Birds and Dragonflies

Unfortunately, my Summer Holiday is over. But I had set a target to see as many birds, butterflies or dragonflies (damselflies included) as possible…through my camera. I did help that I found some great places; the weather was a friend as well. Here are the results with not too much text to add. I will not show my butterfly pictures in this blog, but I did see quite a few.

It was a perfect time to see the production of a new generation of dragonflies in full swing. First a mating picture of the Black-tailed Skimmer (Orthetrum cancellatum).

A typical mating ritual while flying over a pond and with the female constantly dipping her tail in the water to lay her fertilised eggs. These are Common Darters (Sympetrum striolatum):

After I refilled the birdfeeders in my garden, I have been sitting for hours on end to see if there were any customers for my food. Eventually I could take some pictures of a Blue Tit (Cyanistes caeruleus). The patience you need….!

 

This House Sparrow (Passer domesticus) tried to get in one of the cages at London Zoo. They are declining in the urban habitat, but this might go just a little bit too far.

When I revisited Rainham Marshes (after I became a member of the RSPB) I found a Black-tailed Gotwit (Limosa limosa) and a Snipe  (Gallinago gallinago) together in a pond.

I also visited another RSBP reserve: RSPB Rye Meads. Again a little paradise in an urban area. I took many pictures, but here are just a few. First a Common Tern (Sterna hirundo) in flight. There were many around.

But the best moment over there was, when I took a picture of a Kingfisher (Alcedo atthis) upon its return to feed the kids. All in all it has been a very satisfactory period of nature photography.

Lookalikes

Just recently I learnt the differences between the Common Darter (Sympetrum striolatum) and the Ruddy darter (Sympetrum sanguinemum). From a distance (and before you study the picture at home afterwards) they look very much alike. But I had the same trouble to see the difference between some other insects, and therefore I present a little guide to lookalikes. I already wrote a blog on some of the insects before.

Spotted Burnets

Let’s start with something very easy. By just counting the spots on the wings, you know which one it is; either a Five-spot Burnet (Zygaena Trifolii) or a Six-spot Burnet (Zygaena Filipendulae), both of the family of the Zygaenidae.

They are actually moths, but they can be seen at daytime. They both visit a range of flowers and can sometimes be seen together on one flower.

Unfortunately I’ve only got pictures of the six-spotted . The one that has a similar look from a distance however is the Cinnabar Moth (Tyria jacobaeae) as shown on the right.

Skippers

It took me quite a while, before I could distinguish between the Large Skipper (Ochlodes Sylvanus) and the Small Skipper (Thymelicus Sylvestris), both of the family of the Hesperiidae. Because they are quite small and almost equal in size. Their colours are just the same and you even find them together in the same habitat. The most obvious difference is the pattern of the light brown markings on their orange wings. The Large Skipper has a more chequered pattern whereas the Small Skipper has thin, prolonged  lines.

Blues

So far, I have only see the Common Blue (Polyommatus Icarus) and the Holly blue (Celastrina Argiolus) of the blue members of the family of Lycaenidae. From a distance they are just rays of bright fluttering blue , but even when you take a picture, you already see the difference. The pictures below should speak for itself.

Blue-coloured Dragonflies

There are two blue-coloured male dragonflies that very much look alike as well: The Broad-bodied Chaser (Libellula depressa) and the Black-tailed Skimmer (Orthetrum cancellatum). I have been mistaken several times, but I think I got it now. For the Broad-bodied Chaser has typical yellow patches on its abdomen but the Black-tailed Skimmer, more importantly, has a black colouring at its tail.

Red-coloured Dragonflies

But now something more complicated: the Common Darter (Sympetrum striolatum) vs. the Ruddy Darter (Sympetrum sanguineum). There are three features that distinguish the Common from the Ruddy:

1. The Common Darter is bigger.
2. The Common Darter has yellow diagonal stripes on its legs and the Rudy Darter has all-black legs.
3. The Rudy Darter has yellow/gold colouring at the base of its wings.

The picture on the right shows the black legs and the golden wing base of the Ruddy Darter quite well. The picture on top of this blog shows the other darter’s features, I believe.

 

 

But to convince ourselves, I will end this blog with another picture of the beautiful and very “uncommon” Common Darter.