A quick examination of the pond this morning revealed two more Southern Hawker Exuviae but no sign of the dragons. In previous years I have seen at least half of the dragons drying out prior to flight but not this time.
I will have a look prior to work tomorrow to see if there is anymore action in the depths.
I have been to Cadover Bridge with Graham where we got some nice Black Darter female pictures as shown below plus a very hungry Golden Ringed Dragon munching on some unfortunate insect.
Hold the front page! After a day roaming around Cadover Bridge with Graham I remembered I had been given one simple task by the wife to pick the washing in before her return from work tonight.
As usual I got distracted by other things (downloading today's pictures) and have literally just run out and ripped the clothes down from the line in a blaze of adrenalin fuelled panic. BUT as I was walking back from my chore, I saw a familiar shape on a lily pad; a Southern Hawker Nymph case. At last they have started to emerge, typically just as the weather is changing.
Cadover too was a reasonably productive day, bearing in mind how dull the sky was, although the temperature did not dip below 19 degrees. I will post a selection of the pictures taken when I have tidied them up a bit,
Todays list was: -
Damsels
Common Blue (M&F)
Blue Tail (M)
Azure (M)
Large Red M&F)
White Legged (M&F)
Emerald (M)
Beautiful Demoiselle (M&F)
Dragons
Golden Ringed (M)
Keeled Skimmer (F)
Black Darter (F)
We also had a good day with the birds, with the highlights being good views of Stonechat, Whinchat, Wheatear, Reed Buntings and Meadow Pipits.
All in all a good day in the great outdoors and miraculously neither of us fell in the river.
In and around Broadway for the weekend of 12 & 13th July for niece's wedding. Great time and good to catch up with remaining members of family.
An outdoor service was held at the Roccoco Gardens near Painswick, and luckily the day was one of uniterrupted sun which brought out the Brit in all present. It's too hot and too bright for good photos etc. What would we talk about if we didn't have the weather?
Whilst the photographer swung into action taking pictures of the bridal party there was plenty of time for us peripheral players to look around the gardens, particularly the nice pond which gave up the usual Damsels plus Black Tailed Skimmers and Four Spotted Chasers.
Reception was in a Marquee in eldest nieces garden near Broadway and next morning we saw a few Ravens and enjoyed an overflight by a beautiful Red Kite, which was a first for me. Graham also insisted he could hear a Turtle Dove but I suspect it was the voices in his head again!
Debbie and I decided to tag a couple of extra days onto the wedding weekend and stopped off in Ilfracombe at a great little hotel on the outskirts of the town which ensured we got a bit of exercise when we walked into town for dinner.
We spent the days walking the cliffs and surrounding areas and it reminded me why it is such a great part of Devon. The only snag being the roads which are all narow and if you get stuck behind a tractor or elderly sunday driver you are going to be there for a while.
Stopped off at Knighthayes, near Tiverton on the way home and again, superb gardens with a variety of walks and even better - shade! Picked up my first Southern Hawker of the year in a dappled glade which was good and got bitten all over by varios flies which wasn't!
Managed to get out for the morning on first Saturday of July to Smallhanger, a reliable site on the fringes of Plympton, which usually offers the possibility of picking up a few "specials".
The usual suspects were seen, mainly Common Blues, Bluetails and Large Red Damsels, but not an Emerald in sight. Graham got a bit excited when he thought he had spotted a Small Red but closer examination showed it to be a "small" Large Red!
The previously dried pond that we had got great shots at last year had mysteriously rehydrated itself since our visit earlier this year, despite the heat and was once again well populated but mainly with Common Blues and Bluetails with no Emeralds seen.
There were also patrolling Emperors and Four Spot Chasers and a stand out female Keeled Skimmer in prime condition.
We also witnessed a spectacular aerial dogfight between an Emperor and a large unidentified hawker which ended with them both plunging into the undergrowth just the other side of the pond but we were unable to find them despite a search of the surrounding area. It was impressive to watch while it lasted and quite brutal.
We also had the dubious pleasure of finding a Common Blue in the clutches of a Sundew plant which was not the way it hoped it's day would end I am sure.
Other than the dragons, there were huge numbers of small frogs/toads nearly ready to loose the tail and more newts than I can remember seeing for a long time inhabiting any minute bit of water in a tyre rut or any other indentation.
All in all a good morning.
Typical we have some decent weather at last and I have been stuck in the office, on the fringes of Dartmoor, slowly frazzling in the tepid air of a non air-conditioned office and have not been able to get out with the camera!
I am trying to make plans for the weekend as the weather looks set for the next week or so for sun and light winds and as I am away in London for half of next week the weekend will be my only chance to take advantage of this. Next weekend is niece's wedding so will be restricted in what I can do. We are tagging on a couple of days to the wedding weekend to stop off at Illfracombe on the way home so will look up likely sites before I go.
Still only 5/6 emergences from the pond, all Damsels, and not a sign of the Southern Hawkers I know from my dipping are skulking around in the pond - Get on with it!
I did manage to rescue a very healthy looking Toad from next door last night as they were worried that their Cat might get him, so he is now residing in my garden on slug patrol.
Stay-tuned to see how the weekend pans out.
