Yardley Chase - on 16th June, 2018

On 16th June, I joined an arranged visit to Yardley Chase, which was organised by Mark Tyrrell,  County Dragonfly Recorder for Northamptonshire, on behalf of the British Dragonfly Society. The objective of the visit was to observe Downy Emerald dragonflies at Northamptonshire's only site for this species - and also to see what else was around!

The day before the visit, a look at the weather forecast for the area had it not looking good - cloudy and breezy, with a fair chance of rain later. I phoned to check that the visit was still on as 65 miles (105 km) is a long way to go to find that an event has been cancelled. Mark reassured me that the event would take place and the Downy Emeralds would probably perform for us.

Yardley Chase is an interesting area that is privately owned and not  open to the public. It was originally a Norman hunting chase. During the Second World War it was felt that the rural wooded aspect of the chase would provide good cover for a military storage facility. Most records state that the many bunkers built were for storage of explosives, each one being surrounded by a water-filled moat. However, during the visit, it was also suggested that important national documents, etc. were held here for safe-keeping. I would have thought that the two would be mutually exclusive! Some of the bunkers are still visible.

Military remains - Yardley Chase

In addition to the dragonflies, I was also interested to learn that this place was a great place to find Wood Whites, and we were soon seeing these delightful  little butterflies.

Wood White (Leptidea sinapis) - Yardley Chase

I'm pleased to say that the visit had been restricted to 12 participants - unlike the previous BDS visit I'd attended - and this was a very manageable number. 

It is the remains of the moats that make the area a haven for invertebrate wildlife. The first pond we visited immediately yielded our first Downy Emeralds, although these were constantly on the move and extremely difficult to photograph. 

Mark had done a bit of searching around at the far side of the pond and found a newly emerged Southern Hawker. We went round to have a look and it was a while before someone noticed that one of its forewings had not developed properly.

Southern Hawker (Aeshna cyanea) (teneral male) - Yardley Chase

Also, in the same area, I photographed a Banded Demoiselle.

Banded Demoiselle (Calopteryx splendens) (male) - Yardley Chase

We then moved on to other ponds, taking a lunch break part way through the visit.  Here are some of the non-dragonfly items that I saw during the visit - I'll leave the dragons to the end.

Donacia semicuprea - Yardley Chase

Swollen-thighed Beetle (Oedemera nobilis) (male) - Yardley Chase

caterpillar - any ID info would be appreciated - Yardley Chase

Common Frog (Rana temporaria) (froglet) - Yardley Chase

Later in the day these froglets were everywhere and, no doubt, some will have fallen victim to our footfall in the long grass.

It was commented on during our visit that there was a dearth of birds in the area.

To the best of my knowledge, just three Southern Hawkers were seen that day - all teneral and all in some sort of trouble. The first, I have already shown. The second I found with its two forewings bonded together by haemorrhaged fluids. One of our number was able to separate the two wings and it managed to fly. The third I won't show here as it was a very sad case - a female that seemed to have run out of body fluids. Its body wasn't fully expanded and its eyes were clouded over and looked as if they had been deflated. The first two might have made it, but not the third. It was suggested that these were all emerging in long pond-side vegetation that was too dense and were not able to get to an unobstructed position to stretch out as they developed.

Southern Hawker (Aeshna cyanea) (teneral male) - Yardley Chase

On a happier note, all other species seemed to be doing fine! Here are some:-

Large Red Damselfly (Pyrrhosoma nymphula) (male) - Yardley Chase

Large Red Damselfly (Pyrrhosoma nymphula) (female) - Yardley Chase

Banded Demoiselle (Calopteryx splendens) (male) - Yardley Chase

Emerald Damselfly (Lestes sponsa) (immature males) - Yardley Chase

Emperor (Anax imperator) (female - ovipositing) - Yardley Chase

Emperor (Anax imperator) (exuvia) - Yardley Chase

OK, so I've left the Downy Emeralds to last. Earlier this year I'd seen and photographed my first ever Downy Emeralds in Surrey. On that occasion I'd only managed to get some (fairly reasonable) flight shots - no static shots. Here at Yardley Chase it looked as if I was going to fare even worse. The light was not good for much of the time and my attempts at flight shots didn't come to much at all - here are some 'for the record'.

Downy Emerald (Cordulia aenea) (male) - Yardley Chase

Suddenly I noticed that people were gathering at a spot on the other side of the pond - a perched Downy Emerald had been spotted. It was still there when I got round to the other side, but it was hard to get an unobstructed photo - at least I was able to witness those rainbow colours on the thorax that I'd heard about.

Downy Emerald (Cordulia aenea) (male) - Yardley Chase

After everybody had had their fill of this specimen and it was still there, I cleared it with the rest of the group that I could go into the water for a better shot (I was the only one wearing wellies!). It did give me a slightly better shot, but I didn't want to hang around and disturb it.

Downy Emerald (Cordulia aenea) (male) - Yardley Chase

I'd had an extremely enjoyable and informative day at Yardley Chase, and I take this opportunity to thank Mark Tyrrell for organising the visit and his help and guidance, and the rest of the people there for making it such an enjoyable time. Thank you, all!!

Hopefully, my next post will feature Pt.2 of my visit to the Outer Hebrides - I haven't even started on it yet (life's a bit hectic at the moment)!

Thank you for dropping by.

Drakelow NR and Contact with an Alien - on 13th August and 28th September, 2017

Sunday, 13th August

I'd not visited Drakelow Nature Reserve, managed by Derbyshire Wildlife Trust, for some time, mainly because of the construction of a solar farm taking place next door to the reserve. As the work had now finished and this place can be good for dragonflies as well as birds, I decided on a visit on 13th August. Because of the bird factor, I took the 50-500 lens on my camera, rather than the 150 macro.

I'd not been on the path for long when I found a young rabbit that was much more confiding that usual. 

Rabbit (Oryctolagus cuniculus) - Drakelow NR

A little further on I found my first Southern Hawker of the year. 

Southern Hawker (Aeshna cyanea) (male) - Drakelow NR

There were surprisingly few butterflies around, but this could have been because it was breezy. This rather worn female Common Blue was settling on the path-side vegetation from time to time.

Common Blue (Polyommatus icarus) (female) - Drakelow NR

There was a pair of Black Swans on the far side of one of the lakes, but too far away for sensible photography. I photographed few birds that day, but the next is of one of them.

Cormorant (Phalacrocorax carbo) - Drakelow NR

A little further on I found my first Migrant Hawker of the year. Happily, this was a female. It's not often I see the females of this species - I wouldn't be surprised if the sighting ratio was 50 males to 1 female!

Migrant Hawker (Aeshna mixta) (female) - Drakelow NR

There were a few Speckled Wood butterflies on the reserve.

Speckled Wood (Pararge aegeria) - Drakelow NR

At the risk of confusing the reader, further on I found a mating pair of Common Blue - this time Common Blue Damselfly, rather than Common Blue butterfly!

Common Blue Damselfly (Enallagma cyathigerum) (pair mating) - Drakelow NR

I was a little surprised at how few Common Darter dragonflies were around - here's one:

Common Darter (Sympetrum striolatum) (male) - Drakelow NR

As I was heading out of the reserve, I stopped by a lake and a Kingfisher flew in and landed in a distant tree. This is the best I could do before it flew off again! This was extremely exciting for me as I'd not yet had my close encounters with Kingfisher which feature in some of my earlier posts.

Kingfisher (Alcedo atthis) - Drakelow NR

Thursday, 28th September

Well over a month passed before my next visit. I arrived at lunch time and stopped off beside a lake to have a quick look around before lunch. There were a few dragonflies around including several Common Darters, a couple of male Migrant Hawkers, and a possible Southern Hawker seen briefly at a distance. I only managed photos of Common Darter.

Common Darter (Sympetrum striolatum) (female) - Drakelow NR

There were several Caddisflies around, but I do not know of hat species they were.

Caddisfly species - Drakelow NR

I noticed that one particular type of flower was attracting numerous bees that seemed to look very white. I have no idea what this plant was, or what the species of bee was, but I believe that the pale colouration of the bees was probably due to a covering of pale pollen. This is one with a little less pollen on its abdomen.

Bee species - Drakelow NR

I also saw the first of many butterflies here.

Comma (Polygonia c-album) - Drakelow NR

I took my picnic into the first hide and was nearing the end of my lunch when a couple of old acquaintances arrived. During our chat they informed me of an alien that they'd seen on the reserve, and where it could sometimes be seen.

Having finished my lunch, I set off into the reserve. I was soon finding a few dragonflies, but only managed to photograph two species. 

Common Darter (Sympetrum striolatum) (male) - Drakelow NR

Common Darter (Sympetrum striolatum) (female) - Drakelow NR

Migrant Hawker (Aeshna mixta) (male) - Drakelow NR

I also saw what will almost certainly prove to be my last damselfly of the year - a Common Blue Damselfly.

Common Blue Damselfly (Enallagma cyathigerum) (male) - Drakelow NR

An adult Dock Bug (a close relative to the shieldbugs) presented itself nicely in the sunshine.

Dock Bug (Coreus marginatus) (adult) - Drakelow NR

Butterflies seen included several Speckled Wood, but I didn't photograph any of that species.

Comma (Polygonia c-album) - Drakelow NR

Red Admiral (Vanessa atalanta) - Drakelow NR

By this time I'd passed by the location that the alien was said to frequent, and I didn't see it. However, it was there on the way back as I reached the main path. Although it had been described to me, I still couldn't believe my eyes when I saw the size of the Yellow-bellied Slider that had hauled out of the water - it must have been as big as a dinner plate!

It was in a very difficult position for photography and facing away from me behind bushes as I stood on the nearest part of the bank. Here's a view from the side path that I'd just come down.

Yellow-bellied Slider (Trachemys scripta scripta) - Drakelow NR

Eventually I was able to find a place where I could just get a view from the near part of the bank, where I waited until it turned its head, as in the next image.

Yellow-bellied Slider (Trachemys scripta scripta) - Drakelow NR

I hung around for a while in the hope of getting a better view, but it didn't seem to want to move so I continued to a more remote part of the reserve. 

I saw very little, other than a few Migrant Hawker dragonflies that were very uncooperative, and some Common Green Shieldbugs. The Common Green Shieldbug is very variable in colour in all its stages. This can be seen in the following two images showing 5th instars (nymphs) of the species. 

Common Green Shieldbug (Palomena prasena) (5th instars) - Drakelow NR

The adults are also extremely variable in colour, and take on a brownish hue as autumn progresses. However, I have never before seen one with the extreme colouration as shown in the second image. At first I thought I'd got a different species!

Common Green Shieldbug (Palomena prasena) (adult) - Drakelow NR

To my utter surprise, as I made my way back to my start point, I found the Slider was out of the water and making its way across the path in front of me.  As I approached, it stopped. giving me the opportunity to take some closer photos. Sadly, however, it was in deep shade, so I didn't do well. 

Yellow-bellied Slider (Trachemys scripta scripta) - Drakelow NR

Not wanting to disturb it too much, although it had probably grown up with human contact, I didn't stay with it for long. I did, however, for some crazy reason decide that I wanted to touch it. I very gently touched its carapace with the tip of a finger, taking care not to go anywhere near its mouth (they can, I understand, take chunks out of you!). I had made contact with an alien!

My last photos were of another Migrant Hawker. This one was in better condition than the first one.

Migrant Hawker (Aeshna mixta) (male) - Drakelow NR

Yellow-Bellied Slider

The Yellow-bellied Slider is a native of the southeastern United States (Florida and Virginia). Like the Red-eared Slider (more usually known as the Red-eared Terrapin in UK), it is traded as a pet. Sadly, although these are usually bought as cute little creatures, they can grow to a very large size, and outgrow their welcome. I do not know what the responsible or humane way of disposal is, but it is certainly not releasing them into the wild, where they cause all sorts of problems. I suspect that this individual was released into the River Trent, which adjoins the reserve, and made its own way into the reserve (the reserve is members-only with a security gate). I'm not sure whether this Yellow-bellied Slider can survive an English winter (recommended temperatures for keeping them are higher than those of the average UK centrally heated home), but Red-eared Terrapins can certainly survive an English winter. 

When I encountered this creature out of the water I wished I knew what the best course of action was. I felt sure that, if I'd had something I could put it in securely, I should have picked it up and transported it to somewhere where it would be dealt with in an appropriate manner. If anyone has any views or knowledge on this subject, I'd be pleased to hear them. When I mentioned what I'd seen to the none-too-helpful person who was working on the site (those that know the site will know precisely who that person is) I was just told "yes, and there's Red-eared Terrapins here too".

Thank you for dropping by. I have absolutely no idea what the subject of my next post will be.