Still after the dragons!

With at long last a change looming in the weather I took the opportunity to go after Southern Damselfly [apparently the most temperature-sensitive of the odonata - 'only flies in the hottest part of the day'] on the East Devon Commons. The proper dragonfly hunters had seen lots and lots in the past few weeks, but I only managed to find a couple. I did meet a LOT of horseflies [Biting Cleggs, to be more accurate] - it got pretty frantic trying to 'dissuade' them, especially when one went for my face... :( [[While horseflies are very persistent, if you keep brushing - ideally blowing - them off and move off briskly, you can usually get them to give up - I think they might be territorial to an extent]]

I did better with Golden-ringed Dragonflies - a surprise visit from a male to a pond [it got driven off by 2 Emperors!] and then crippling views of a female perched on some gorse. I took my Big Lens [having dug it out after the Stover 4-spot debacle] and tried some shots of her - she sat that still for that long!! And in about 6 months, when I finish the film, I'll find out if they're any good! Also got a couple of nice Emeralds - an Emerald Damselfly being picked on by 4-spots at Aylesbeare and a zoom-past [they're too quick for just a fly-past!] male Downy Emerald near Woodbury Castle. I know you get them at Bystock, but didn't realise they foraged so far! :)

Plenty of Emperors, 4-spots, Black-tails, Azures, Common Blues and Large Reds, and several Keeled and Common Darters, plus a couple of Broad-bodies.

Dartfords were plentiful - I met a birder down from Northampton who'd had a close encounter with a family group of 6 [he was delighted, the lucky person] and I saw a similar number [though not all at once, alas]. A Tripit was singing and still displaying, and all the usual suspects were present [though the Willow Warblers were holding off on the singing compared to the Chiffs].

Right then - time for bed, as its Gull-billed Tern II - the Revenge in the morning!

[We're doomed...]

Jaws....

Another hot, sunny day... Lacking a boat to go try to put Swinhoe's Petrel on my Devon List [and yes, my Life List too!] I reckoned it was time for more Odonata hunting!

Inspired by the wonderful shots Karen Woolley got of Scarce Chaser at Brucklands Ponds, and aided by reports of lots of them at Exminster [on a Birding Site That Shall Remain Nameless But Is All We Have Until Joe Gets His Behind In Gear] I went looking for them this morning. The temperature was [at least according to my li'l car's thermometer] pretty much the same as Thursday, but the difference between blazing sunshine with a moderate breeze and calmer, cloudier humidity was marked - much more activity!

The usual horde of Common Blue and Azure Damselflies were interspersed with a few Red-eyed and Blue-tailed - the latter including a very pretty immature female with a pinkish-red thorax [that'll be form rufescens - just starting to mature from the initial pink {he says, reading his book ;) }]. Emperors were very much in evidence - patrolling the canal, the fields, and pretty much anywhere they liked [they being the 500 pound gorilla of the Odonata world :) ]. The wind [which was a bit stronger than I'd like for dragons, but welcome in keeping the heat and horseflies down!] let them glide quite a bit, in turn helping me to get some very nice flight views. One showed an incredible piece of acrobatics to take a bluebottle that was flying across it above it's head! They're big insects, and seeing the sudden burst of agility was surprising - made me realise how most of their 'goes' at other insects weren't even slightly serious....

A couple of Hairy Dragonflies were keeping low and mobile by the canal bank - staying on the opposite side to the local Emperor, and I don't blame them. Eventually found my first Scarce Chaser thanks to an Emperor - he was cruising down a little channel when he feinted to the bank and put up another dragonfly - male Scarce! The Scarce made himself, er... scarce [sorry] but knowing the sort of channel they liked, I was able to find a few more. Only half a dozen, and none posing for me [maybe I should go over to Brucklands...?] - I think they were perching out of the wind - and as the best channel for them had limited views, with the closest areas held by irascible Four-spots, I only got flight views when they patrolled [or fled from Big Scary Emperors].

Have to say that dragonflies were totally upstaged, though! Stood by a footbridge over a nice-looking channel, I was thinking about how clear the water was, and wondering if I might glimpse a dragonfly larva, when I noticed a funny-looking bit of weed, floating just under the surface... Very funny-looking - and it had fins! Only a Pike!!!!!! A young one, about 15cm long, very carefully stalking ickle fishes, I watched it in grinning fascination for nigh on 10 minutes before it finally drifted out of sight. Wow........

All the usual birds you'd expect were present [and singing] - highlight being a 1s Med Gull heading over towards the Exe at midday.

Actually, it wasn't. Yes, in rareness terms it was definitely the 'best bird', but in enjoyment a super-showy Reed Warbler, singing his little head off in a willow tree was definitely the star!

Return to the Dragons' Lair

Thursday, being cloudy and humid, seemed less good a prospect for my summer dragonfly hunting. However, temperatures over 20 degrees and the forecast's promise of some afternoon sun led me back to Stover for a go at Downy Emerald.

That I'd bumped into a Ranger shortly after seeing the Grass Snake on Tuesday, and gotten some gen on where to find them, also had a bearing I admit! :)

Didn't get much sun [about 30 seconds at a time cloud gaps], but some fleeting glimpses of fast-moving Downy Emerald Dragonflies did eventually come my way - they're about the size of 4-spots, but very different animals! They were thin dark streaks, with the occasional flash of incredible metallic green when they passed through the fleeting patches of sunlight. Worth standing around for 40 odd minutes, I think! :D Less fast-moving, but much more surprising, was an early female Southern Hawker - prospecting around the edge of the same pool. Not that I knew that at the time; 'big hawker - closer to an Emperor than a Hairy - lots of green on it'. Given the location and time it had to be either Common or Southern, but I had to check Brooks and Lewington to be sure which.

Also saw a few Blue-tailed Damselfly down a couple of the side ways, but unsurprisngly the lack of sunshine and 3 degrees cooler temperatures made for reduced activity. [Though the 4-spots and Black-tails did their best to keep the dogfights going around the larger pools] Only 9 species [only 9... It's a good spot!] No second Grass Snake for me - though I was walking softly and hoping mightily - but there was an utterly adorable ickle baby Toadling, sat on a log by the hide... Awwww.......

To make matters even more sickeningly cute... The House Sparrows fledged while I was out.

Ahem.

Today at my course there was heat and frustration, interspersed with the local Herring Gulls sallying forth to beat up an unlucky Buzzard! That's 18 species there now - not bad at all!

LIFER!!!!!!!

Down to less than 5 feet away, just cruising past me, utterly unconcerned by my presence - I admit I did a silly dance afterwards I was so delighted!

That's the full set, too [at last].

Oh, you want to know what it was??

Only a frickin' Grass Snake!

What? Its a big thing for me - at last I've seen all the British reptile species* - and this was such a good view; swimming past, then under the boardwalk I was stood on, then out the other side and only going when it felt the clumping footfalls of a couple coming along the main drag a good 50 feet away...

[[*Yes, in a very unconventional order I know, with Grass Snake last, but what can I say? They're funny things, reptiles!]]

Back to the start. Tuesday was a hot sunny and [supposedly] calm day - ideal for me to get out and do some serious Odonata-hunting. A term-time weekday also meant the number one site was.. well, as available as it gets. I speak of Stover CP - in some circles known as 'Newton Dogs' due to the numbers of chavs and their pets on the circular lakeside walk... Also home to some very confiding wildlife - like GC Grebes that will come Mallard-close in winter [doing a Hooded Merganser and hunting the fish that come for the ducks' bread].

It was indeed hot and sunny - though an intermittently fresh SW wind made things a little more comfortable - my car's thermometer read 29 degrees.... Ouch. There were [according to the very neat table in the Shiny New Hide] 16 species of dragon- and damselfly about, and in a little over 4 hours I am happy to say I saw 13. In order of ID [as an Azure posed early on, but the Common Blues were being naughty]

::Deep breath:: Beautiful Demoiselle, Azure Damselfly, Large Red Damselfly, Hairy Dragonfly, Broad-bodied Chaser, Black-tailed Skimmer, Keeled Skimmer, Four-spotted Chaser, Small Red Damselfly, Common Blue Damselfly, Emperor Dragonfly, Golden-ringed Dragonfly, Red-eyed Damselfly.

Unfortunately, Downy Emerald Dragonfly was one that eluded me - which is a pity as they're purdy and hard to catch up with - but I'll be back!

The heat meant all the Odonata were supercharged - zooming about at warp speed and hardly sitting still for more than 10 seconds - giving a spectacular time but making pinning trickier IDs very difficult! I think you'd need a very fancy digital camera to have any chance of getting decent photos in weather like this - my ME Super tried its best, but having a macro lens on didn't really help - a 4-spot isn't going to let you get in range, even if you're sat still waiting for it! I might have another go at the damsels though..

I'm really enjoying getting to grips with this, subtleties of abdominal markings and such, its like and yet unlike birding. Very variable too - the 4-spots were everywhere, guarding even the smallest pool against all-comers, while the Golden-ringed took an hour and a half of wandering through the backways, following streams. The two 'blues' were also prolific, but getting a good enough look to see if they had a tennis racket or a U was tricky - not least as they often settled too close for my bins, and a step back flushed them... Red-eyed, as the 'easiest' blue, duly proved elusive until the last pool I checked - and I was watching it sitting there when I noticed the Grass Snake!

All in all a very good use of a far too hot and sunny day. :D

And the Sun did smile upon me...

Firstly.... Yesterday being Fathers' Day, there was the family picnic up on't Moor. The sun blazed down with all it's nuclear fury, and even Tilly the Terrible was subdued by its power [for about 30 seconds at a time, anyway....] - its tough being a Black Dog, even with a handy overhang to hide under. There were lots of Wheatears about, including two age groups of juveniles, but though I kept a diligent watch out for Large Soaring Black and White Things I was not blessed [having been in line of sight of where it was seen last weekend but evidently not at the right time, I'm feeling a bit gripped...].

It was a nice day, sat about enjoying being up there. Dad was happy, and Icklest Sister had made Blueberry Muffins [she has inherited my Dad's ability to effortlessly bake wonders]. There were a LOT of people about [as you'd expect] but fortunately most did the standard grockle routine [ie. not more than 30 feet from the car], so having yomped up to GST we were fairly unbothered and had a nice view too.

Today... Ah, today... :D

I watch the sun rise on the Solstices. I used to do it from a stone circle on't Moor, until I realised that as it was going to rain every single time, I might as well save myself an hour's sleep and a lot of petrol and go to the Nose instead. If I was going to get sideways rain, I might as well get in a seawatch after sunrise - sunrise by the time and that change in the texture of the light on the water, that is.... This worked particularly well up to 2008, with some nice birds passing. :) Last year it was calm and sunny, but a frustrating band of cloud on the horizon hid the sun from me.. This year, today, for the first time EVER I actually saw the Solstice Sun break the horizon and clear it. Words quite seriously cannot express the joy I'm still feeling.

There was, as you'd expect, very little going on in seawatching terms - in the 1.5 hours I gave it 10 Manxies passed south. 72 Gannets, 5 whole Fulmar and 4 actual Kittiwake [wow! I hear you say]. 4 Common Scoter went south, then 25 minutes later came back north. A single Razorbill went by.... No Puffins, no skuas, no Balearics even. The colony is doing well - a good 250 on the ledges, including young - and the Rockits and Whitethroats on the Nose are also getting on busily.

Hmm, I don't approve of all this sunny weather, you know. The Moor is very very dry - it really needs some rain - and I'm not much better! All this sunshine is bad I tell ya! Bad! Won't do you any good at all, oh no... ;)

NEEEEEEEEEEEOOOOOOOOOWWWWW!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Guess what I saw today?

Only a frickin' SEAFIRE!!!!!!!

:D

Armed Forces Day at the Famous Babbacombe Fair [now greatly upgraded thanks to actual sponsorship] saw The Downs packed with all manner of stuff, from the sublime [the Owl people were there. They had a Great Grey. It was goorgeous....] to the ridiculous [the dodgy Sinatra-a-like, and the hilarious 'celebrity commentator' - oh deary me...]. From the spectacular viewpoint, we were treated to flypasts - or more accurately an aerobatics contest, as none of the vintage aircraft's pilots could resist pulling at least a few loops and rolls - and, after a display of the Torbay Lifeboat's capabilities, an extended action between the local pirates and special forces.

Yes, you read that right. Various cadets in RIBs, parascenders, an RAF scout plane from the 50s, and a Yak-52 [again I kid ye not] fought over three Brixham Trawler-style yachts [the sailed kind - used to take disadvantaged kids to sea] . The pirates and special forces had real assault rifles [with blank ammo] while the parascenders and the Yak had fake bombs [with real HE charges in the water - you could feel the blast on the cliff tops more than 250' away and the columns of spray reached the mast tops]. They had lots of fun.

Oh, but that Seafire... I've seen Spitfires before, the Battle of Britain Memorial Flight a few times [including once when I was on Dartmoor - I think they'd taken off at Exeter airport and were going to the cornish county show], but never so close and for so long - you can't beat a nice cliff top for an airshow!

In other, more bird-related news, the Blue Tits have fledged young, and the Swift colony is still doing pretty well; I counted 42 plus at least one House Martin feeding over the rooftops this evening.

.........Ping........

This being the sound of a pin dropping, it's been so quiet here.

Metaphorically, anyway!

Aurally its been a racket, with an increasingly noisy nestbox full of ickle baby Sparrows outside my window, and a fledgling Blackbird that's taken to starting up yarking at 5am.....

Since last I posted, both Dunnocks and Greenfinches have successfully fledged young, also another brood of nearby Sparrows. Meanwhile, the Blue Tits [and 'our' Sparrows] must be due to go any day now. A mass of young Sparrows and Great Tits have taken to moving around together - always amusing to see just how many will fly out of even very teeny bushes. :)