Odo-nutters

Slovenia-Croatia, Jun 2016

Posted on 2 July, 2016 by JC — No Comments ↓

From 25th June, on the morning following our disastrous referendum [nailing colours firmly to the mast], to 2nd July, we joined a group of friends on a mixed wildlife tour organized by Ecotours visiting Slovenia and neighbouring Croatia, I was looking forward to doing something completely different and seeing two new countries. Our group, 10 in all, was made up of a mixed bag of interests including birds, butterflies, reptiles and plants as well as, of course, ourselves seeking dragonflies and damselflies. Being a mixed tour, we were due to visit a variety of habitats only some of which would be odo-friendly, so it was never going to be dragonfly intensive but I was cautiously optimistic.

Once travel days were excluded, we had three days in Slovenia followed by three more in Croatia. To summarize, we found Slovenia to be a delightful country – quite similar in feel to Austria, I thought, but then it was part of the Austro-Hungarian empire – but, while it seemed less interesting touristically, it was Croatia that made the trip worthwhile in relation to our previous Odonata experiences.

Against all odds with my camera GPS failing, I’ve managed to locate the main sites of interest and plotted them on one of my (hopefully) familiar maps.

Lake Bohinj, 26/06/2016 [#1]

We began our trip by spending our first three nights at a very pleasant hotel about 15 minutes walk from the shores of picturesque Lake Bohinj. Day #1 of the wildlife watching itself began around the shores of Lake Bohinj, which is a large lake with little in the way of emergent vegetation, so I wasn’t expecting much. I got excited when we spotted a Darter perched on some lakeside vegetation and our guide suggested it might be a Vagrant Darter/Moustached Darter (Sympetrum vulgatum), which I have yet to see, but, alas, it proved to be a familiar old friend, a Red-veined Darter (Sympetrum fonscolombii).

The lakeside track produced several Blue Featherlegs/While-legged Damselflies (Platycnemis pennipes), which cooperated well enough, and several individuals of what was clearly an Emerald Dragonfly, none of which cooperated in the slightest. These were clearly green so probably not a Downy Emerald (Cordulia aenea) but rather one of the Somatochlora species. Given the habitat and behaviour, I’m inclined towards the Brilliant Emerald (S. metallica).

Platycnemis pennipes (Blue Featherleg)
Sympetrum fonscolombii (Red-veined Darter)
Somatochlora metallica (Brilliant Emerald)

Lake Cerknica, 27-28/06/2016 [#2]

Or Cerkniško Jezero, in Slovene, is a karst lake “characterized by underground drainage systems with sinkholes and caves”. So there! It is a seasonal lake but we found plenty of water. This may be because there was still quite a bit of water in the sky, too. the Though there are supposedly some 30 species of Odonata recorded here, our first visit was accompanied by poor weather conditions and we found only four. Fortunately, the following day was much improved and our guide was professionally flexible, reacting to his audience’s desires when he could, and we made a brief return visit to get our species count up to a more respectable 11. These included our first non-UK species, a White-tailed Skimmer (Orthetrum abistylum), together with other notables such as a Green-eyed Hawker/Norfolk Hawker (Aeshna isoceles) and a tandem pair of Lesser Emperors (Anax parhenope).

Lestes sponsa (Common Spreadwing)
Ischnura elegans (Common Bluetail)
Enallagma cyathigerum (Common Bluet)
Coenagrion puella (Azure Bluet)
Erythromma najas (Large Redeye)
Platycnemis pennipes (Blue Featherleg)
Aeshna isoceles (Green-eyed Hawker)
Anax parthenope (Lesser Emperor)
Libellula quadrimaculata (Four-spotted Chaser)
Orthetrum albistylum (White-tailed Skimmer)
Sympetrum sanguineum (Ruddy Darter)

Plitvice Lakes National Park, 29/06/2016 [#3]

Or Plitvička Jezera, as they say locally, was “declared a National Park in 1949”. Unfortunately, that meant it was now a honey pot that was absolutely heaving with thousands of people. Our guide, who was contracted by Ecotours to take us there as part of the itinerary, admitted that it would not have been his choice. It is really a much more touristy destination with scenic lakes and waterfalls than it is a wildlife destination. Most visitors’ idea of wildlife here stopped at Mallard duck. The area is highly developed with vast stretches of boardwalk complete with electric boat rides and road train transportation to get the swarming people around the extensive area. Not our idea of fun and we suggested it would be better removed from the itinerary in future.

Having said that, given all that crystal clear fresh water, there were damselflies and dragonflies present in good numbers, though, with the hundreds of pairs of feet constantly tromping past you on the boardwalk, photographing them well was a constant challenge. I have to say that I’m glad I went there, though, because it snagged me a great new prize in the form of my very first Balkan Emerald (Somatochlora meridionalis). Not only was it there, but it was perched, as well. Incredible! The other species of note here was the Small Pincertail (Onychogomphus forcipatus).

Calopteryx splendens (Banded Demoiselle)
Calopteryx virgo (Beautiful Demoiselle)
Enallagma cyathigerum (Common Bluet)
Platycnemis pennipes (Blue Featherleg)
Aeshna isoceles (Green-eyed Hawker)
Anax imperator (Blue Emperor)
Onychogomphus forcipatus (Small Pincertail)
Somatochlora meridionalis (Balkan Emerald)

Paklenica National Park, 30/06/2016 [#4]

J16_1737 Orthetrum brunneum Paklenica is a mountain park accessed via a canyon and is more of a birding and reptile venue, when it comes to wildlife. Actually, it seems to be mainly a rock climbing venue. It was a very pleasant walk, too. I wouldn’t normally have bothered to include it here but on the way back down we did stop by the river that flows out of the canyon and found a couple of Southern Skimmers (Orthetrum brunneum), so it was worth a line or two. Actually, on the way up the canyon, we had a brief glimpse of a large dragonfly, which was probably a Goldenring cruising above the river but, there being two kinds here (C. boltonii and C. bidentata), sans photograph we don’t know which it might have been. So, just one confirmed sighting.

Orthetrum brunneum (Southern Skimmer)

Jezero Velo Blato, Pag Island, 01/07/2016 [#5]

On our final day of wildlife hunting, we crossed onto Pag Island, a long, thin strip of land close to the Croatian coast. It proved to be quite rocky and all but tree free, other than some impressively ancient olive trees. A first stop at some meadows with fresh water netted us two damselfly species but the first stop of any significance was at Jezero Velo Blato, which seems to translate as Lake Big Mud.

Lake Big Mud is an apt description and the big mud in question was overlooked by a bird hide. On the track down towards the mud I briefly saw a large Odo but soon lost it in the confusion of tall grass stems and dry stone wall joints. As others headed to the hide, Carol and I started skirting the mud. A board advertised the presence of Black Pennants (Selysiothemis nigra), which would be a new species for me, so I was on high alert. It was while we were looking for these that what was probably the biggest prize appeared. A large, grey-ish dragon settled on the ground and posed. This was what I glimpsed but lost on the way in. It was a wonderful male Bladetail (Lindenia tetraphyla). Soon afterwards we added our second prize of a Black Pennant, though only the female of the species.

The other noteworthy find here was an elderly olive-form female Broad Scarlet/Scarlet Darter (Crocothemis erythraea).

Despite a modest species count, with two exciting lifers, Lake Big Mud was the star of the trip.

Ischnura elegans (Common Bluetail)
Orthetrum cancellatum (Black-tailed Skimmer)
Lindenia tetraphylla (Bladetail)
Sympetrum striolatum (Common Darter)
Crocothemis erythraea (Broad Scarlet)
Selysiothemis nigra (Black Pennant)

Unnamed lake, 01/07/2016 [#6]

We weren’t quite done yet after Lake Big Mud; we made a further stop at a small lake beside the road for lunch. This little place was buzzing with activity, particularly with Broad Scarlets/Scarlet Darters (Crocothemis erythraea) but also, less excitingly being one of the home team, with Black-tailed Skimmers (Orthetrum cancellatum). Once again, the other instance being Jezero Velo Blato, we saw a very interesting female colour form Broad Scarlet, an androchrome bright red female.

The most noteworthy resident of this little lake, though, was only our second ever encounter with the wonderful Dark Spreadwing (Lestes macrostigma), though we found only a single male, curiously. Still, very nice to have found one of our own without being guided to them. 😉

Lestes macrostigma (Dark Spreadwing)
Ischnura elegans (Common Bluetail)
Erythromma viridulum (Small Redeye)
Orthetrum cancellatum (Black-tailed Skimmer)
Crocothemis erythraea (Broad Scarlet)
Selysiothemis nigra (Black Pennant)

Posted in 2016, Croatia, Slovenia, Trip reports

Spain, Xmas 2015

Posted on 9 January, 2016 by JC — No Comments ↓

This was definitely not intended as an Odo hunting trip. This was a planned escape from the desperately depressing, unadulterated commercialism of a British Christmas. I went, however, suspecting that I might find a late darter or two basking in the early winter rays of the Jalón sun because I’d seen some there in December on a previous year. I hoped so, because I wanted to get a definitive identification which was hitherto missing. I was more surprised by my other find. So, albeit with very limited late-season content, here’s a brief report.

Marjal del Senillar, Moraira 27/12/2015 [#1]

There is the so-called Marjal del Senillar [marjal = marsh] on the coast at Moraira and I do mean on the coast – it is quite literally on the other side of the boardwalk from the beach. We had seen a late Odo there, a Common Darter (Sympetrum striolatum) a few years ago but, because I had failed to find anything else since, I never added the marjal to my Spanish locations map.

Since then, we added a Red-veined Darter (Sympetrum fonscolombii) to give us a list of two.

This year, we visited Moraira just after Christmas Day and, not expecting any dragonfly encounters, were poorly equipped photographically. However, Carol did have her full frame camera (so no 1.6X APC sensor advantage) armed with her 24-105mm general walkabout lens. Just as well she had something because, to my complete surprise, an Odo flitted about to begin sunbathing. Carol managed to snap it from a distance and, though not a close shot, this is clearly an Epaulet Skimmer (Orthetrum chrysostigma). I was even more surprised. This was an interesting date: records show it flying in southern Turkey to the end of August and November in north-west Africa, though there it is suspected to be active year round [according to Dijkstra/Lewington].

I’ve added the marjal to my Spanish locations map.

Riu Jalon-Gorgos, 16/12/2015 & 3/01/2016 [#2]

This is Spanish home turf. I’d first seen darters in late December here (23rd, to be precise) in 2013 and I unthinkingly assumed them to be Common Darters (Sympetrum striolatum), largely because that’s what I’m used to seeing in December, if anything. However, given my recent discovery of Desert Darters (S. sinaiticum) at the same location, I’d become uncertain as to their identity. So, I was hoping for a repeat showing with an opportunity to get a more definitive picture.

I found a handful of suspects flitting about on 16th December but, once again, I was on the wrong side of the light at a poor angle and uncertain about their identification, the main possibilities being Common Darters (S. striolatum), Desert Darters (S. sinaiticum) and even Southern Darters (S. meridionale). Here’re the reasons for my confusion.

This individual shows no black dots on the dorsal side of S8&9 , which I’d expect on S. striolatum.
There are faint dark marks showing on the sides of S2&3 which could indicate S. sinaitcum.
The thorax side appears quite plain (S. sinaiticum?) but the amount of yellow on the legs is unclear(S. meridionale?).
The underside of the eye isn’t clear (S. sinaiticum vs. S. striolatum) and there even appears to be some colouration on the major wing veins (?).

The jury is still out, in my mind.

On 3rd January, 2016, to my relief and delight – this was the latest I had ever seen a dragonfly in Europe – I found a couple more red-bodied darters again. This time I managed to get a close macro shot on the correct side of the light. This individual does have dark marks on the dorsal side of S8&9 and a clearly brown underside to the eye – I’m comfortable that this was a Common Darter (S. striolatum).

Technorati Tags: travel,Spain,Jalon,Moraira,dragonflies,nature,wildlife,odonata

Posted in 2015, 2016, Spain, Trip reports

Spain, Oct 2015

Posted on 31 October, 2015 by JC — 2 Comments ↓

Our September trip to Spain was cut short but we returned for one week in late October, mainly for the inaugural meeting of our development’s residents committee. Oh joy!

I did not go equipped with a decent Odo camera and we didn’t travel around but we did check on our local river running through Jalón once again, largely because Carol was interested in seeing the new species I’d found there in September. So, with just a single location relevant, this will be a very brief report.

Riu Jalon-Gorgos, 22nd & 23rd Oct [#1]

Brief my visit may have been but it was certainly productive. As well as again finding two of the recently discovered species from September, the Desert Darter (Sympetrum sinaiticum) and the Orange-winged Dropwing (Trithemis kirbyi), so that Carol might see them, we added two more confirmed new boys.

The first of these came when we found an access point to the far side of the river which got us wandering along a reed-edged bank to a point where overlooking an otherwise hidden pool became possible. In the reeds we found one example of the Western Willow Emerald (Lestes viridis), only the second damselfly I’d seen here.

Once overlooking the pool, I spotted a hawker of some description hawking about up and down the stream. It was too far away for any flight shots but finally it settled in a confusion of tall stems. still too far away for a reasonable shot. In fact, I’d watched my footing and lost sight of it. I snapped the confusion of plant growth hopefully. Luckily, back at home base I actually found the beast in amongst all the stems, blurred but clear enough to know that it was a Migrant Hawker (Aeshna mixta). Another new one for the list. Just for fun, here’s my full frame shot. There’s a dragonfly in there somewhere – see if you can find it. 🙂

Back out on the main stream, I was amazed to see what was clearly a Demoiselle, first settle and then, just as I was trying to bring Carol’s camera to bear on it, flit past and disappear. I can’t swear to it but I think I spotted a coppery colour so I’m reasonably convinced that this was a Copper Demoiselle (Calopteryx haemorrhoidalis); certainly they are in this vicinity ‘cos we’ve seen them at Les Fonts d’Algar. The lateness of the season would also favour C. haemorrhoidalis over its congeners. I returned the next day to try and find it again but, alas, it did not appear. It’s going down as a suspect, though.

I have another unproven suspect to add, too. In another pool further upstream, I snapped a distant shot of a red Darter. It was an orange-red with a plain thorax side and quite yellow legs. It does not display the usual dark markings on the side of S2 & 3 that are typically, though not universally seen on the Desert Darter (Sympetrum sinaiticum). My suspicion, therefore, is that this is most likely a Southern Darter (S. meridionale).

So, an interesting trip but one with a couple of frustrations. Here’s my suspected tally from this visit.

Calopteryx haemorrhoidalis (Copper Demoiselle) – ?
Lestes viridis (Western Willow Spreadwing)
Aeshna mixta (Migrant Hawker)
Orthetrum chrysostigma (Epaulet Skimmer)
Sympetrum meridionale (Southern Darter) – ?
Sympetrum sinaiticum (Desert Darter)
Trithemis annulata (Violet Dropwing)
Trithemis kirbyi (Orange-winged Dropwing)

Technorati Tags: travel,Spain,wildlife,odonata,dragonflies,damselflies,nature,Jalon

Posted in 2015, Spain, Trip reports

Spain, Sep 2015

Posted on 13 October, 2015 by JC — No Comments ↓

An autumn trip to Spain that was supposed to last five weeks was curtailed by family issues requiring an early return home. However, I did manage a couple of weeks and with some decent weather.

Unusually for me, I had a target species in mind that I really wanted to see. Trithemis kirbyi, the Orange-winged Dropwing, has crossed from Africa into Spain and is working its way up the Mediterranean coast quite successfully. I do not know the current northern limit of its colonization but do know that it is present in a reserve just above Valencia, the Marjal dels Moros. An internet contact kindly sent me information on accessing this reserve and I planned to try a visit as a day trip as and when the opportunity arose. As it turned out, Carol flew back to the UK after a few days and I returned by car, via Bilbao and the ferry, a week and a half after that. Since my route home would take me past Valencia, I chose to call in on the way home.

Other areas I visited were some of my old haunts around Jalón itself, where I am based in Spain. Far exceeding my expectations, the local river running through Jalón was the star of this trip.

Here’s a map of the numbered locations involved.

Riu Jalon-Gorgos, 20-27th Sep [#1]

There had been some rain in August with the result that the river that runs through Jalón had more water in it than I’ve seen (other than videos of famous floods, that is). Most of my experience, admittedly limited, is not so much of a river but of a series of pools remaining in an otherwise dry river bed. It really seems like more of a storm drain for the surrounding mountains, as do all the other river beds in this part of Spain. My first day’s rummage in Jalón town itself revealed good sized pools filled with clean, fresh looking water, rather than stagnant pools often covered in a good deal of scum.

My first observation was of a number of male Epaulet Skimmers (Orthetrum chrysostigma) holding territory and occasionally duelling. Then I spotted a darter and began focussing on it. It looked a little unusual. My brain dared to dream. Sure enough, this proved to be my very first encounter with a Desert Darter (Sympetrum sinaiticum), which inhabits exclusively more arid regions. I was thrilled.

I wandered downriver to another pool where I spotted quite a bit of activity, albeit just a small pool. I caught a glimpse of a flash of bright orange on a poolside rock as a bright red male dragonfly flew. My camera revealed the truth: right here on my Spanish doorstep was the quarry I had dreamed of before setting out, an Orange-winged Dropwing (Trithemis kirbyi). That was it; I was now ecstatic. 😀

On a second day I went upstream to another favourite pool at a bend in the river. This really was well filled with water and it was being patrolled by a few Lesser Emperors (Anax parthenope). They weren’t playing ball and posing, though. A tandem pair of what I took to be Lesser Emperors settled to oviposit in front of me. I grabbed a shot. I couldn’t believe my luck, they turned out to be the somewhat similar looking Vagrant Emperor (Anax ephippiger) [both males have “blue saddles”].

Three new species and all on my doorstep. Brilliant!

Anax imperator (Blue Emperor)
Anax ephippiger (Vagrant Emperor)
Anax parthenope (Lesser Emperor)
Orthetrum chrysostigma (Epaulet Skimmer)
Sympetrum sinaiticum (Desert Darter)
Sympetrum fonscolombii (Red-veined Darter)
Crocothemis erythraea (Broad Scarlet)
Trithemis annulata (Violet Dropwing)
Trithemis kirbyi (Orange-winged Dropwing)

Marjal de Pego-Oliva, 25th Sep [#2]

About 20 minutes away from home base, this is a useful little marsh to keep an eye on – a former rice paddy, I believe. Apart from the usual large crop of Red-veined Darters (Sympetrum fonscolombii), the most intriguing sight when I arrived were several very fast, low flying dragons zooming about – so fast I simply couldn’t get a bead on them. Eventually one did settle relatively close and I realized they were Long Skimmers (Orthetrum trinacria). The males of O. trinacria develop a very dark coloured abdomen, hence their appearance. I now know they fly fast, too.

This also produced my only damselfly of the trip. Being in an area where overlap occurs, this was either a Common Bluetail (Ischnura elegans) or an Iberian Bluetail (Ischnura graellsii) … or a hybrid, which apparently is possible.

Ischnura elegans/graellsii (Common/Iberian Bluetail)
Anax parthenope (Lesser Emperor)
Orthetrum trinacria (Long Skimmer)
Sympetrum fonscolombii (Red-veined Darter)
Crocothemis erythraea (Broad Scarlet)

Marjal de Gandia 26th Sep [#3]

A marsh that originally produced my first (and only, so far) Long Skimmer (Orthetrum trinacria), this is about 45 minutes from Jalón and somewhere I like to keep an eye on. Last time we were here, the channels were dry with water only in two lakes, so I wondered about now. The answer was the same, the channels were dry and there was water only in the two lakes. It was not a scintillating visit but my first female Violet Dropwing (Trithemis annulata) happened, albeit a little too close for my mounted camera lens. It’s almost a sharp picture. 😯

Another better photographed prize came a little later when,, on my way out beside the now dry water channel, I saw movement and snapped away. I’m very glad I did because it was a female Orange-winged Dropwing (Trithemis kirbyi) to go with my male from Jalón .

Anax parthenope (Lesser Emperor)
Orthetrum chrysostigma (Epaulet Skimmer)
Crocothemis erythraea (Broad Scarlet)
Trithemis annulata (Violet Dropwing)
Trithemis kirbyi (Orange-winged Dropwing)

Las Salinas, 2nd Oct [#4]

There’s a clue in the name; this is an at least brackish and possibly saline lake in Calpe better known for its Greater Flamingos. I normally expect to see just Red-veined Darters (Sympetrum fonscolobii) here, being at least somewhat salt tolerant and often coastal. I’d spotted nothing on my previous visit and was a little concerned that, through a problem with the water, they may have been wiped out. I was relieved to find them back again with better water levels. I was also surprised to see Lesser Emperors (Anax parthenope) around.

Anax parthenope (Lesser Emperor)
Sympetrum fonscolombii (Red-veined Darter)

Marjal dels Moros, 4th Oct [#5]

I spent the afternoon here on my way back across Spain heading for the ferry at Bilbao. It is certainly the largest wildlife area I’ve yet seen in Spain but my experience is, as yet, very limited. I found navigating it quite difficult as a first time visitor, there being precious few “you are here” maps and the scale being unknown on the few that I did find. It is a coastal marshland that is clearly mainly a birding area. However, the several water bodies do attract dragonflies and apparently in quite good numbers. Whereas the birders, though, are provided with observation platforms for spotting scopes, distance not being to them a great problem, I found approaching many of these water bodies close enough to actually see the dragonflies they supported quite problematic. There were good old Red-veined Darters (Sympetrum fonscolombii) and Southern Darters (Sympetrum meridionale) in quite good numbers and eventually I did manage to spend some time snapping away at a Lesser Emperor (Anax parthenope) in flight at one pond that was beside a track and which did provide waterside access.

It took me some time but I eventually found what had originally been my target species and my main reason for visiting this marsh, the Orange-winged Dropwing (Trithemis kirbyi). Photographically, though, my Spanish home territory of Jalón had it beaten hands down and I confess to remaining a little underwhelmed. I’m sure,though, that had I not already seen my quarry, I’d have been a lot more positive about it.

I must confess that after a couple of hours walking my main concern was finding my way back out of the marsh and back to my car. Still, worth a visit en route.

Anax parthenope (Lesser Emperor)
Anax ephippiger (Vagrant Emperor) ?
Sympetrum meridionale (Southern Darter)
Sympetrum fonscolombii (Red-veined Darter)
Crocothemis erythraea (Broad Scarlet)
Trithemis kirbyi (Orange-winged Dropwing)

Technorati Tags: travel,Spain,wildlife,odonata,dragonflies,damselflies,nature,Jalon

Posted in 2015, Spain, Trip reports

Norfolk, July 2015

Posted on 14 July, 2015 by JC — 2 Comments ↓

Having recently returned from France with a 2-week side trip to Spain, My boss today headed back to Spain along with her mum. Sister was supposed to go, too, but that’s another story. I did the airport run dropping my passengers at 5:30 AM for their 7:30 AM flight to Alicante. They’re gone for a week.

I did not plan to stay at home twiddling my thumbs and doing chores while everyone else was off enjoying themselves in the Spanish sun. Norfolk was beckoning. I decided to travel up on Wednesday 8/07/2015 and stay through Saturday 11/07/2015.

My preferred Caravan Club site at Ludham was regrettably fully booked but I found what looked like a reasonable alternative on the southern edge of Norwich run by the Camping and Caravanning Club. It is described as a city site with a country feel. This site did have space so I booked in. I left the house at almost 11:00 AM with a bag of clothes and headed off to collect my caravan. We sailed up the now completed A11 – there were nightmare road works last year – and arrived at Norwich a smidge before 2:00 PM. At last the road into Norfolk is reasonable. The A47 south of Norwich is still a mess but fortunately I dived off the A47 at the previous exit to get to my campsite.

Being less far into The Broads, I actually had a specific goal in mind. I would be considerably closer to a site that I’ve wanted to visit for some time, Thompson Common, which is home to a healthy colony of Scare Emerald Damselflies/Robust Spreadwings (Lestes dryas). I’d seen a suspect in France but never one in the UK. With a good forecast for the coming three days, I was hopeful.

[Note: I am tending to switch to the more European vernacular names used in K-D Dijkstra’s book ‘cos the traditional, UK-centric BDS names seem to make little sense to me as a wider-ranging dragonfly tourist.]

Campsite, River Yare: 08/07/2015 [#1]

Right beside the campsite is a delightful stretch of the River Yare complete with duckweed, grasses waving underwater in the current, reeds and trees lining the banks. It’s really quite captivating, all the more so because it was absolutely teeming with fluttering Banded Demoiselles (Calopteryx splendens). If these so-called riverside butterflies don’t charm your socks off, nothing will and you are a completely lost cause.

There were other Odos putting in occasional appearances, too. Residents and visitors to the campsite’s river amounted to 6 species that I saw:

Banded Demoiselle (Calopteryx splendens)
Azure Bluet/Azure Damselfly (Coenagrion puella)
Large Red Damselfly (Pyrrhosoma nymphula)
Brown Hawker (Aeshna grandis)
Green-eyed Hawker/Norfolk Hawker (Aeshna isoceles)
Migrant Hawker (Aeshna mixta)

The forecast for the next few days was quite good so my hopes were high.

Alderfen: 09/07/2015 [#2]

Alderfen is a Norfolk Wildlife Trust reserve. Since being introduced to it by the Norfolk dragonfly recorder and former president of the BDS, I have visited twice, once with Carol on our rediscovery of Norfolk trip and once by myself on my previous solo trip late in the season. It’s an enchanting place, teeming with Odonata and not with people, being well off the beaten track and, perhaps a lot less well known that places like Upton Fen and Strumpshaw Fen, whose reputations precede them. Alderfen is very much my kind of place: very quiet. The Thursday weather was looking good but perhaps not stunning, so I chose to complete my journey into Broadland and return to Alderfen.

This time Alderfen proved to be busy … by Alderfen standards, that is; there was another car in the miniscule car park when I arrived, for Darwin’s sake. Did they have permission? I never did see the car’s owner but, as I started along the circular track, another lady turned up and began minutely examining grasses using a hand lens. Towards the end of my circuit, I bumped into a couple of walkers who turned out to be locals, living on the doorstep. I think I may have seen one other person on earlier visits but at Alderfen three other people constitutes a crowd. It’s unheard of.

I completed my circuit in about two hours and clocked up 13 species. The most surprising thing was that six of them were new to me at Alderfen taking my personal species count here to a very impressive 19. That’s just two less than occur in the whole of my home county. There were two very interesting individual suspects that I saw.

The first was the most extreme example of form praenubila, in a Four-spotted Chaser (Libellula quadrimaculata). Lack of good access forced me to take a more imaginative shot than might have been normal and I’m rather glad that I did. 😉

My second surprise was seeing a very teneral Emerald Damselfly/Spreadwing of one description or another flutter up and hang-up. Unfortunately, it chose to perch with the very tip of its abdomen hidden behind foliage so I couldn’t see the potentially diagnostic appendages clearly – well, not at all, never mind clearly. I managed a shot but after it had flown off, as they inevitably do, having begun by thinking Common Spreadwing (Lestes sponsa) or Robust Spreadwing (Lestes dryas), I realized that this could have been a Western Willow Spreadwing (Chalcolestes viridis). This formerly continental species first made landfall in Suffolk near Ipswich some years ago, established a foothold and has been spreading out from there ever since. It is now quite common in Norfolk. I hadn’t got a side shot of the abdomen for its diagnostic “spur” but, looking at the pterostigmas, that last is indeed what I think I saw. [I have since asked for opinions and have received agreement on Western Willow Spreadwing.] I’m familiar with this species in France but this was my first encounter in the UK. Happy camper.

Here’s my species list this time around:

Western Willow Spreadwing/Willow Emerald Damselfly (Chalcolestes viridis)
Common Bluet/Common Blue Damselfly (Enallagma cyathigerum)
Azure Bluet/Azure Damselfly (coenagrion puella)
Variable Bluet/Variable Damselfly (Coenagrion pulchellum)
Common Bluetail/Blue-tailed Damselfly (Ischnura elegans)
Large Red-eye/Red-eyed Damselfly (Erythromma najas)
Brown Hawker (Aeshna grandis)
Green-eyed Hawker/Norfolk Hawker (Aeshna isoceles)
Blue Hawker/Southern Hawker (Aeshna cyanea)
Blue Emperor/Emperor Dragonfly (Anax imperator)
Four-spotted Chaser (Libellula quadrimaculata)
Black-tailed Skimmer (Orthetrum cancellatum)
Ruddy Darter (Sympetrum sanguineum)

Oh, if you’re very lucky at Alderfen, you may catch a glimpse of an otter. I heard one go in after fish but I didn’t see it. The fish were scattering, though.

Thompson Common: 10/07/2015 [#3]

And so to what I was hoping would be my main event for this trip. The weather forecast for the day was excellent so this was the time to hit pastures new. The pastures I was heading for were the so-called pingos on the Pingo Trail at Thompson Common. This is reportedly home to a healthy colony of Robust Spreadwings/Scarce Emerald Damselflies (Lestes dryas) which I have never seen in this country. I have a French suspect but it is just that, a suspect. My target was 25 miles back down the A11. After a leisurely morning, I set off.

I had taken the precaution of checking the roads on Google Earth’s street view so I found the car park with no trouble. I had also printed a suggested walking route from the Internet which guided me through the woods surrounding the car park to the pingos. To save you the trouble, pingos are depressions in the earth left by ice-age boulders. Some (all?) are now filled with water and are home to a good collection of Odonata. The first major pingo on the right as you emerge form the wooded area is where the Emerald Damselflies supposedly are. I found them fairly quickly and got stuck in with my camera. I was beginning to wish I’d armed myself with Wellington boots, too, but I had to make do with walking boots. These were incontrovertibly Robust Spreadwings. What a thrill to make a definite spot for the first time. I was particularly happy to get a pair in tandem, even if you need a solo male at the right angle to see the diagnostic lower appendage shape clearly. 😉

This was my major goal achieved but there were another two pingos close by. I spent some time combing those to see what I could find. In the end I spent a couple of hours and came up with the following 11 species for my introductory day.

Banded Demoiselle (Calopteryx splendens)
Common Spreadwing/Emerald Damselfly (Lestes sponsa)
Robust Spreadwing/Scarce Emerald Damselfly (Lestes dryas)
Common BluetCommon Blue Damselfly (Enallagma cyathigerum)
Azure Bluet/Azure Damselfly (Coenagrion puella)
Common Bluetail/Blue-tailed Damselfly (Ischnura elegans)
Brown Hawker (Aeshna grands)
Blue Emperor/Emperor Dragonfly (Anax imperator)
Four-spotted Chaser (Libellula quadrimaculata)
Black-tailed Skimmer (Orthetrum cancellatum)
Ruddy Darter (Sympetrum sanguineum)

I was tempted to return the following day to investigate ground a little further along the trail.

Strumpshaw Fen: 11/07/2015 [#4]

I mentally flipped a coin to decide where to go today. My mental coin-flipping result was partially influenced by the weather forecast which was for a clear, sunny morning with cloud building up in the afternoon. Therefore, I didn’t want to waste too much time travelling and miss the good weather. A return trip to Thompson Common walking further along the pingo trail this time would have been interesting but it’s 25 miles away and, let’s face it, new pastures are always more interesting. The RSPB reserve at Strumpshaw Fen was a mere 9 mile away so I opted for that.

I timed my arrival for 11:00 AM; that should’ve given the Odos time to warm up. There are three circular walks at Strumpshaw but the one featuring the most Odo activity seems to be the Meadow Walk. I was interested to see several small family groups of people at an RSPB reserve who seemed to be more interested in Odos than in Aves. Yeah, we’re taking over!

If I had a main interest here, I suppose it would have to be the Green-eyed Hawker a.k.a. Norfolk Hawker (Aeshna isoceles), just because it is unusual to me and, of course, because of its local celebrity status. I wasn’t disappointed. A stream marking one edge of the Meadow Trail produced several. The first one I spotted was being constantly harried by Four-spotted Chasers, making photography difficult. However, a few more a little further along were being left more to their own devices and pictures became possible. A. isoceles seems to perch/hang up more than most Hawkers so it isn’t too difficult to get a picture, given a little patience. Once you’ve got something static in the camera bag, you might try an in-flight shot.

Species list from Strumpshaw Fen:

Banded Demoiselle (Calopteryx splendens)
Common Spreadwing/Emerald Damselfly (Lestes sponsa)
Azure Bluet/Azure Damselfly (Coenagrion puella)
Variable Bluet/Variable Damselfly (Coenagrion pulchellum)
Common Bluetail/Blue-tailed Damselfly (Ischnura elegans)
Large Red-eye/Red-eyed Damselfly (Erythromma najas)
Brown Hawker (Aeshna grandis)
Green-eyed Hawker/Norfolk Hawker (Aeshna isoceles)
Blue Emperor/Emperor Dragonfly (Anax imperator)
Four-spotted Chaser (Libellula quadrimaculata)
Blue Chaser/Scarce Chaser (Libellula fulva)
Black-tailed Skimmer (Orthetrum cancellatum)

12 species is not a bad haul for a 2-hour visit. There are bound to be Darters there, too, both Ruddy and Common (a companion thought he spotted a suspect Ruddy Darter but it remained unconfirmed as it disappeared swiftly), and probably Southern Hawkers and Migrant Hawkers, the latter of which are just beginning to emerge. Strumpshaw Fen has a fearsome reputation. It is a lovely place but I still prefer the lesser known and more secluded peace of Alderfen. 😉

I timed my trip to perfection; having enjoyed three sunny days, on Sunday I packed up camp in the rain and drove back home. What a great trip. 🙂

Technorati Tags: wildlife,nature,odonata,dragonflies,damselflies,Travel,Norfolk,UK,Strumpshaw Fen,Alderfen,Thompson Common,photography

Posted in 2015, Trip reports, UK

La Tourbière des Dauges, July 2015

Posted on 2 July, 2015 by JC — No Comments ↓

I learned of La Tourbière des Dauges a few years ago from an internet acquaintance also keen on Odos, one Nick Ransdale of Moulismes Nature. A few years ago we visited another tourbières [peat digging], Les Tourbières de Vendoire, and as well as having a very reasonably priced rural campsite literally right on its doorstep, it produced 22 species of Odos in a day. My interest was piqued so we decided to pause on our northward journey home in the last week of our 2015 French trip for a visit to La Tourbière des Dauges.

La Tourbière des Dauges lies slightly to the northwest of Limoges. To our eyes, the most appealing campsite of a restricted selection was what looked like being an overpriced Les Castels site just north of Limoges called Camping Chateau de Leychoisier. This is where we chose to stay for a princely €35 a night, though being July we were into high season and it may not be regarded as quite so over-priced if you plan to use its many facilities (pool, restaurant, bar etc). What we generally want is a simple field with shade and electricity.

We were assisted in finding the precise location of the reserve by road signs beginning very close to our campsite. Follow those and you’ll end up in the tiny village of Sauvagnac close to the reserve’s entrance. There is a car park (“P” on the map) but it is very small, about seven cars, but small village roads are not impossible. A helpful lady in la maison de la résèrve pointed us to a short (1km) and a long (5kms) walk that would get us to a few dragonfly spots. What I had not realised prior to our visit was that the main attraction from an Odo-nutters viewpoint is the presence of Northern Emerald (Somatochlora arctica).

We began with the short walk before tackling the longer one and the firs suspect we saw was, indeed, S. arctica. Unfortunately, it wasn’t about to settle, flying a circuit seemingly tirelessly. The short walk produced several more S. arctica encounters, none of whom settled. The longer walk again produced more encounters with S. arctica, all on the wing. I failed to get a picture to celebrate my new species. 🙁 Keeled Skimmers (Orthetrum coerulescens) were also numerous but I regarded our most successful photographic encounter to be a Common Goldenring (Cordulegaster boltonii) which settled on one of the access tracks.

Our total haul amounted to only seven species over a 6kms walk:

Calopteryx virgo (Beautiful Demoiselle)
Ceriagrion tenellum (Small Red Damsel)
Pyrrhosoma nymphula (Large Red Dasmel)
Cordulegaster boltonii (Common Goldenring)
Orthetrum cancellatum (Black-tailed Skimmer)
Orthetrum coerulescens (Keeled Skimmer)
Somatochlora arctica (Northern Emerald)

This seemed like a pretty meagre haul to me. If it weren’t for the sight of those Northern Emeralds, I would have regarded it as almost pointless. However, a new species that requires a very specific type of habitat is always exciting.

WARNING: Our most worrying insect haul was of those infernal ticks, no fewer than seven of which found their way onto Carol and most of which attached themselves. The walks take you through some very marshy areas and they get through open-toed shoes. I urge anyone visiting this site to wear Wellington boots as protection.

Technorati Tags: travel,France,odonata,dragonflies,damselflies,wildlife,nature,Tourbiere des Dauges

Posted in 2015, France, Trip reports

Fanjeaux Area, Jun 2014

Posted on 14 November, 2014 by JC — No Comments ↓

A.k.a. France 2014, Part 3.

Inevitably, like addicts, we were bound once again for our favourite campsite on a dairy sheep farm, Les Brugues, at Fanjeaux. Actually, suffering from Tramontane tiredness, we were quite keen to leave French Catalonia and get there. I can take only a few days of battering by a fierce wind. We hitched up and went cross country to avoid the ever so windy A9 autoroute. We stayed with our favourite campsite owners and their ewes from 16th June to 3rd July when it was time to start heading back home. Blast!

The campsite at Fanjeaux has become a bit of a personal project for me. The campsite itself is quite literally the best (for us) that we know … anywhere. Aside from its being a rural camping a la ferme, the pitches are large and situated beside a dammed lake, the water of which is used for irrigation. The lake used to be a haven for Odonata, with 17 species personally noted and, in the case of several of the damselfly species, in very large numbers. You will note my use of the phrase “used to be”. Several years ago the entire ecology of the lake changed dramatically with the introduction of large numbers of fish. All floating vegetation disappeared and the lake, in my words, began to die – except for the farmed Koi Carp, that is. I was keen to see what another two years (we missed 2013 for medical reasons) had done.

Despite the ruination of my favourite dragonfly habitat, Fanjeaux is still the finest campsite bar non and there are other Odonata sites in the vicinity that we also like to keep an eye on. There has to be something to keep one amused for two weeks, after all. 🙂 Just to give forewarning of my punch line, the brightest star in this particular Fanjeaux-area firmament is now definitely the Lac de Lenclas [#6 in the map below]. Read on …

Les Brugues, Fanjeaux [#1]

To a very large extent, my fears for the lake at Les Brugues were realized. Actually, in one respect, the situation was worse than I had expected. I had expected very little in the way of Odos. However, in the past we had always seen a reasonable amount of bird life on and around the lake. On our previous visit we had seen three Grey Herons concurrently, feeding around the edge of the lake. Now there were none. Neither were there any Coots, ducks or Little Grebes chattering away. Oddly, the fish seemed to have disappeared, too, but, despite that, the lake now looked essentially sterile.

Having said that, there still were a few Odos. Actually, to my great surprise, during our 2-week stay, I racked up 12 species. One, a suspected Onychogomphus forcipatus (Small Pincertail), though not 100% identified, was actually new to this site for my observations. However, all these species were present only in ones and twos, no swarms and I really had to look hard to find them. Perhaps, here, we were in a classic Jurassic Park situation of, “nature will find a way”. Whereas, in previous years, I could have amused myself almost exclusively on this farm, now I really did have to go looking further afield for entertainment.

However, on a brighter note, farmer Luc and his wife Nadine seemed to realize that the lake was now in a bad way ecologically speaking. If the ecology can be restored, given that there still seem to be several species hanging on by the skin of the teeth in their Odonata jaws, this previously blissful place could recover to its former glory. Nature will find a way. I hope.

Here’s what we did see, albeit in very small numbers and including this reasonably cooperatively posed female Western Demoiselle (Calopteryx xanthostoma).

Calopteryx xanthostoma (Western Demoiselle)
Lestes viridis (Willow Emerald Damselfly)
Ischnura elegans (Blue-tailed Damselfly)
Enallagma cyathigerum (Common Blue Damselfly)
Coenagrion scitulum (Dainty Damselfly)
Erythromma lindenii (Goblet-marked Damselfly)
Platycnemis pennipes (White-legged Damselfly)
Platycnemis acutipennis (Orange Featherleg)
Anax imperator (Emperor Dragonfly)
Onychogomphus forcipatus (Small Pincertail) ?
Libellula depressa (Broad-bodied Chaser)
Orthetrum cancellatum (Black-tailed Skimmer)

Lac de Montréal [#2]

This particular Montréal (there are several) lies just a few miles east of Fanjeaux and is a place we drive through on the way to Carcassonne. It’s a pleasant enough, though unexciting place with a modest lake created by a dam/dyke. We logged it first in 2012. It isn’t the most scintillating of sites but it sported 10 species, including the Dainty Damselfly (Coenagrion scitulum), when we’d first spotted it so it was worth keeping an eye on.

Not as good this time around and no Dainty Damselflies. There was a half-way decent shot of a Goblet-marked Damselfly (Erythromma lindenii), though.

Calopteryx xanthostoma (Western Demoiselle)
Ischnura elegans (Blue-tailed Damselfly)
Enallagma cyathigerum (Common Blue Damselfly)
Erythromma lindenii (Goblet-marked Damselfly)
Platycnemis pennipes (White-legged Damselfly)
Platycnemis acutipennis (Orange Featherleg)
Anax imperator (Emperor Dragonfly)
Orthetrum cancellatum (Black-tailed Skimmer)

Lac de Montbel [#3]

At first sight, the Lac de Montbel looks very unpromising, being a very large (570 hectares) leisure lake – not the usual description of good Odo habitat. However, at the south-eastern end of the main lake is a dam, below and beyond which is a much smaller body of water with trees, grasses and emergent vegetation – a different prospect altogether. It took us a couple of visits to discover this south-eastern end and now it’s on our list to check out whenever we are there.

We made one visit last about two hours this time around. It was not a great trip photographically, my only decent shot being of this Scarce Swallowtail butterfly [a quick break with normality] but here’s our Odo tally.

Calopteryx xanthostoma (Western Demoiselle)
Lestes viridis (Willow Emerald Damselfly)
Ischnura elegans (Blue-tailed Damselfly)
Enallagma cyathigerum (Common Blue Damselfly)
Erythromma lindenii (Goblet-marked Damselfly)
Platycnemis pennipes (White-legged Damselfly)
Anax imperator (Emperor Dragonfly)
Anax parthenope (Lesser Emperor)
Orthetrum cancellatum (Black-tailed Skimmer)
Sympetrum striolatum (Common Darter)
Sympetrum sanguineum (Ruddy Darter)
Crocothemis erythraea (Scarlet Darter)

Mirepoix [#4]

Mirepoix might be something of a tourist trap but it is justifiably so; It’s a very interesting mediaeval bastide town that really has to be seen to be believed. The market is exceptional.

from an Odo point of view, the river hers flows reasonably swiftly through but can produce some interesting habitat and species , though it failed to do so on this occasion. There was previously also a drainage pipe nearby which had created a kind of man-made flush which was home to Keeled Skimmers (Orthetrum coerulescens) and Southern Damselflies (Coenagrion mercuriale)l; the drainage pipe was still there but the erstwhile flush this time was dry and very overgrown. We did discover a stream new to us flowing through the edge of town which produced a handful of species. There was another, a Gomphid, but it steadfastly remained unidentified. Most interesting of this time small clutch was probably a White Featherleg (Platycnemis latipes).

Calopteryx xanthostoma (Western Demoiselle)
Ischnura elegans (Blue-tailed Damselfly)
Coenagrion puella (Azure Damselfly)
Platycnemis pennipes (White-legged Damselfly)
Platycnemis latipes (White Featherleg)

La Rigole de la Montaqne [#5]

La Rigole, itself a small canal, is the amazing engineering project that feeds water into the Canal du Midi. La Rigole flows through varied landscapes. Its source, at the so-called Prise d’Eau d’Alzeau, lies in the Massif de la Montagne-Noire, where it flows gently down along calm, tree-shaded hillsides. This is where we first encountered the enchanting Beautiful Demoiselle (Calopteryx virgo) in good numbers. It’s now another of our regular haunts in this neck of the woods and is the site of our only encounter with a Sombre Goldenring (Cordulegaster bidentata).

Most notable of our haul here this time was a female Large Pincertail (Onychogomphus uncatus).

Calopteryx virgo (Beautiful Demoiselle)
Pyrrhosoma nymphula (Large Red Damselfly)
Anax imparator (Emperor Dragonfly)
Cordulegaster boltonii (Common Goldenring)
Onychogomphus uncatus (Large Pincertail)
Orthetrum cancellatum (Black-tailed Skimmer)

Lac de Lenclas [#6]

The Lac de Lenclas is a fishing lake (with a restaurant beside it) created by yet another French dam – they do love ‘em. By itrself it’s a decent habitat supporting the utterly captivating, though increasingly common in the south, Violet Dropwing (Trithemis annulata). Indeed, this produced our first decent encounter with them. However, in addition to the lake, there is another section of La Rigole, now out of the mountains, winding its way into the Canal du Midi. This being a gently flowing man-made stream over a shingly bottom, the site is effectively two habitats in one. This mixed habitat may go some way to explaining the reasonably rich diversity of 18 species which we found on two visits during this trip. Most notable this time was a collection of four Gomphids (three Clubtails and one Pincertail) together with the stunning Copper Demoiselle (Calopteryx haemorrhoidalis).Calopteryx xanthostoma (Western Demoiselle), which was new for me at this site.

Calopteryx haemorrhoidalis (Copper Demoiselle)
Ischnura elegans (Blue-tailed Damselfly)
Enallagma cyathigerum (Common Blue Damselfly)
Erythromma lindenii (Goblet-marked Damselfly)
Platycnemis pennipes (White-legged Damselfly)
Platycnemis acutipennis (Orange Featherleg)
Anax imperator (Emperor Dragonfly)
Gomphus vulgatissimus (Common Clubtail)
Gomphus pulchellus (Western Clubtail)
Gomphus simillimus (Yellow Clubtail)
Onychogomphus forcipatus (Small Pincertail)
Libellula depressa (Broad-bodied Chaser)
Orthetrum cancellatum (Black-tailed Skimmer)
Orthetrum albistylum (White-tailed Skimmer)
Orthetrum brunneum (Southern Skimmer)
Crocothemis erythraea (Scarlet Darter)
Trithemis annulata (Violet Dropwing)

I love this spot!

Lac de Balestié [#7]

This is a lake in the grounds of an auberge and restaurant but it is accessible from the opposite side down a farm track. Along said track, there is a habitat of low scrubby bushes basking in sun and some decent sized trees, as well as a crop field (crop subject to change, of course) and these provide interest not only for Odos but for butterflies as well. Depending upon how overgrown the strip of woodland surrounding the lake happens to be, access can be difficult and/or painful with thorns being abundant.

This time around, it was overgrown and access was difficult. 😀 I managed to notch up 10 species, despite the thorns.

Calopteryx xanthostoma (Western Demoiselle)
Enallagma cyathigerum (Common Blue Damselfly)
Erythromma viridulum (Small Red-eyed Damselfly)
Platycnemis acutipennis (Orange Featherleg)
Anax imperator (Emperor Dragonfly)
Orthetrum cancellatum (Black-tailed Skimmer)
Orthetrum albistylum (White-tailed Skimmer)
Sympetrum sanguineum (Ruddy Darter)
Sympetrum meridionale (Southern Darter)
Crocothemis erythraea (Scarlet Darter)

Technorati Tags: nature,wildlife,dragonflies,damselflies,odonata,travel,France

Posted in 2014, France, Trip reports

French Catalonia, Jun 2014

Posted on 13 November, 2014 by JC — No Comments ↓

A.k.a. France 2014, Part 2.

After our return to Provence looking for dragonflies, we spent four days at Loupian near the Bassin de Thau for a spot of rest and relaxation, including some photographic exercise for Carol. Then we were off to pastures new.

A friend of ours, a fellow Odo-nutter, has a house in Montesquieu-des-Albères at the eastern end of the Pyrenees, just a spit south of Perpignan and above the Spanish Border. The chance to see somewhere new and call in to say hello proved irresistible, especially as he had offered to show us one of his favourite odo-spotting sites together with a BBQ and some light refreshment. We’d never been anywhere near Perpignan before so the prospect was quite exciting.

We made our main approach down the very windy A9 autoroute. The windy conditions are, apparently, by no means unusual. Billy got buffeted about a bit, and the almost nose-to-tail trucks travelling between France and Spain didn’t help. Eventually we skirted inland and headed for our chosen campsite in completely unfamiliar territory at Llauro, on top of an exposed hill but offering views to the valley beneath. Regrettably it was an ACSI campsite, ACSI being the Dutch camping mafia. The campsite was adequate but that’s as far as I’d go. Our arrival coincided with the arrival of the Tramontane blowing a hoolie along the Pyrenees so life got “interesting”.

OK, the area in question is Les Albères, a modest group of mountains on the French side of the Pyrenees. This used to be Spanish, part of historic Catalonia, before the Treaty of the Pyrenees. Now it is French but the flag you see flying is the Catalan flag.

This was a relatively brief stay of three days, largely because we got tired of the Tramontane. SO, Odo-spotting opportunities were limited to two sites.

Plan d’Eau, Saint-Jean-Pla-de-Corts [#1]

With little time to get to know our new area, our attention was grabbed by a sign indicating a plan d’eau off one of the roundabouts in the valley. Being a leisure lake, it didn’t look terribly promising at first. However, moving away from the cordoned-off swimming area to an end of the lake with emergent vegetation, we soon started notching up species. My highlight came when I spotted a beautiful male Violet Dropwing (Trithemis annulata) flitting about. Although I messed up the picture DoF, it eventually perched very near a Scarlet Darter (Crocothemis erythraea), making a delightful colour combination and showing an interesting difference in size.

Ischnura elegans (Blue-tailed Damselfly)
Enallagma cyathigerum (Common Blue Damselfly)
Erythromma lindenii (Goblet-marked Damselfly)
Platycnemis acutipennis (Orange Featherleg)
Platycnemis latipes (White Featherleg)
Anax imperator (Emperor Dragonfly)
Orthetrum cancellatum (Black-tailed Skimmer)
Crocothemis erythraea (Scarlet Darter)
Trithemis annulata (Violet Dropwing)

River Tech, Montesquieu-des-Albères [#2]

This was our friend’s local patch so we had a guide who knew the little side roads that lead us to the river side. The river was flowing moderately briskly and there was a shingle bank at the side enabling us to approach closely. At last, excellent access and no members of Joe Public. There were some very good sunlit rocks, too, which were proving irresistible to Pincertails, Small Pincertails (Onychogomphus forcipatus) in this case. Our first customer produced my first ever encounter with the female of this species. Furthermore, a decent side shot of one of the males was enough to convince me that at least some were a new subspecies for me, O. f. unguiculatus.

We think the place produced all three species of Featherlegs, too, though I’d like more photographic evidence of P. pennipes.

Good day!

Calopteryx xanthostoma (Western Demoiselle)
Ischnura elegans (Blue-tailed Damselfly)
Erythromma lindenii (Goblet-marked Damselfly)
Ceriagrion tenellum (Small Red Damselfly)
Platycnemis pennipes (White-legged Damselfly)
Platycnemis acutipennis (Orange Featherleg)
Platycnemis latipes (White Featherleg)
Onychogomphus forcipatus (Small Pincertail)
Orthetrum coerulescens (Keeled Skimmer)
Sympetrum striolatum (Common Darter) ?
Crocothemis erythraea (Scarlet Darter)

Technorati Tags: nature,wildlife,dragonflies,damselflies,odonata,travel,France

Posted in 2014, France, Trip reports

Provence, Jun 2014

Posted on 13 November, 2014 by JC — 2 Comments ↓

A.k.a. France 2014: Part 1.

We had no trip to France hunting Odos in 2013, other than a 1-day pause at the Marais Poitevin en route to Spain in early August. Last year’s miss was due mainly to my having a cataract operation that stole May and June. So in 2014 I was suffering from withdrawal symptoms and eagerly booked our normal 6-week trip spanning the last week of May and the first week of July.

Our 2014 French trip was not designed purely for Odos. Carol was keen to search for orchids, particularly on the causses around Millau. So, with May drawing to a close, we spent 3 days heading south to Millau for our first major stop spending 5 days scouring the area for plant life. I enjoyed the change.

After what was deemed a pretty successful orchid hunt netting us about 20 species, we headed further east to Provence where I was keen to revisit the Peau de Meau in the early part of the season. Our one previous visit of the highly acclaimed Peau de Meau was in September so we should have missed a number of early-season species. In Provence we stayed once again at Camping les Romarins, the barrier controlled and very popular camping municipale in Maussane-les-Alpilles. We’re not sure quite why this campsite is quite so popular since it seems rather impersonal to us with neighbours rarely exchanging pleasantries, but it’s convenient being in the very pleasant small town, has inclusive wi-fi and is reasonably well equipped. Besides, we’ve yet to find a better option in the vicinity. Ah, maybe that’s why it’s so popular? We stayed for a week between 3rd and 10th June.

As well as the Peau de Meau, I was also interested to see what we’d come to know as the Maussane Ditch, in Maussane-les-Alpilles itself. This unassuming little oasis in town had done as well as its famous neighbour last time.

A swift aside to grumble about my being screwed by Google: RIP Google Maps, enter “New” Google Maps. Why do improvements usually result in a degradation? Does New Google Maps now do what I want? No, of course not. I can no longer embed a map into a web page like this in the way I’d like, i.e. zoomed in to the area I’m discussing. So, after much heartache, I’m trying something new in Mapbox. I don’t have quite the control I’d like over icons and text formatting but it’s one heck of a lot closer than Google’s latest autocratically enforced pathetic offering. [I used to really like Google.]

So, using Mapbox, here’s a map showing our visited locations in Provence. My old approach was to make the number within each icon the number of species found at that location. I don’t seem to be able to use personalized icons so the number now represents the location referred to in my text. Who knows, maybe that’s a better approach for this usage.

Mausanne-les-Alpilles Ditch [#1]

First stop, Maussane Ditch, almost literally right outside our chosen campsite.

I’m not sure whether this really is a ditch, as such, but there is a small water course running alongside the Avenue des Alpilles in front of the Salle Agora. In Amerispeak, we might say this is “one block north” of the D17 which is the main road running east-west through the middle of town. This “ditch” was a revelation during our original September 2011 visit notching up 10 species including the delightful Copper Demoiselle (Calopteryx haemorrhoidalis) and Spotted Darter (Sympetrum depressiusculum).

On this occasion we discovered that the “ditch” actually joins into a small stream, the Gaudre du Trible which flows south through town. Our ditch was looking a little too overgrown in places, suffering from a little neglect, perhaps. Doubtless that’s a delicate balance when it comes to Odos when too much attention would disturb the inhabitants. I don’t think it wants to become too congested, though. Fears somewhat allayed, after a slowish start, we did begin seeing our friends though it was the newly discovered Gaudre du Trible that proved to be the main area of activity.

Here’s our combined list for this visit.

Banded Demoiselle (Calopteryx splendens)
Copper Demoiselle (Calopteryx haemorrhoidalis)
Large Red Damselfly (Pyrrhosoma nymphula)
Goblet-marked Damselfly (Erythromma lindenii)
White-legged Damselfly (Platycnemis pennipes)
White Featherleg (Platycnemis latipes)
Emperor Dragonfly (Anax imperator)
Scarce Chaser (Libellula fulva)
Keeled Skimmer (Orhetrum coerulescens)
Scarlet Darter (Crocothemis erythraea)

The 10 species listed above take our total species tally at this modest location in the middle of town to an impressive 15.

Peau de Meau Reserve, Plain de la Crau [#2]

The Peau de Meau reserve in the Réserve Naturelle des Coussouls de Crau, just south of Saint-Martin-de-Crau, has an almost Mecca-like reputation among dragonfly enthusiasts. The area of interest for Odo-nutters is a stream flowing along the north-western border of the reserve; it runs NE-SW just inside the entrance right beside the car park. Given its reputation, Our September visit in 2011 netted what I regarded as a pretty paltry 10 species; heck, I spotted that many in our ditch at Maussane-les-Alpilles. 🙂 I should note, though, that on my first visit to the Peau de Meau in 2011, I spent an awful lot of my time distracted by my very first encounter with the utterly captivating Copper Demoiselles (Calopteryx haemorrhoidalis) that abound there.

This time, once again armed with our necessary permits purchased (€3 each) from the Ecomusée de la Crau in Saint-Martin-de-Crau, we set off in hopes of significantly improving our count and improve it we did. This time we saw 14 species taking our total to 16; still not that impressive, to be honest, ‘cos I’ve logged 17 at my favourite farm campsite at Fanjeaux. Still, it was a good day because we snagged our first ever female Blue-eyed Hooktail (Onychogomphus uncatus). The biggest surprise of the day for me, though, was my first meeting in parts foreign with a couple of Norfolk Hawkers (Aeshna isoceles), much more appropriately called Green-eyed Hawkers in this neck of the woods, patrolling the stream and with not a single Water Soldier plant in sight.

Banded Demoiselle (Calopteryx splendens)
Copper Demoiselle (Calopteryx haemorrhoidalis)
Southern Damselfly (Coenagrion mercuriale)
Goblet-marked Damselfly (Erythromma lindenii)
White Featherleg (Platycnemis latipes)
Norfolk Hawker (Aeshna isoceles)
Emperor Dragonfly (Anax imperator)
Lesser Emperor (Anax parthenope)
Yellow Clubtail (Gomphus simillimus)
Blue-eyed Hooktail (Onychogomphus uncatus)
Scarce Chaser (Libellula fulva)
Black-tailed Skimmer (Orthetrum cancellatum)
Keeled Skimmer (Orthetrum coerulescens)
Red-veined Darter (Sympetrum fonscolombii)

I still can’t get enough of those Copper Demoiselles, though. 🙂

Canal de la Vallée des Baux, D27 [#3]

Just a few kilometres south of Maussane-les-Alpilles lies this stretch of the Canal de la Vallée des Baux. It was an instant hit with me in September 2011 because it provided my first ever encounter with a Spotted Darter (Sympetrum depressiusculum). Access could best be described as less than terrific because the canal side is raised, rather like a dyke, and quite overgrown so you can’t get really close to the water. However, the vegetation on the side does provide good habitat for a lot of the Odos venturing a short distance from the water.

Our route to and from the Peau de Meau takes you past this site so I couldn’t resist calling in on our way back from the Peau de Meau to see what we might find. We were there less than an hour. I’m very glad we did call in, though, because, although we spotted only six species this time around, one of them was the Green-eyed Hawker/Norfolk Hawker (Aeshna isoceles), along with a Western Clubtail (Gomphus pulchellus) that settled in the vegetation beside us.

Banded Demoiselle (Calopteryx splendens)
Blue-tailed Damselfly (Ischnura elegans)
Goblet-marked Damselfly (Erythromma lindenii)
Orange Featherleg (Platycnemis acutipennis)
Norfolk Hawker (Aeshna isoceles)
Western Clubtail (Gomphus pulchellus)

Etang des Aulnes [#4]

The Etang des Aulnes itself is a large body of water that doesn’t look promising as Odo habitat, too much big open water, though it may be reasonable for birders. The main area of interest where Odos are concerned is a small collection of what I think are fishing ponds dug into the eastern side of the étang. This is where we concentrated our efforts. The weather was not at its best but we managed to notch up 11 species, which I suspect is not a great tally for this spot, in reality.

Blue-tailed Damselfly (Ischnura elegans)
Small red-eyed Damselfly (Erythromma viridulum)
Goblet-marked Damselfly (Erythromma lindenii)
White-legged damselfly (Platycnemis pennipes)
Orange Featherleg (Platycnemis acutipennis)
Emperor Dragonfly (Anax imperator)
Lesser Emperor (Anax parthenope)
Scarce Chaser (Libellula fulva)
Black-tailed Skimmer (Orthetrum cancellatum)
White-tailed Skimmer (Orthetrum albistylum)
Scarlet Darter (Crocothemis erythraea)

So, in summary, I was a little disappointed at not seeing any species new to me but our first female Onychogomphus was very welcome as was our first foreign encounter with Aeshna isoceles. And [I can hear my English master cringing] how bad can seeing Caloptery haemorrhoidalis be?

Technorati Tags: nature,wildlife,dragonflies,damselflies,odonata,travel,France

Posted in 2014, France, Trip reports

New Forest, May 2014

Posted on 13 May, 2014 by JC — No Comments ↓

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We are fans of the New Forest in the south of England but, for one reason or another, we didn’t get to visit it in 2013. So, withdrawal symptoms were setting in. Hoping to get to France for June, we decided to head for the New Forest as our early spring destination. After all, the more southerly regions of the country get an earlier start to their Odonata season than other regions, so it might prove to be a good chance to see more early species than elsewhere. At least, that was my thinking. We went for two weeks and stayed at the Forestry Commission’s Setthorns campsite.

As I’m getting tired of saying when it comes to the UK, the weather was, frankly, pants, with a fair amount of wet and nearly always cool/cold. Quite unusually, though, the three days of our early May Bank Holiday weekend were the only real sunny days we had and the temperature staggered up to an almost acceptable 16°C/60°F. I arranged to meet a local fellow Odonata enthusiast, Paul Ritchie, who showed us a couple of spots that were new to us. His local knowledge proved extremely helpful and we racked up 10 species over the three day weekend. I’d consider that a very good haul for the first week of May in the UK. Here’s a bit more detail.

Pennington: 3 May 2014

This site is not general public access but Paul has permission to root around in it. A soon as we clambered over the gate we disturbed an Azure Damselfly (Coenagrion puella) and a few Beautiful Demoiselles, sunning themselves on some sheltered bushes. We soon added a few more species to the list, including the season’s first Hairy Hawker (Brachytron pratense) which typically did not hang around for a photo call.

Calopteryx virgo (Beautiful Demoiselle)
Pyrrhossoma nymphula (Large Red Damselfly)
Coenagrion puella (Azure Damselfly)
Ischnura elegans (Blue-tailed Damselfly)
Erythromma najas (Red-eyed Damselfly)
Brachytron pratense (Hairy Hawker)

Hatchet Moor: 3 & 4 May, 2014

I had tried Hatchet Pond, a tourist magnet just outside Beaulieu, myself but to no avail. Hatchet Pond is quite large, only one end looking as though it is suitable Odonata habitat. However, Paul told me that there were a couple of smaller ponds just off the main pond’s southern tip and that I’d have better luck there. These smaller ponds are best accessed from the Hatchet Moor car park and are actually a site for Downy Emerald (Cordulia aenea), which Paul was keen to try to find. So, after having our fill of Pennington, and of lunch, we headed to Hatchet Moor to hook up with yet another local enthusiast, Doug Overton.

Though I missed it whilst looking elsewhere, the gang did find a Downy Emerald. Fortunately, Carol saved our bacon and snagged a decent shot of it. 🙂 We got our first Broad-bodied Chasers (Libellula depressa) of the year, too.

Pyrrhosoma nymphula (Large Red Damselfly)
Ischnura elegans (Blue-tailed Damselfly)
Enallagma cyathigerum (Common Blue Damselfly)
Erythromma najas (Red-eyed Damselfly)
Cordulia aenea (Downy Emerald)
Libellula depressa (Broad-bodied Chaser)

Burbush Pond: 4 May, 2014

I think this is the official name of this pond, just south of Burley, though we have our own pet name for it – we call it Pony Poo Pond because someone, mentioning no names Carol, once threw a lump of Pony Poo into some reeds trying to dislodge a hidden female Southern Hawker (Aeshna cyanea). Here’s the three species we saw on this visit, the main one of interest being the Four-spotted Chaser (Libellula quadrimaculata), our tenth species in the two days of sunshine.

Pyrrhosoma nymphula (Large Red Damselfly)
Libellula depressa (Broad-bodied Chaser)
Libellula quadrimaculata (Four-spotted Chaser)

Ramsdown Plantation: 5 May, 2014

This is a good site for Black Darter (Sympetrum danae) and is the site of my first ever encounter with this handsome little dragonfly, though not at this time of year, of course. Interested in extending my personal species list there, I was keen to return. I called Paul to see if he was interested but he was already out scrutinizing another location. He suggested it might be a little too windy on this day for Ramsdown Plantation and he was quite right. Access was was difficult, too, the pond being somewhat bigger after all the rain. Success was limited:

Pyrrhosoma nymphula (Large Red Damselfly)
Enallagma cyathigerum (Common Blue Damselfly)
Libellula quadrimaculata (Four-spotted Chaser)

The single teneral Four-spotted Chaser managed to get itself tangled up in some twigs and I moved in to rescue it. It sat a while, then took to the wing, apparently none the worse for its ordeal – or my rescue. 🙂

Technorati Tags: travel,England,New Forest,wildlife,nature,odonata,dragonflies,damselflies,photography

Posted in 2014, Trip reports, UK

Slovenia-Croatia, Jun 2016

Spain, Xmas 2015

Spain, Oct 2015

Spain, Sep 2015

Norfolk, July 2015

Campsite, River Yare: 08/07/2015 [#1]

Alderfen: 09/07/2015 [#2]

Thompson Common: 10/07/2015 [#3]

Strumpshaw Fen: 11/07/2015 [#4]

La Tourbière des Dauges, July 2015

Fanjeaux Area, Jun 2014

French Catalonia, Jun 2014

Provence, Jun 2014

New Forest, May 2014

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