A Return to Chartley Moss - on Monday 2nd July, 2018

I'd had the pleasure of a visit to Chartley Moss in Staffordshire on 20th May which was jointly organised by Natural England (who manage the site) and the British Dragonfly Society. On this occasion, the number of persons on the visit was rather large, and made photography a little difficult for much of the time. 

Chartley Moss is not open to the public, but I subsequently succeeded in getting issued with a permit to visit on an occasional basis - subject to some some very strict conditions which were wholly reasonable, given the sensitive nature of the habitat, and the potentially dangerous nature of the site.

I notified NE of my intended visit and that my friend, Doc Martin, would be accompanying me (readily agreed to by NE for safety reasons), and all was set for Monday 2nd July.

We arrived at the nominated parking place and set off to the site. There was plenty of hot sunshine available, but a stiff breeze was going to hamper our photographic efforts.

On arrival, we could immediately see that there were less dragonflies around than on my previous visit. There were still White-faced Darters present, but not in such high numbers, and many of them were in rather poor condition. Four-spotted Chasers were also down in numbers, and similarly battered from numerous skirmishes. Other dragonflies seen included a couple of Emperors, a couple of Brown Hawkers and a brief appearance of a probable Southern Hawker. Damselflies - also in short supply - included Common Blue, Azure, and Large Red.

White-faced Darters, if they do settle, tend to have a habit of doing so on the ground, making it relatively difficult to get a shot with an uncluttered background, but less prone to them being blown out of focus or frame in the breeze. 

White-faced Darter (Leucorrhinia dubia) (male) - Chartley Moss

Female White-faced Darters can be quite difficult to find unless freshly emerged, mating, or ovipositing, as they tend to roost away from water. This one (a poor record shot, I'm afraid), seemed to be preparing to oviposit.

White-faced Darter (Leucorrhinia dubia) (female) - Chartley Moss

Sadly, I did not find any exuviae, but I did see plenty of evidence of these dragonflies working towards future generations.

White-faced Darter (Leucorrhinia dubia) (male + female 'in cop') - Chartley Moss

Martin seemed to act as a magnet for this species. Soon after we arrived one landed on his knee, and later on I took a shot of him across the water, trying to photograph one that had landed on his finger!

Doc Martin, WFD magnet! - Chartley Moss

Here are some of the damselflies seen.

Azure Damselfly (Coenagrion puella) (male) - Chartley Moss

Common Blue Damselfly (Enallagma cyathigerum) (male) - Chartley Moss

Large Red Damselfly (Pyrrhosoma nymphula) (male) - Chartley Moss

There seemed to be a good number of Silver Y moths on the Moss. This is a migratory, but common, species.

Silver Y (Autographa gamma) - Chartley Moss

We'd been there a while, and agreed that it was time to be setting back after a couple of hours or more in the hot sun. The walk back turned out to be quite rewarding, however, as after we left the open area, I spotted a Large Red Damselfly on the end of a stick, and couldn't resist trying for a shot that I've yet to perfect. I still haven't perfected it!

Large Red Damselfly (Pyrrhosoma nymphula) (male) - Chartley Moss

I left Martin trying for the perfect shot with this specimen whilst I turned my attention to another on the other side of the path.

Large Red Damselfly (Pyrrhosoma nymphula) (male) - Chartley Moss

To my delight, whilst Martin was preoccupied with the LRD, a female White-faced Darter appeared and settled on a nearby log. It wasn't the best of settings but it did allow some unobstructed shots of a female.

White-faced Darter (Leucorrhinia dubia) (female) - Chartley Moss

Suddenly she was usurped by a male which stayed briefly before giving chase to the female.

White-faced Darter (Leucorrhinia dubia) (male) - Chartley Moss

The next thing I knew was that the male had coupled up with the female and brought her back to a point close by my position.

White-faced Darter (Leucorrhinia dubia) (male + female 'in cop') - Chartley Moss

They eventually flew together to a point up relatively high on a tree trunk. It was time to depart the area!

It had been an enjoyable morning in good company. We sat and ate our picnic lunches in the car before heading homeward as Lindsay was not too well at home and I felt the need to get back and see that she was OK. As a measure of how hot it had been, on one section of road on the return journey large areas of tarmac surface had been ripped up as they adhered to vehicle tyres.

My next post will probably feature more dragons. Thank you for dropping by.