More May Memories - 17th to 22nd May, 2023

Being currently a bit snowed-under, metaphorically speaking, my shortage of time means that this post does not include the visit to the 'rather special location' that I suggested in my previous blog post - that will feature in a future post. Here are some of my observations from towards the end of May.

Wednesday, 17th May                    Garden ; Kelham Bridge Nature Reserve

Jackdaw has now become an almost daily visitor to the garden - usually a single bird, but sometimes two and, on one occasion, six!

Jackdaw (Corvus monedula) - garden on 17th May, 2023

That afternoon, I visited Kelham Bridge in the hope that some interesting birds might be found and mainly hoping for Kingfisher. 

From the first hide, I noticed that there was now little activity at the Sand Martin wall, but that, as usual lately, Canada Geese were close to the hide.

Canada Goose (Branta canadensis) - Kelham Bridge NR

From the second hide, there was little activity on the water, but a Gadwall did come close enough for a photo.

Gadwall (Mareca strepera) (male) - Kelham Bridge NR

On the far side of the water, in the reeds, there was quite a lot of activity by Reed Wablers. It was a bit too far away for the 100-400 lens but I did manage some images - shown very heavily cropped below.

Reed Warbler (Acrocephalus scirpaceus) - Kelham Bridge NR

While in the second hide, I spotted a fearsome-looking insect settle on a flower-head. This was Empis tessellata - one of the 'Dance flies'. The following is an extract from the excellent NatureSpot web site:- Though it feeds on nectar it is also a predator and catches other insects using its long pointed proboscis to pierce their bodies. Males of E. tessellata present a 'gift' to the female, in the form of a dead insect, before mating takes place. Females will not mate with males who do not present a gift.

Dance fly sp. (Empis tessellata) (male) - Kelham Bridge NR

Calling in at the first hide on my way back, I found that the Canada Geese had young.

Canada Goose (Branta canadensis) - Kelham Bridge NR

Thursday, 18th May                    Garden

There seems to have been an abundance of Holly Blue butterflies this year - to put this in perspective, I would not be surprised if I have seen more Holly Blues this year than I have, in total, over the past twenty years! Barely a day has gone by in the past six weeks when we have not had one of these little gems visit the garden and I am seeing them everywhere when I am out too.

Holly Blue (Celastrina argiolus) (female) - garden on 18th May, 2023

A Large Red Damselfly visited our mini-pond. It would have been more exciting if it had been a female!

Large Red Damselfly (Pyrrhosoma nymphula) (male) - garden on 18th May, 2023

I will always take the opportunity to photograph a Bullfinch if it is not on a feeder. I'm quite pleased to have got this shot.

Bullfinch (Pyrrhula pyrrhula) (male) - garden on 18th May, 2023

Sunday, 21st May                    Saltersford Valley Country Park

Saltersford Valley is one of my favourite local sites for dragonflies, and it was approaching the time when I should be looking for Hairy Dragonfly. I saw one here for the first time at the  beginning of June, 2020, and again, at the same time, in 2021, which the County Recorder considered a relatively remarkable record on our side of the county. However, I couldn't find one here in 2022.

I'd not been long on the boardwalk at Saltersford Valley this day when I spotted a Hairy Dragonfly below me, zooming about between the Reedmace. There was no way that I was going to get a shot unless it settled. I called up a local couple who I had first met a few weeks earlier at Watermead, and who had an interest in dragonflies. They soon joined me. We had several fleeting glimpses of this species, but none of us got any photos. It was most frustrating.

Here are some items that I did manage to photograph. 

Large Red Damselfly (Pyrrhosoma nymphula) (male) - Saltersford Valley CP

Speckled Wood (Pararge aegeria) - Saltersford Valley CP

When I first spotted the below damselfly, I was quite excited and unsure of its identity. Then I noticed the red eyes and realised that it was a Red-eyed Damselfly. Although a quite common damselfly it was my first encounter with an immature male of the species.

Red-eyed Damselfly (Erythromma najas) (immature male) - Saltersford Valley CP 

Azure Damselfly (Coenagrion puella) (male) - Saltersford Valley CP

The female Blue-tailed Damselfly comes in five colour forms. This one is f. violacea which matures to f. infuscans (green phase) or the andromorph (male-like blue).

Blue-tailed Damselfly (Ischnura elegans) (female f. violacea) - Saltersford Valley CP

A Comma butterfly was on sentry duty at the start of the boardwalk.

 Comma (Polygonia c-album) - Saltersford Valley CP 

Monday, 22nd May                    Saltersford Valley Country Park

I returned to Saltersford Valley the following day, once again hoping for shots of Hairy Dragonfly. Again I failed, in spite of several sightings. I am still having difficulty finding small items in the viewfinder and then achieving focus in auto focus mode. I may yet have to resort to manual focus - something that I've not done for decades. The visit was not totally wasted, however, and any outing  into nature is a worthwhile experience.

Azure Damselfly (Coenagrion puella) (male+female) - Saltersford Valley CP

Blue-tailed Damselfly (Ischnura elegans) (teneral male) - Saltersford Valley

This hoverfly was, I believe, Myathropa florea, known as the Batman Hoverfly because of the markings on its thorax (sadly, not visible in my photo).

Batman Hoverfly (Myathropa florea) (male) - Saltersford Valley FP

Security at the entance to the walkway was still being provided by a Comma. I suspect that it was the same one.

Comma (Polygonia c-album) - Saltersford Valley CP

That brings me to the ned of this rather hurredly constructed blog post, for which I apologise.

I suspect that the visit to that rather special location, previously mentioned, will feature in my next blog post. In the meantime, please take good care of yourselves and Nature. If all goes to plan I'll find time to publish it in about a weeks time, but things are a bit up-in-the-air at the moment.

Thank you for dropping by - - - Richard