Lindsay and I have been away on a 10-day holiday to Scotland. We've been back for just over a week, but I've been busy processing the thousands (literally) of photos I shot whilst we were away. I apologise to my friends out in Bloggerland and Twitterville if I've been absent for a while - I hope to catch up soon. I shall soon start working on a blog post or two which will cover our holiday but, in the meantime, here is a post which I wrote before we went away.
Heather - in this context, no, not a girl's name, nor the name of a flower emblematic of Scotland, but the name of a village close to my home and pronounced 'hee-ther'.
Heather - in this context, no, not a girl's name, nor the name of a flower emblematic of Scotland, but the name of a village close to my home and pronounced 'hee-ther'.
John was scheduled to be on duty at Rutland Water, but had to pull out for health reasons, and the forecast had me not wanting to wander far from home, so I decided on a revisit to a pond on the edge of Heather that I'd first visited seven days earlier, and which looked quite promising for dragonflies.
On the way, I called in at my Little Owl Site No.02. An owl was just emerging from inside the barn as I arrived, and ran along a beam in the remains of the roof. I thought he looked a bit guilty as he did so, and wondered what he'd been up to!
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| Little Owl (Athene noctua) (male) - my Site No.02 |
On arrival at the Heather pond I immediately spotted a mating pair of Azure Damselflies.
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| Azure Damselfly (Coenagrion puella) (mating) - near Heather |
There were good numbers of Blue-tailed Damselfly around. The second one is an immature male as witnessed by the greenish hue to the thorax. On reflection, the first one looks is if it might not be that old either!
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| Blue-tailed Damselfly (Ischnura elegans) (male) - near Heather |
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| Blue-tailed Damselfly (Ischnura elegans) (immature male) - near Heather |
There were large numbers of Common Blue Damselfly around the lake.
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| Common Blue Damselfly (Enallagma cyathigerum) (male) - near Heather |
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| Common Blue Damselfly (Enallagma cyathigerum) (teneral male) - near Heather |
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| Common Blue Damselfly (Enallagma cyathigerum) (mating) - near Heather |
As with my previous visit here, it seemed that, with every step I took, two or three teneral damselflies took flight out of the grass ahead of me and flew up at 45 degrees into the adjacent trees. The number was absolutely astounding! I did try to photograph some of these, but for me the problem was that they'd not yet taken on any colour, and I couldn't identify the species.
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| unidentified teneral damselflies - near Heather |
My suspicions are that both these images are of Common Blue Damselflies, with the first being a female and the second a male.
The real stars of the show were, however, the Four-spotted Chaser dragonflies, of which I saw four. One, in particular, was relatively obliging. Yes, I missed that damselfly exuvia until I came to process the photos!
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| Four-spotted Chaser (Libellula quadrimaculata) (male) - near Heather |
It had been a most rewarding and enjoyable hour spent by the lake, and I intend to return here to see what else turns up during the season.
Hopefully, my next post will be Pt.1 of my account of our Scottish holiday.
Hopefully, my next post will be Pt.1 of my account of our Scottish holiday.
Thank you for dropping by.
World class Chasers. I enjoyed these as I've yet to find a reliable spot for Dragonflies within walking distance.
ReplyDeleteThank you, Adrian. I also reckon I'd have to take rather a long walk from my home to find a decent dragonfly pond.
DeleteBest wishes - - Richard
So incredibly beautiful pictures. Hope you had a wonderful vacation ;-))
ReplyDeleteHi Anne. Thank you for your kind words. We had a splendid time in Scotland, although the weather was not good.
DeleteWith my best wishes - - - Richard
Hello Richard!:) Ah! Now I know why I hadn't seen a post from you for so long. I hope your holiday was everything you were hoping for, and I look forward to seeing your ever beautiful photography. Your captures of the Little Owl are lovely,....such a super little owl.:) It's also been such a pleasure to see all your superb Damselfly and Dragonfly images.
ReplyDeleteBest Regards.
Thank you, Sonjia, for your very kind words. The holiday was extremely enjoyable, but we didn't get the weather we hoped for. It was cloudy and windy for most of the time, and wet for rather a lot of the time too.
DeleteWith my best wishes - - - Richard
Cracking set of Odo photos Richard. I would agree that they are both Common Blue Damselflies, probably males as I cannot see a spine on any which would show on a female although the angle might not show this. A lovely post to read.
ReplyDeleteThank you, Marc, for your kind words and your advice - much appreciated.
DeleteI visited this place again last week and it was totally different - so many dragonflies (mainly Emperors) in skirmishes that it put me in mind of The Battle of Britain!
Best wishes - - - Richard
Ha ha the Little Owl does have a guilty look about him.
ReplyDeleteLove your macros, and I so often see something new in a photo that I did not see before I took it. Interesting what pops up sometimes.
Hope you had a great time, I loved Scotland, all but the midges which seemed to follow me everywhere when I cycled the End to End. Diane
Hi Diane. I'm forever finding things in my photos that I didn't notice at the time of taking them. I guess it's because I'm too much focussed (please excuse the pun) on the main subject, and getting the settings right, and so miss the ancilliaries.
DeleteScotland was wonderful again, in spite of the weather. I'm extremely impressed and totally in awe of you cycling the End to End.
Thank you for your much-appreciated kind words. With my best wishes - - - Richard
I was in awe of the friend I cycled with - he only has one leg!!! Cheers Diane
DeleteI saw a one-legged cyclist recently, close to my home. I thought then he was doing extremely well, but the End to End - WOW!!!
DeleteI put a tongue-in-cheek note to your comment on David's blog about Scrabble.
Best wishes - - Richard
Hi Richard I told you I was put onto a good place to visit by Arthur, however I have never had the numbers you have seen, will try for another visit soon. All the best and see you soon. John
ReplyDeleteSuch a pity that Arthur lost the plot, John. He had more local wildlife knowledge than anyone I know. Weather forecast for tomorrow is cool and cloudy, but not too much wind and maybe the odd shower - fingers are well and truly crossed! I hope that you are still over the worst of your ills - - Richard
DeleteWonderful post Richard.
ReplyDeleteJohn.
Thank you, John. Sometimes a quick trip out is all it needs to keep the spirits alive.
DeleteBest wishes to you both - - - Richard
I am sure you were a happy man, Richard - Little Owls and dragonflies, two of your most favourite things. Congratulations on fine pictures of a great day. Just goes to prove that even a quick trip or spur of the moment decision can bring success. Love to you both.
ReplyDeleteDavid and Miriam
It's always good to have the odd local patch to pop down to when the opportunity arises, David. This one is nice and convenient for me - and not many people get there to disturb things.
DeleteWith love to you both - - Richard
Stunning images with really good light on them. I hope you're feeling better Richard
ReplyDeleteThanks, Doug. I'm fine thank you - it's pal John who's been having a rough time of it lately.
DeleteMy best wishes to you - - Richard
Hello
ReplyDeleteFirst-class shots, superbly photographed dragonflies are something else like owls ... but the owls like me the best ... :-))
Greetings Frank
Thank you for your kind words, Frank
DeleteWith my best wishes - - - Richard
Beautiful images of the best of nature, thanks Richard.
ReplyDeleteThank you, Bob. With my very best wishes - - Richard
DeleteHello Richard!
ReplyDeleteA great post indeed, 'Hee-ther' pond seems to be a wonderful place to take dragonfly pics, especially for someone who has ' thing' with water!! ;-)
I love your comment about the owl looking somewhat guilty.... The only bird I knew with this kind of feeling was our Sulphur crested Cockatoo when we caught him plucking his feathers! He would look at us with the innocent expression: "who? meeee???
Yes, the islands of the Indian ocean are fabulous, quite exotic and different from what we're used to in Europe, especially Mauritius and Madagascar.
All the best Richard, share hugs with Lindsay :)
Thank you, Noushka. I'm looking forward to more posts from you on your Indian Ocean visit.
DeleteWith my very best wishes - - - Richard
Delightful that you went to Scotland for a moment. A beautiful country and lots to see. I am very curious about your pictures.
ReplyDeleteThe little stone owl is great to see and also beautifully photographed. The many juffers and the dragonfly also have a great time to photograph you. Beautiful all those colors.
I enjoyed this blog.
Very nice weekend.
Greetings, Helma
Thank you, Helma, for your kind words. There should be some pictures from Scotland in my next post which will be in a day or two. Your 'juffers' had me confused for a while, but I see it is a Dutch word for damselflies!
DeleteWith my best wishes - - - Richard
Sorry, the word juffers brought you a little bit.
DeleteJuffers is Dutch for this kind and it must indeed damselflies
Dear Helma. I wish my Dutch was even one hundredth as good as your English. It is my pleasure to work out what was intended when someone writes something that I don't immediately understand. I am extremely grateful that you are kind enough to write your comments in English.
DeleteThank you. With my very best wishes - - - Richard