Dragons of all sorts.............

 I have had a busy busy week and have a packed weekend, so was delighted to squeeze in an hours sojourn at Duck End mid afternoon when the sun came out. It was great to see four brown hawkers, and at one point the two females were both ovipositing into the same piece of floating driftwood. This is fantastic- the larvae will hatch next sping and then the larvae will develop over 2-4 years so I look forward to seeing them circa 2014/15! These are sometimes written off as dull hawkers but in the sunlight their wings are truely golden brown and very beautiful.

 It was slightly disappointing to find a lot of the long grass around the long pond cut. I am really appreciative of the volunteers who look after this site but it has reduced the number of emerald damsels I could find by about 50%. But there were 27 of these lovely creatures to be found around the site today, including some that were making the next generation and a couple laying eggs. These will hatch next spring, but unlike the brown hawker, the adult will emerge after the larvae has grown rapidly for only 2-3 months.

 It was good to see two blue-tailed damselflies today. The books always say these are one of the commonest species but I have not seen them in great numbers. The males are territorial and the adults remain close to water so may be worth looking in this spot again on my next visit. They are also more active than any other damsel in cloudy weather so one to look for a little harder I think.

 A truely tomato red colour caught my eye and this ruddy darter enjoyed the sunshine. They are said to be less abundant then their cousin the common darter but I saw more of these today. They have very black legs and they often return to the same perch.

 And I was so pleased to see this lovely migrant hawker perching in the trees behind one of the ponds. Another one was hawking across the same pond. My first of this species this year. Its a little smaller than the southern hawker and is quite common in this part of the world and will be on the wing until late October given some decent weather.

And a quick stop off at Flitton Moor on the way home- again to find the marginal plants and grasses cut whihc seems to have done for the dragons around the pond. There were several small red-eyed damsels in the pond. They seem to like pondweed and algae which is just as well and flit about at a lwo level. What a nice way to pass a sunny hour. Love it.