After a Saturday spent doing what I was going to be doing on Friday [after I eventually woke up, that is..] today was a wander up on't Moor with the folks. We toddled around the tors on the north side of Tavy Cleave [too hot to venture into the depths...]. It's very pretty round that way, and there were Wheatears.
Star surprise was the amazing sight of two male Golden-ringed Dragonflies resting on a path - ok, the sun had gone in and the wind was blowing a bit, not so amazing? But.. They just sat there, on the ground, we [ok, not me, but two parents and a dog] walked right over them, its amazing they weren't squished! [or eaten, for that matter] One got walked over three times, as my parents went over it, came back to look at the first one, then went on again! I thought the first one was dead, as it just didn't move - even when I touched it [very gently, mind]. Then, when my Mum tried picking it up, it twitched, so we backed off a bit. Seeing they were feeling so relaxed [or just very very tired, I suppose? It wasn't by any means cold] I got my camera out, but as I suspected, I only got one shot off before the sun came out and whooosh! Off they went. One was a full adult, but the second had brownish eyes, so I assume it was still immature.
I was almost able to add a Scarce Blue-tailed Damselfly sighting, but unfortunately, what looked very much like a male managed to escape before I could get a good enough look at it. [Yes, a low, slow-flying damselfly pulled a Houdini on me. I'm duly embarrassed....] With the cloud increasing over the day, and our mostly staying clear of the boggy bits, that was it for odonata. Ratses. A group of 6 Ravens - presumably a family group - put in a couple of appearances, including harassing a poor Buzzard; parents showing the kids how it's done, I think!
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