the day. A pair of mating Southern Migrant Hawkers

We met mid-morning in the leisure centre car park and the temperatures were already in the mid 80’s and the sky cloudless.  Only a few minutes after entering the field and saying hello to the resident cattle I spotted our target a Southern Migrant Hawker dragonfly (Aeshna affinis) and then a mating pair.  This beautiful dragon was a very rare visitor to our shores.  Then in 2010 there was a small influx to south east England.  In later years it was found to have bred successfully in a few areas like the Canvey ditch.

On patrol

The males held territory along the ditch, each had a stretch of about ten yards between bushes.  When they met on their boundaries a quick tussle ensued.  They were searching for newly hatched females.  The day was very hot and the dragonflies were not going to settle so I had to resort to trying for in-flight images as they hovered for a few seconds whilst on patrol.

Searching for a mate

Also in this area resides a very rare damselfly the Southern Emerald (Lestes barbarus).  Carefully I checked the rushes.  There were dozens of Scarce Emeralds, a species I saw for the first time on the pingo trail ( see post ‘A day with the damsels’).  Then by chance I spotted one without any blue, a couple of quick shots for conformation, this was a Southern Emerald.  First recorded in 2002 it is limited to only a couple of sites in the country.

A rare damsel the Southern Emerald

A very successful day.  The field also held a good number of butterflies including Marbled Whites which we do not have in Norfolk.  The only downside to the day (apart from the travelling on over congested roads) was I forgot to check my camera batteries after the drag racing, yes they went/were flat!

Up close with a Scarce Emerald

 

A Day With The Damsels(flies)

Friday promised to be a good day inland away from the cool on-shore breeze.  A bit of a dilemma what to do.  There was a hot rod drag race on an airfield in south Norfolk which sounded fun or we could go and look for dragonflies at a new site.  In the end the latter option appealed more so we headed to the Brecks and Thompson Common the start of ‘The Great Eastern Pingo Trail’.  “What on earth is a pingo?” I hear you say.  Without being too scientific a pingo was formed in the last ice age.  It is a mound in the permafrost which creates a pond.  These ponds are important habitats so there is plenty of conservation work carried out to stop them disappearing.

Male Scarce Emerald Damselfly (Lestes dryas) This individual caused a bit of debate over id on a facebook group

Thompson Common is a really beautiful place.  A walk through woodland, in the cool shade, led to open flower filled areas favoured by several species of butterfly.  The pingos varied from being in deep shady woodland looking like primeval swamp to open marshy dips to the large meadow pool with reeds, lilies and lots of open water.  It was here I searched for the Scarce Emerald (Lestes dryas) a rare damselfly in the UK.  There were hundreds of damsels around the pool, lots of Emeralds (Lestes sponsa) which was confusing, my field guide said these should appear later in July.  I found my target but the differences between the two are quite slight.

Female Emerald Damselfly (Lestes sponsa). Females of both species lack the blue pruinescence

The emerald family are also known as spreadwings.  Unlike other damselflies which hold their wings along their backs the emeralds often have theirs in this semi open position.  The pingo trail is eight miles in total.  We walked a couple before returning to the car to find a pub lunch.  After lunch and a refreshing pint at the Chequers we drove through Thompson village down a narrow and rough track to Thompson Water, a large man made lake at the western end of the trail.

Red-eyed Damselfly (Erythromma najas)

As we approached the lake the whole area was covered with countless thousands of Common Blue and Azure Damselflies which rose up like a little blue cloud as you carefully walked among them.  What I had come to see would be found on the water.  These were the Red-eyed and Small Red-eyed Damselflies.  Two species that look very alike, these sit on floating aquatic plants.  Tina was in her element as my ‘spotter’ and was pointing them out to me.  Trouble was they were several feet from the bank.  I tried my zoom lens but the results were not sharp enough so I switched to the macro and hung out as far as I could, with my camera at arms length to get close, thankfully some shots were spot on!

What are you having for lunch? This Common Blue Damsel (Enallagma cyathigerum) has captured a species of Longhorn Moth!

A great day out and four new species of odonata photographed.  Next week we are off to the Lake District for a holiday so if the weather behaves I hope to see some more, fingers crossed.