4 spot conundrums............

 In my wanderings this year I have a feeling that I have seen less of these guys- the 4 spotted chaser than four years ago when I first started dragonflying. That in my perception was a good year for 4 spots but this year and last I seem to be seeing less of them. They are about but just not so many. They remain as larvae for 1-3 years so it may not be what has happened this year as much as what happened the last 1-3 years. An interesting question and has made me think I need to look back through my notes and see if I can find any clues?

 There also seem to be less butterflies this year- perhaps due to the heavy and prolongued rainfall- but I have seen a lot of bees - so what is good for one species may not be good for another. Bees are creatures I would like to learn some more about and are on my list of areas to read up on.

Had a great Sunday with the Wildlife Trust learning about longhorn and soldier beetles- and it was a great basis to help me understand more about the types of beetles and how to identify them. So looking at flowers and umbellifers this time of year is a good place to find them - now the hard task of identifying them. So lots to look out for - next week the Norfolk Hawker if I am lucky- but its time now for the Hawkers to be on the wing and who knows just what I may find!

Dragons get the munchies

Fabulous walk along the River Ouse at Roxton today. Had some good views of the red-eyed damselfly - they are easy to spot as they just love sitting on lilly pads. This is the Red-eyed- but I have not yet seen this year the small red-eyed- one to plan a visit to find on another sunny day.

 It was a day when the the dragons had got the munchies and here is a photo of the beautiful male banded demoiselle devouring a mayfly. Did not see any mayfly on the wing so this was a lucky catch for this creature - you may be able to make out the long tails of the mayfly which was still alive - David tried to release it but the demoiselle just flew off with it's catch.

 My first viewing this year of a Hairy Dragonfly female - and this one too was dining. She flew by me with a demoiselle in her basket claws and then perched to have her lunch. She was a very attractive dragon and quite different to the male counterpart. The hairs on her abdomen which give her the name are visible.

And a nice surprise- peeping over a leaf as I walked along was this scarce chase- probably towards the end of the season for them now so a nice last take for this year. There have been good numbers at Roxton so lets hope they have come to stay and will migrate down the river.  Altogether a good afternoon - with black tailed skimmers aplenty, 4 spotted chasers, common blue, azure and blue tailed damsels plus a few butterflies and lots of bumblebees.

Who is looking at who?

 A lovely sunny afternoon on Sunday was good for a visit to a couple of dragonfly sites, including Duck End. The marshy pond appears to be a real nursery this year for large red and azure damselflies and they arise in small clouds from the plants alongside the pond when diturbed by my footfall. The meadow behind this is abalze with wildflowers in particula the semi-parasitic yellow rattle, a member of the figwort family. The inflated capsules do indeed rattle when the seed is ripe inside them. But this was a nice chance to photograph a female large red damselfly- one of the red form typica.

 And it was encouraging to see several damsels in the wheel- a hopeful sign for azures again next year. There were also couples flying together and a few ovipositing the fertilised eggs onto vegetation at or just below the surface. And thus the circle of life starts again - after a few weeks green coloured larvae will hatch from the eggs and live in the pond r. They will feed greedily on small invertebrates until they emerge next spring as the beautiful azure- which seems to hold itself so ably as it flies.

 And I couldn't resist this shot - question- who is looking at who?

A day for the girls

 Could not resist a smile as I watched this proud Canada goose with its brood. There were two families on the bank of the pond, one couple had three quite mature goslings, but this couple had 13 - they must have been very careful and attentive parents to keep so many of the babes and they are now a good size.

 But the purpose of my stroll at Wetlands was dragonflies on a breezy and dull morning and I was incredibly lucky with what I found. There were hundreds of common damselflies including tenerals and some in tandem. I had always pondered the issue of the bluetailed damsel- books say it often the most common damsel to be found and I have previously only seen them in small numbers but today they were everywhere. The Small meadow was full of them and there amongst the grasses and wildflowers was this beautiful female black tailed skimmer. She was happy to pose for a photo and I am pleased with the outcome.

But it was a day for the girls today and my best find was this hairy dragonfly laying her eggs amongst the reedmace in one of the small ponds in The Wetlands. Hairy dragonflies are another species I have seen few of so this was thrilling, and I was rewarded with a good view of a male a little later on the pond outside the visitor centre as I headed to meet a friend for lunch.

The scarce chaser - a golden dragon

 On such a lovely morning I headed for a walk along the River Ouse at Roxton. As I left the car and walked along the lane I was thrilled to see so many banded demoiselles. I normally count drgaons carefully but as more and more danced in the air I quickly hit 50 and on the river bank itself the air was just full of these jewelled creatures. The sun really made them shimmer and the deep blue was brilliant and the green irridescent. After 200 I decided it was not a day for actually counting. I was pleased to see a pair in the wheel and so next years generation is 

 about to be as well.  

After a few minutes in the lane I had seen three golden scarce chasers, and the day was just better and better. Along the way I saw azure, common blue and my first large red eyed damsels for this year. And the real highpoint was just as I was on my way back from the lock and a glimpse of gold in the grass and nettlebeds. A closer look revealed a beautiful scarce chaser - had clearly emerged this morning and it was drying its wings and waiting for its maiden flight. A second look and I found the exuvaie close by and was able to retrieve it after a photo showing the chaser and the case. How fantastic- no doubt that this lovely dragonfly had emerged on this spot and so they are indeed breeding on this stretch of the river. And I was privileged to watch it fly into the air and its new life.There were more to see on my way back. And all the way along the path I listened to the call of the cuckoo. That always makes me so happy and today was no exception. So I headed home happily to get on with my day.

The Mother of the Moon

 Look carefully at the first photo - is it just a tree? But a closer look will reveal a very strange bird - the Great Potoo. It's related to the Nightjar family and during the day time sits upright on a branch- and I wonder how many people pass by without knowing its there. we were lucky to have a very keen eyed guide who was looking out for this bird and finally found it to show us- assuring us it is the great rather than common form. These birds are native to central and some parts of the Amazon. It would have been fantastic to hear it- apparently at night they make the most amazing throaty sound as they hunt for insects and bats. 

Its such a strange bird that in  the Amazon region its sometimes called the Phantom Bird or Mother of the Moon as it is ost often seen flying on moonlit nights. An early French writer said of this mystical bird:

 “Of all the birds of the earth, there is one that the savages would not kill or even injure for nothing in the world. They say […] that song of the bird reminds loved ones who are gone. This bird was a messenger from the dead, bringing good luck to the friends who were still living and gambling to their enemies “. (Andrew Thevet 16th Century)


It's described as uncommon in the bird books so I guess we were lucky to see it - it was a good day as on the same stretch of the Rio Negro we saw the sun grebe and the gray necked rail.  And yesterday closer to home at Cardington Lock I saw my first azure damselflies and a lone banded demoiselle, plus some pretty moths in the trap last evening. Wildlife at home and over there - fab.

Costa Rica - the whole palette of colours

 How to describe Costa Rica? Well nothing better than the colours of this Scarlet Macaw- a riot of colour and the most wonderful cacophony of sounds. They are the things I will never forget. Its a place that is so different to home and everywhere there was something new to wonder at. Our drive stopped the minibus for us to stare at a tree full of these macaws, just a riot of colour and the raark-raark calls. Only found in some areas of the country now we saw many of these living paint palets in the Tarcoles region.

 And dragonflies were not to be forgotten. Have not found a book on them yet- but have a collection of photos including this beautiful golden dragon seen in a garden area of a small cafe not far from the border with Nicaragua.

 At the Hotel Tilajari near Muelle every meal was a treat and a time to have the camera with you - in particular breakfast with so many birds enjoying the fruit put out for them. One of my favourites was this red legged honeycreeper - such bold blues and with its long beak for feeding. Its part of a large family - one that I saw many of- the Tanagers.

 And it was not only the birds that were so vibrant but the plants and flowers. So many different forms and the crimson red of this passionflower was just so vivid. There were ferns, mangroves, fruits, crops, trees so tall they towered over the rainforest, plants with strnage leaves and fruits and so many different shades of bright reds, oranges, yellows and pinks.

 Some of the animals just made me fall in love with them, such as this baby two toed sloth with its mother resting high in the canopy above the jungle floor. We were lucky enough to see three kinds of monkeys and two kinds of sloth, including a female that wlaked by as we had dinner one night- quite a rare treat as they are often sloth by character as well as by name, but are very good mums to their young.

But it was birds we saw so many of - birds from so many different familes from the unusual Great Potoo, ducks, herons, kingfishers, woodpeckers, hummingbirds, tanagers, fly catchers, hawks, vultures and this fairly unusual sun grebe on an early morning sail along the Rio Negro. 

So a fabulous holiday, lots of photos to sort out and I am sure more to appear in this blog. But heres hoping to wildlife close to home too- especially dragons.............