Cuerden Valley Park Dragonfly Pond - 3rd July 2011

I spent a sunny couple of hours up at the Dragonfly pond at CVP with plenty of Damselflies around as well as a few species of Dragonfly. The first notisable Dragonfly was a patrolling Emperor Dragonfly which on 2 occasions rested on some reeds at the edge of the pond. Though I attempted to get some flight shots they were poor at best I did managed a few reasonable shots at rest mainly using manual focus. Amongst the shrubs around the pond were several 4 Spotted Chasers probably one of the most photogenic of all Dragonflies and certainly one of my favourite.

ABOVE EMPEROR DRAGONFLY BELOW AND TOP 4 SPOTTED CHASER

                              

                                

Damselfly included Azure, Blue Tailed and Large Red though the latter is rather smaller than its blue cousins.

ABOVE LARGE RED DAMSELFLY BELOW BLUE_TAILED DAMSELFLY

ABOVE AZURE BLUE OVIPOSTING BELOW AZURE BLUE MALE

As I left I spotted a Brown Darter so I waited around in hope of it resting somewhere to enable a few photographs but after a brief encounter with Emperor it took a Damselfly and disapeared into the nearby trees to enjoy its lunch!

Local Patch, Warblers & Butterflies - 29th April 2011

I managed a few trips up to the local patch the first being on the way back from an early walk with the dogs at Cuerden Valley Park. On the way up I’d heard a Willow Warbler calling by the top kissing gate and more were heard on Cuerden itself as well as a Whitethroat calling near the paddock and Chiffchaff calling around the park.
On the way back through as well as the usual calling Chiffchaff there were 2 calling Whitethroat and 2 other Whitethroat in the area where 2 successfully nested last year which was a good sign and prompted a return visit with the camera.
Though I heard 2 Whitethroat calling the nesting pair were very elusive and it took a 45 minute wait sat in the long grass before I got the few shots shown.

ABOVE AND BELOW WHITETHROAT

Though the wind was up there were several species of butterfly in evidence and I came across a single Blue-tailed Damselfly which I think is a little early for them and the first dragonfly/damselfly I have seen this season though I have been checking the Dragonfly Pond at Cuerden regularly.

ABOVE AND BELOW MALE ORANGE TIP, THE FEMALE LACKS THE ORANGE TIPS

ABOVE WORN PEACOCK BELOW SMALL TORTOISESHELL 

ABOVE SMALL WHITE BELOW BLUE-TAILED DAMSELFLY

White-faced Darter (Leucorrhinia dubia), Cumbria - 11th July 2010

This is the second time within a week I've visited this remote location in Cumbria to view this rare species of Dragonfly. On my first visit I only managed to see one in flight and was unable to obtain any photographs so with the weather being reported as fine in the area we headed back today. The White-faced Darter (Leucorrhinia dubia) is afforded protection under the Wildlife and Countryside Act, 1981 due to the fact there are only currently 5 breeding sites in England, 3 of them being in Cumbria. Its habitat is lowland peatbogs where it requires deep, acidic bog pools containing rafts of Sphagnum in which to breed. The pools must be free of fish as the nymphs are more active during the day and therefore susceptable to predation. 

ABOVE AND BELOW THE WHITE FACE CAN JUST BE MADE OUT

ABOVE THE WHITE FACE CAN CLEARLY BE SEEN BELOW WARMING UP IN THE SUN

On my second visit we saw 3 males but only after about an hour of searching a large area and the sun finally making an appearance. White-face Darters only fly in sunlight so can be very difficult to locate in dull weather where they tend to roost amongst the surrounding scrub (up to 50m away from the pools). On both visits another small dragonfly was in evidence but I was unable to photograph them to make a positive identification. Emerald Damselfly (Lestes sponsa) could be seen in large numbers as well as Blue-tailed Damselfly (Ischnura elegans) and Common Blue (Enallagma cyathigerum) .

TOP FEMALE EMERALD, ABOVE MALE EMERALD BELOW BLUE-TAILED DEVOURING A CRANEFLY

The Large Heath (Coenonympha tullia) also inhabits the area in large numbers which is usual for this species though on my second visit I could only find one. The Large Heath found here is the sub-species Polydama which has less spots than the true form.

LARGE HEATH (FORM POLYDAMA)

Brockholes Nature Reserve - 26th June 2010

Not much going on bird wise at the moment so I'm trying to learn a little more about other wildlife including Butterflies, Dragonflies and Orchids (as shown in previous posts). The Butterfly and Orchid books are on order so my identification of both should improve, if only slightly in the coming months. I spent the afternoon down at Brockholes not looking for anything in perticular but hoping that something new would pop up in the afternoon sunshine. Dragonflies included 4 Empreror, 1 Black-tailed Skimmer, Blue-tailed Damselfly and Common Blue Damselfly.

ABOVE BLUE TAILED DAMSELFLY BELOW BLACK-TAILED SKIMMER

Common Spotted Orchid were in abundance across the reserve, more so than last year from what I remember. Butterflies included Large White, Small Tortoiseshell, Meadow Brown and Large Skipper.

ABOVE COMMON SPOTTED ORCHID BELOW LARGE SKIPPER

ABOVE MEADOW BROWN BELOW SMALL TORTOISESHELL

Of course there where some birds around including this juvenile Whitethroat singing over by the fishing pond.

                          

I also spent some time trying to photograph the Sand Martin over the River Ribble with this being my best effort.