A Wild Dragon Hunt

I'm thinking of that chestnut madness definition again...

You may recall that in early August last year, I went up the Avon looking for Black Darters. I found a lot of rain and no dragonflies at all.

This year, I was casting about in grim determination of going out and having some fun that didn't involve sitting on my arse for 8 hours [not that there's anything wrong with it, but I'm soooo out of proper shape].

Where haven't I been this year? HUGE LIST
Right, where, given the date and likeliness of finding a space to park [nights mean no crack of dawn starts on a Sunday - it's survival].. Ok, nice big P at Shipley Bridge, and it's been a warmer year, so BD should be about.. Hmm, forecast has small chance of a light shower, with band of mostly cloud moving through.. Ok, a) good for a dragons sitting still, and b) fewer grockles.

Sounds half reasonable?


Ho ho ho.

The big grey clouds were, well, Dartmoor. The vast horde of bleeping 4x4s set up for eco-vandalism was more of a surprise. Turns out they were assembling for a Run. I pity anything along any of the 'green lanes' they used.* Being the driver of a li'l car has its advantages, and I squeezed in between two vast monsters [to be fair, the Barbarian wasn't one of theirs].

Then I'd just got the gaiters on when it started to rain. Quite hard.

Stuff this, back in the car! [Why get waterproofs out and wet for a 'small shower'?]


An hour later...


Yes, you read right.

[[One day, Brain, one day...]]



I waited until I saw blue sky and went out. It did indeed clear up a bit, but three more sizeable showers came through and lots more missed. There was a little sun inbetween, and after 6 it got quite sunny.


I went up the Avon to the dam, then up to the Sub [definitely out of shape, my poor gasping lungs...], then over to White Barrow, Redlake Heap and Pools, along the tramway to  Leftlake Pond, up Three Barrows, down and over Hickley / Skylark Tors, and down Diamond Lane. 21km.

Did I find Black Darter? Yes. At least 2 males, but they were very elusive in the mostly windy overcast at Redlake, and I found none anywhere else. Being persistent, I spent more than an hour going back ond forward over every bit of it, and met.. Well, mostly frickin' Horseflies. Aaaaargh.....

Other odonates were more obliging. And so, the porn!

Emperor

Battle-scarred veteren.

He flew in and posed, so I had to

Southern Hawker

This fellow on a tree overhanging the Avon. Saw him fly in [I figured that for a good omen]

Another Southern and a Common were less obliging. Unlike one of the Four-spots at Redlake;

Four-spotted Chaser

Exuvia of Four-spotted Chaser

Quite a few of these about there, too. First time I've seen them up there.

Emerald Damselfly

[immature female]

[they do fold their wings sometimes!]

Emerald Damselfly

[immature male]

Common Blue Damselfly

Teneral....??

And now for some scenery;

Lower Avon valley

Upper Avon valley

The Sub

View from said Sub

[lovely August weather!]

Human-added landscape;

Stalldown Row and the Eddystone Light

You can see a long way from up there [when it's not raining]. More on this theme later.

Western White Barrow

[close up!]

Yes, that's a Foxglove on the high Moor.. Also note ash grey / black bumblebee sp.

Causeway to Redlake

Wonderfully exciting picture, there.

Redlake Pools

The weather, as you may be able to tell from that, was windy, with a side order of grey clouds and bursts of sunshine. Actually quite good for photos IF you could see where the little darlings were cowering. [Thus all the shots I've got.] Not just for dragons, either;

Lizard!

Basking and watching me. I was very good and left the darling be [photo shot with zoom at distance].

But... Every bolt of sun was met with an onslaught of Horseflies. There was no livestock in the area at all [easily 1km to nearest pony and no sheeeep], so I was pretty much the only target. Thus I got three or four of the little BLEEP!s attacking at once several times. It was not fun, especially when a Black Darter actually settled in sight and I promptly had a Horsefly land on my face! [Aaaaaaaargh]

Time was getting on, so I had to give up and move on. There was always the Pond, after all.

Leftlake Pond

There is some emergent vegetation there, bare though it seems from the tramway..

Bog Pondweed

Lesser Spearwort

Finding only that teneral damselfly sp. [up there ^ ], I went 'Bugger' and headed back... Via Three Barrows! It's a nice big hill in a very good spot, enough out of the way to deter many chavs, and high enough to deter more. :)

No views of [It's high and has three big cairns on it, duh], but views from.

You see, if you look Eastish, you see;

Fields, the Patch, 

Now add some zoom - or optics - and you can see

Yes, that's Portland
in the haze

 Looking Westish...

Plymouth Sound, and beyond that, some headlands

That lowest leftest headland? That would the the Lizard.

It's a good spot. :)

I headed onwards and backwards down to Hickley and Skylark Tors, then down the infamous Diamond Lane.

Diamond Lane,

it's not that bad really.

Finally, here be a sign o' the times [of year]

Fungus ID Challenge 1

Fungus ID Challenge 2

Cross-leaved Heath

Pretty pretty.


You know it was rather nice. When it wasn't raining. And not counting the Horseflies, the hordes, the erosion-pollution machines, and the naughty Black Darters.

Other than all those times, yes, it was lovely.

:)


Be Seeing You...







[[*Though now I understand why I met a convoy of 30-odd up at Grimspound earlier in the year; they were this mob transiting between destruction routes...]]
[[You know what they are, two spp. thereof.]]