Return to Whixall Moss

Today I made a return trip to Whixall Moss to try and catch up with the two species I missed on my last visit, at the start of the month: Large Heath and Raft Spider (Dolomedes fimbriatus). This time, I joined a guided walk, with a couple of experts - good move!!!

Within a few minutes of being back on the moss we had spotted a Raft Spider on the water. This first sider was a male, and just 10ft away was a female carrying an egg sac. Fantastic!!

Raft Spider

Raft Spider (female with egg sac)

The second species, Large Heath, was spotted about 15 minutes later. In total, we saw about 5, most of which didn't hang around to be photographed. Thankfully, a couple did, and I managed to get a few decent shots.

Large Heath (lifer!!)

Other sightings included: Willow Warbler, Chiffchaff, Blackcap, Garden Warbler (all singing), Large Skipper, Ringlet, Brimstone, Meadow Brown, Common Heath, Azure Damselfly, Emerald Damselfly, Emperor Dragonfly, Common Hawker, Four-spotted Chaser and, of course, White-faced Darter.

White-faced Darter (mating pair)

Our guide also pointed out some of the special plants that can be seen on site, including Bog Asphodel, Lesser Bladderwort, Cranberry, Sundew and Royal Fen.

Dragonfly and Butterfly News

Over the summer period I like to get out and about recording dragonflies, damselflies and butterflies. Recently I've added a few new species.

The first new insects were spotted last week on a walk around Cupola Ponds, Stanedge. Emerald Damselflies were very common here, along with several Common Blue Damselflies, several Common and Brown Hawkers and an Emperor dragonfly.

Emerald Damselfly (male)

Afterwards, I drove up to Big Moor, where, again, many Emerald Damselflies were flying about, including several pairs "in cop" i.e. mating. Also seen here were Common Darter (pairs in cop and newly emerged individuals), Common Hawker and a very nice Wall Brown butterfly.

Emerald Damselflies (mating pair)

The last new species were Ruddy Darter and Black Darter. The Ruddy Darter, a male, was seen on Monday at RSPB Old Moor, and the Black Darter, males, females and newly emerged, (tenerals) were seen at Little Barbrook Reservoir on Big Moor.

Ruddy Darter (male)

Black Darter (female, I think)

Black Darter (male)

Big Moor Year Tick

Last Thursday I spent a few hours up on Big Moor. Whilst there I added Whinchat to the "year list", with one adult and at least 3 juveniles present.

Whinchat (juvenile)

Whilst up there, I also saw juvenile Stonechat, Meadow Pipits, Skylark and 5 Red Deer.

Red Deer

Insect wise, I saw Black Darter, Small Heath, Common Darter, Common Hawker (2) and Emerald Damselfly.

Black Darter

Common Darter (female/immature)

Small Heath on Harebell

Emerald Damselfly (male)

Year List update:
166 - Whinchat

Golden-ringed Dragonfly

Now that I'm back in Derbyshire, I thought I'd have a day exploring the moorlands, looking, in particular, for a very attractive dragonfly species - the Golden-ringed Dragonfly.

The Golden-ringed Dragonfly, or Cordulegaster boltonii, is the only member of this family of dragonfly to live in Britain and it prefers to live on areas of high land in acidic rivers and streams. As a result, the larvae can take up to 5 years to develop into this stunning adult.

Golden-ringed Dragonfly (male)

The individual I saw today was a male, and it was patrolling a small section of the Bar Brook on Big Moor. I saw a female "ovipositing" in this area back in 2011. See here for details. See details on the British Dragonfly Society's website here for details of this species. 

Other dragon and damselflies seen in the area were: Large Red Damselfly, Emerald Damselfly, Common Hawker (2 males) and Common Darter.

Whilst looking for the dragonfly, I spotted several other insects, including Small Heath, Gatekeeper, Meadow Brown, Small Skipper, Green-veined and Large White butterflies. 

Male and female Gatekeepers

Birds were thin on the ground, but 2 Common Buzzards were seen, along with a couple of Meadow Pipits and a Yellowhammer. 

I also came across a Water Vole, and its latrine.

Water Vole

Water Vole's latrine

Common Hawker and Friends

Every summer I like to visit Wragg's Quarry on Beeley Moor to look for the Dragon and Damselflies that live and breed there (see here for details of my last visit) There is a small pond in the bottom of the quarry, which is home to several species.

Pond in Wragg's Quarry

I popped up on Wednesday, and recorded 4 species: Large Red Damselfly, Common Blue Damselfly, Azure Damselfly and Common Hawker.

The Large Red Damselflies were all males, and were seen basking on the stones around the pond.

Large Red Damselfly

The Common Blue Damselflies were also flying around the pond, but several were also "in tandem" and ovipositing (egg laying) into the water. I didn't manage to get a photo of this, but I got one of the males sitting on a stone by the water,

Common Blue Damselfly

The Emerald and Azure Damselflies were also busy mating and egg laying. There were quite distant, but I managed to get photos of each species.

Azure Damselflies ovipositing

Emerald Damselfly "in tandem"

The final dragonfly seen was the Common Hawker. This dragonfly is a lot less common than the other species, being more restricted in the type of habitats it likes to inhabit. It prefers acidic waters, so the pool on the moors is perfect. There were 2 females present during my visit, both of which were "ovipositing" for the whole time I was there (nearly 2 hours). A male made a brief appearance, but unfortunately he didn't land, so no photo this time. Here are a few photos of one of the females.

Common Hawker (female)

The British Dragonfly Society has lots more  information about all these species. Here's a link.

Wragg's Quarry Dragons

After our ringing session yesterday the sun came out and the temperatures soared to an amazing 20 degrees, so I popped up to Wragg's Quarry on Beeley Moor to search for some elusive dragonflies. I read a very good blog www.darleydalewildlife.blogspot.co.uk , which had some sightings of the two species I wanted to see, and is definitely worth a read.

Pond at Wragg's Quarry

As soon as I arrived I spotted my first species and a "lifer"; Common Hawker. This large dragonfly is very active, rarely settling for more than a few seconds, so I was very pleased when a stunning male took time out of patrolling the small pond to sit on a rock.

Common Hawker

All in all I saw at least 5 male Common Hawkers over the small pond.

The other target species for the morning was Black Darter, and again I was very lucky to catch up with several dragons including this male and female "in tandem".

Male and female Black Darter

 

This pair are mating, a process that can take from 6 - 60 minutes(!), and the male will stay attached to the female whilst she lays the eggs or "oviposits" them into the vegetation in the pond. Darley Dales Wildlife has an excellent picture of a pair doing just that here.

 

As well as the pair, I also managed to find this lone male basking on a rock, close to the water. They are non-territorial, and often spend time perched up on vegetation, rocks and bare ground. Identification is pretty straight forward, as it is the only all-black dragonfly in Britain. As can be seen here, it also has black legs, a waisted abdomen and a black pterostigma (the black patch on the wings). A lovely insect. The Black Darter's favoured habitat is shallow, acidic, nutrient-poor pools on heathland and moorlands. This makes the pond at Wragg's Quarry ideal.

Male Black Darter

 

Other dragonflies seen today were; Common Darter and Emerald Dragonfly.