It's been a busy time for me so far this summer, and continues to be so, and it has only just dawned on me why there's so much to do outside the house. It's catching up with all the jobs I should have done last summer when I was not fit and well enough to do them! Anyway, I'm slowly getting there now, and I am managing to take time out to do some searching for wildlife. The following is an account of my excursions in the two-week period noted in the title to this post.
Friday, 3rd July - Saltersford Valley
Lindsay fancied a bit of a walk and asked if I would show her the parts of the Saltersford Valley reserve that I'd visited, but she hadn't found on her previous visit. It was a warm, but fairly dull and breezy morning, and I nearly didn't take my camera. However, I packed the body with the Sigma 50-500 attached, and off we set.
We'd walked round the two main loops without seing anything of interest and were almost at the exit path at a point that there's a stockaded area with the logs conveniently set at backside height, and found that a significant number of Blue-tailed Damselflies had materialised since we passed on the outward.
Lindsay spent some time sitting on the stockade while I took some photos. The first one, below, is of an immature male, as can be seen by the greenish thorax.
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| Blue-tailed Damselfly (Ischnura elegans) (immature male) - Saltersford Valley on 03/07/2020 |
This next one is a mature male, having a blue thorax.
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| Blue-tailed Damselfly (Ischnura elegans) (male) - Saltersford Valley on 03/07/2020 |
The female Blue-tailed Damselfly comes in five colour forms. They start out as either f. rufescens with a reddish thorax, which matures into the yellowish brown f. rufescens-obsoleta, or they can start as f. violacea with a violet coloured thorax, which matures either into the andromorph with a male blue pattern, or into the greenish f. infuscans.
I was undecided whether this next one was a male or an andromorph female and, for a while, favoured it to be a female. However, I changed my mind when I read that females have brownish-red eyes - but then I saw that the andromorph females have male-type blue eyes too. Sadly, I do not have a shot of this next one which clearly shows the tail end of the abdomen from directly above, or from the side so I am still undecided, but thinking probably male as the end of the abdomen is quite slim.
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| Blue-tailed Damselfly (Ischnura elegans) - Saltersford Valley on 03/07/2020 |
Here's a pair with what I believe to be an immature andromorph female - note the green eyes.
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| Blue-tailed Damselfly (Ischnura elegans) (male + immature andromorph female) - Saltersford Valley on 03/07/2020 |
I did also find a pair with a f. rufescens female. This is a colour form that I have not seen many times before.
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| Blue-tailed Damselfly (Ischnura elegans) (male + f. rufescens female) - Saltersford Valley on 03/07/2020 |
I also found a f. rufescens female uncoupled!
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| Blue-tailed Damselfly (Ischnura elegans) (f. rufescens female) - Saltersford Valley on 03/07/2020 |
I thought this fly looked interesting. I subsequently found out that it's a species of snipe fly - a carnivorous predator of small creatures.
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| snipe fly (Chrysopilus cristatus) - Saltersford Valley on 03/07/2020 |
It hadn't been the most productive of visits, but it was made pleasant by being able to have a wander with Lindsay for the first time in a few months!
Monday, 6th July - Ashby Bypass
It was 12th July last year when a friend invited me to join him one evening so he could show me some orchids beside the Ashby Bypass. On this occasion, we found a location where there were Marbled White butterflies - a species that, up until then, I'd been travelling 50 miles (80 km) to see. I had to cut the visit a little short that evening as I was feeling a little 'under the weather' and by the next morning I was in hospital with pneumonia and pleurisy, and there I stayed for two weeks.
As it was now a similar time of year, and I had a couple of hours to spare, it was time for a return visit, primarily to try and find the Marbled Whites.
Having arrived at the location, I soon spotted a distant Marbled White which promptly flew up into a far tree when I was about 10 metres away. I watched it for a while, before it flew up and away over the top of the tree. I continued my search, finding a few other items to photograph as I did so.
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| Ringlet (Aphantopus hyperantus) - near Ashby Bypass on 06/07/2020 |
I don't know why, but I never cease to be thrilled by the sight of the flowers of Fox and Cubs. I don't find it very often but, whenever I do, I feel compelled to photograph it.
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| Fox and Cubs (Aphantopus hyperantus) - near Ashby Bypass on 06/07/2020 |
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| Small Skipper (Thymelicus sylvestris) (female) - near Ashby Bypass on 06/07/2020 |
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| Comma (Polygonia c-album) - near Ashby Bypass on 06/07/2020 |
I walked around the area for about an hour and had almost returned to my start-point when I spotted another Marbled White which, before I had a chance to even approach it, flew over the hedge towards the bypass. I hung around for a little longer before deciding it was time to head home. Having crossed the stile to exit the area, I immediately spotted a nearby Marbled White - and another - and another! In all, I saw four in a short space of time and they were settling and cooperative. They were all males.
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| Marbled White (Melanargia galathea) (male) - near Ashby Bypass on 06/07/2020 |
Nearer to the road were several orchids. Most were Common Spotted Orchid, but this one didn't have spotted leaves and the flower looked a little different. I can't make my mind up what it is from my orchid book so would welcome any suggestions.
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| Orchid sp. - near Ashby Bypass on 06/07/2020 |
As I walked along beside the bypass to get back to my car, I noticed that there were many grasshoppers. This one seemed quite colourful by British standards.
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| Common Green Grasshopper (Omocestus viridulus) - Ashby Bypass on 06/07/2020 |
Thursday, 9th July - Sence Valley Forest Park
I had an invitation from the local Community Ranger for Forestry England to ask if I was interested in helping them with an Odonata survey on a series of ponds that they had created in the autumn of 2019. These were on a large newly created habitat and in an area not open to the public. We arranged to meet on this morning which, unfortunately turned out to be a dull breezy day. We met up in the rain and took a walk to the ponds, being careful to social-distance at the old 2-metre standard rather than the current 1-metre (which I'm not comfortable with).
The work that they have done on the site, with tree planting, soon to be followed by an extensive wildflower planting project, was extremely impressive, with several thousand trees already having been planted with the help of the local community, and a few thousand more to come.
The ponds looked promising although a little devoid of suitable vegetation at present. However, I was told that this would be rectified.
We didn't see any signs of Odonata presence, which was not surprising, considering the foul weather, and I'd not even bothered to take my camera there because of this. I did, however, return on 17th July, and intend to be reporting on my visit in a future post.
However, I do stress that these ponds are not open to the public.
Saturday, 11th July - Ashby Canal near Snarestone, and Heather Lake
It was a fine warm day with sunny spells, although a bit breezy. If asked what my favourite damselfly was, I'd have little hesitation in nominating White-legged Damselfly. It's not the rarest of damselflies, although far from common in the British Midlands, but it is a little beauty, and I have a location about ten minutes by car from my home.
I'd missed out on my encounters with this species last year for reasons already mentioned and so I was keen to re-aquaint myself with these damselflies. I was slightly nervous as the towpath beside the canal is quite narrow and social distancing could be a challenge if I encountered other people. In the event, it was not a problem as it was easy to see people coming well in advance, and there were places that I could duck into and turn my back to them as they passed - it must have looked very unsociable, but I felt it to be necessary.
On arrival, my first impression was how high and dense the canalside vegetation had grown compared to previous years. This was, I suspect, due to lack of 'maintenance' and canal traffic because of Covid-19 lockdown. This was encouraging, as White-legged Damselfly like undisturbed waterside vegetation, but it was going to make it difficult for me to find them as the chances were, so I thought, that they'd be perched up on some hidden stems. There was another factor that came into play, however, and that was that it was very breezy - far more so than I would normally accept for dragon hunting.
I didn't have to go far before I found my first specimen, not on tall stems by the water as I have always seen them before, but almost at ground level on a clover flower at the landward side of the towpath.
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| White-legged Damselfly (Platycnemis pennipes) (male) - Ashby Canal near Snarestone on 11/07/2020 |
This one moved to a different spot and obliged once more. I love the shade of blue of this species and the exquisite markings on the side of the thorax and on top of the abdomen, all beautifully set off by the darker blue eyes.
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| White-legged Damselfly (Platycnemis pennipes) (male) - Ashby Canal near Snarestone on 11/07/2020 |
As I headed northwards along the towpath a female Southern Hawker zoomed past on the far side of the landward hedge and was not located again.
I reached the usual end of my travels and turned back, slightly disappointed that I'd only seen one White-legged damselfly and not a single Banded Demoiselle as this is usually found in good numbers on this section of canal, but this may have been due to the high vegetation and the stiff breeze. Things improved saignificantly, however, on the return journey.
Three more male White-legged Damselflies were located on the return run, all low down on the landward side of the towpath.
I was also delighted to find two female White-legged Damselflies, similarly low down on the landward side. These are also beautifully marked, but with a different pattern on top of the abdomen.
During my travels, I found a mating pair of Blue-tailed Damselfly.
I also photographed a few butterflies.
The 'icing on the cake', however, came just as I was about to leave the canal side and found a female Banded Demoiselle. Imagine the face in the last shot being the last thing you saw before being devoured for lunch!
It had been a delightful session, catching up with my favourite damselflies, and I came away a happy man!
I needed to fill my car up - possibly the last time ever I put petrol in a car! - and my route to a contactless petrol station would take me past the entrance to Heather Lake, so I thought I should take a look to see what the current situation was.
As I entered the site, I did my usual thing of checking the camera settings by taking a shot of something representative of the type of exposure I was expecting.
To cut a long story short, the visit was a little disappointing. I have mentioned in previous posts that, this year, Black-tailed Skimmers have changed their habits and stated perching on stems, etc. off the ground. Not so on this day, probably because it was somewhat windy. The few that I saw were all on the ground, and also very alert. I'd only brought the Sigma 150 macro lens with me and so photography was not easy - you can see the problem in the next two images..
What was remarkable was the number of Common Blue Damselfly. There must have been well-over a thousand of them round the lake. If this sounds like an exaggeration, the lake is approximately 450 metres in circumference, and it is probably well-reeded at the water's edge for about 90% of that circumference - look at the second image, below!
This ends my report of my outings for the two weeks. The next outing reports will probably be in a couple of weeks time, but with a garden sightings report in the interim. In the meantime, I still haven't started on that garden path, I've got a garage to clear prior to a charge-point installation, a new (electric) car to collect, and someone's 'major' birthday to celebrate!
Thank you for dropping by. Take great care and stay safe - - Richard
I reached the usual end of my travels and turned back, slightly disappointed that I'd only seen one White-legged damselfly and not a single Banded Demoiselle as this is usually found in good numbers on this section of canal, but this may have been due to the high vegetation and the stiff breeze. Things improved saignificantly, however, on the return journey.
Three more male White-legged Damselflies were located on the return run, all low down on the landward side of the towpath.
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| White-legged Damselfly (Platycnemis pennipes) (male) - Ashby Canal near Snarestone on 11/07/2020 |
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| White-legged Damselfly (Platycnemis pennipes) (female) - Ashby Canal near Snarestone on 11/07/2020 |
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| Blue-tailed Damselfly (Ischnura elegans) (male + f. infuscans female) - Ashby Canal near Snarestone on 11/07/2020 |
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| Meadow Brown (Maniola jurtina) - Ashby Canal near Snarestone on 11/07/2020 |
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| Small Tortoiseshell (Aglais urticae) - Ashby Canal near Snarestone on 11/07/2020 |
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| Gatekeeper (Pyronia tithonus) - Ashby Canal near Snarestone on 11/07/2020 |
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| Banded Demoiselle (Calopteryx splendens) - Ashby Canal near Snarestone on 11/07/2020 |
I needed to fill my car up - possibly the last time ever I put petrol in a car! - and my route to a contactless petrol station would take me past the entrance to Heather Lake, so I thought I should take a look to see what the current situation was.
As I entered the site, I did my usual thing of checking the camera settings by taking a shot of something representative of the type of exposure I was expecting.
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| Small Skipper (Thymelicus sylvestris) (female) - near Heather Lake on 11/07/2020 |
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| Black-tailed Skimmer (Orthetrum cancellatum) (male) - Heather Lake on 11/07/2020 |
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| Black-tailed Skimmer (Orthetrum cancellatum) (female) - Heather Lake on 11/07/2020 |
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| Common Blue Damselfly (Enallagma cyathigerum) (male) - Heather Lake on 11/07/2020 |
Thank you for dropping by. Take great care and stay safe - - Richard
Some coincidences here Richard. We had Blue tails yesterday, one ID was a mature female which I didn't realise came in five colour forms. You also feature the Common Green Grasshopper which I saw recently, and your orchid sp is the same/similar as mine seen recently, I will send you an image Richard. Also your picture of a fraction of the 1,000+ Common Blue's around Heather Lake is something I've not seen before.
ReplyDeleteAll very interesting Richard.
Stay Safe.
Pete.
Hi Pete. Coincidences indeed! If I voice my suspicions on that orchid ID I'm hoping someone will put me right if I get it wrong - I'm going for Fragrant Orchid! In fact, when I saw it I attempted to get near enough to have a sniff, but I'm not as supple as I used to be and it was in an awkward position, so I failed! Take good care - - - Richard
DeleteGood morning Richard: It is great that the forestry authorities made use of your expertise with dragons and damsels in inventorying their property. I am interested when I hear of the reforestation programme, and wonder if you know the mix of trees that were planted and whether any attempt was made to replicate ancient woodlands of the area. It used to be that replanting here involved just about anything the local nursery had in inventory, and Ontario sites were planted with Norway Maples, Scotch Pine and the like. Thankfully, a good deal more thought goes into it these days and some areas planted several years ago are really starting to show promise.
ReplyDeleteGreetings, David! I didn't take note of what trees had been planted, but these folk are pretty environmentally aware. I know that some were Oak from their distinctive leaves. I would be interested to know myself, so will try and get an answer to your question when my contact returns from leave. Sadly, many from the original planting here have died, due to a long period of drought coinciding with the onset of the Covid-19 disaster, which prevented the large effort that would have been needed to water the young trees.
DeleteHi Richard! You have been in a hurry! In the last picture, it’s fun to look like when there are a lot of dragonflies in one place:-)
ReplyDeleteThis small lake usually has large numbers of damselfly during the season, Anne, but sadly not of any particularly interesting species. I go there mainly to see the dragonflies.
DeleteLovely White legged Damselfly shots Richard. A damselfly I don't have in my neck of the woods so nice to be able to see some. Take care.
ReplyDeleteI'm quite surprised to hear that you don't have White-legged Damselfly in your area, Marc. If ever you're up this way at the right time, I'd be delighted to take you to a couple of places that have never let me down with this species.
DeleteStay safe - - - Richard
These were all wonderful outing with many wonderful sightings Richard and of course your photography is superb. It is now great that you are allowed in to somewhere the general public are not permitted. Stay safe.
ReplyDeleteAlthough the numbers of infections of this terrible virus are coming down at the moment, Margaret, I don't get any less concerned about the safety of being out in the field, as it seems the general public are getting less and less cautious by the day. It was, therefore, good to find a place where I could concentrate on my observations without worrying who might be coming up behind me at an unsafe distance.
DeleteThank you for your kind words. Take great care - - - Richard
Hi Richard, beautiful photos of the insects. Greetings Caroline
ReplyDeleteThank you, Caroline - take care and stay safe - - - Richard
DeleteHello Richard, this is some blog and so manny damselflies and butterflies it is amazing but let me say that the last photo with the invasion of the common blue Damselflies made me gasp for air. So manny together I have never seen. I do not know if it is the same in England but I have a feeling that this season in the Netherlands and Belgium there are not that much butterflies, damselflies and dragonflies around.
ReplyDeleteAnd for all the work that still is waiting to be done, take ik slow and don't overdue it. Is it Lindsays birthday that is comming soon, or yours? Annyway hope it will be a happy day!!!!
Regards,
Roos
Glad you and Linds
It has been a strange year for wildlife in England, Roos. Some species seem to be doing extremely well, and other species seem to be doing very badly. This is at a species level, not at a family level. For example, with dragonflies, I have seen as Black-tailed Skimmers this year as I have seen in all the previous years put together, but much fewer Emperors!
DeleteI shall try and take your advice with the work to be done. Yes it was Lindsay's birthday on Tuesday. It wasn't mine - I think that you have forgotten that once we discovered that we were almost twins! ;-}
With my very best wishes - stay safe and well - - - Richard
Hi Richard I would have said Dactylorhiza majalis Broad-leaved marsh orchid but what do I know?? Fragrant Orchid looks much the same!
ReplyDeleteYou amaze me how you can ID the damsels I still find them very difficult!! Love all the butterflies and glad you found the Marbled White, we seem to have many of them this year and I am not sure I have seen them before!
Take care and keep well. We are still keeping very much to ourselves other than a couple of BBQ's with friends outside and keeping our distance. Best wishes to you both Diane
My orchid specialist hasn't come back to me with an ID on that orchid, Diane. Marsh Orchid seems a little unlikely as it was on a well-drained steep slope with no water nearby at all! Hybridisation can cause ID problems too, I believe!
DeleteThe damselfly ID is based on a number of key factors to look at. With the blue ones it tends to start with noting the shape of marking on the top of segment 2 of the abdomen of the males. It then gets more complex with other factors. In all cases, however, it helps to have a series of clear photos.
We're still being somewhat more careful that the average Brit, it seems. Tomorrow, however, we have to throw ourselves into the melting pot as we have two cars to take to the dealership in exchange for a new all-electric car. This will be our first time of relatively close contact with people since 16th March!
Best wishes to you and Nigel - - - Richard
Hello Richard
ReplyDeleteCorona loosely and that's how you go about wildlife ... and as I was able to see with astonishment, it was fully worth it, the backgrounds really fit the motifs very well
Regards Frank
Thank you for your kind words, Frank. It is great to be able to visit these places, but I am having to be very careful as most people seem to have forgotten that the advice is still to keep 2 metres apart where possible
DeleteTake great care and stay safe - - - Richard
Beautiful images, the Blue-tailed Damselfly, Orchid, Gatekeeper are just a few, they are superb Richard.
ReplyDeleteThank you, Bob. So sorry for the late reply - been rather busy. Best wishes - stay safe - - - Richard
DeleteDazzling display of damsels and flowers, Richard!
ReplyDeleteOur local odonata are, of course, similar in many ways but still different. I'm fascinated by the variations in females of some species, such as the Blue-tailed Damselfly. What a great opportunity to document a newly-developed area for odonata!
Please pass along our best birthday wishes to "someone".
Although there are similarities in a number of your odonata, Wally, and some of them are even in the same genus as as some of ours, you do seem to have more with bizarre features than we do!
DeleteMy next blog post, possibly being published tomorrow, will feature a visit to that locality.
"Someone" says thank you very much for the birthday wishes!
Stay safe - - - Richard