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.

New Life and New Venues

This afternoon I saw a juvenile Blackbird (Turdus merula) on the garden fence. It was the last of a series of pictures I took last week of all kinds of phases leading towards new life in nature. But of course there was so much more to see as well! Always nice to have a week off…with some splendid weather! Here are some pictures.

The Tufted Ducks (Aythya fuligula) in the London Wetland Centre had, as always, many ducklings to parade before my camera, although this mum only showed one of them.

I can remember having seen more than 10 in one nest a couple of years ago. There were some more elsewhere…

 

The Blue Emperor Dragonfly (Anax imperator) was ovipositoning in another part of the Wetland Centre and this gave ample opportunity to take some decent pictures.

Later in the week I saw two Common Blue damselflies in a phase of procreation earlier.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The amount of dragon- and damselflies this year is fantastic and this will go on for quite some time! A true joy for the camera, that’s for sure!

It is only a bit frustrating that they are such skilful aviators, because it is hard to get them on camera.

 

I found a new and beautiful park in London: The Dagenham Chase, in the Barking area. The habitat varies from wetland to grassland with some open ponds as well. A true paradise in the middle of London.

Some Common Terns (Sterna hirundo) were flying over one of the ponds and this shot was the best I could make. They are so quick in the air…

Thankfully a Black-tailed Skimmer (Orthetrum cancellatum) was kind enough to sit down for a while. I have seen them more this year than any other time. And although Dagenham Chase was a new venue for me, there were of course some old classics: the Greylag Goose (Anser anser) and the Great-crested Grebe (Podiceps cristatus).

I will end this blog with a picture of a butterfly that I haven’t seen for a while: the Red Admiral (Vanessa atalanta). They are around, just not where I was. I saw this one at Broadwater Lake, near Harefield.

Where is the Gatekeeper?

This morning I went out on a walk to find some butterflies and other insects. But I wondered why I hadn’t seen any Gatekeepers (Pyronia Tithonus) so far. because in my memory those were the only Browns (Satyridae) I always found. And indeed today there weren’t any to be seen. As always, internet gave me the solution…as did my picture archive (the picture on top is one of those): they fly from July onwards after the caterpillar has survived the winter in a half-grown state. So this blog is about everything else I saw in the last couple of weeks.

The very delicate Skippers (Hespiriidae) can only be seen when you look carefully, because they are very small. Thankfully I managed to find both the Large Skipper (Ochlodes Sylvanus) as the Small Skipper (Thymelicus Sylvestris).

The first time I saw a Black-tailed Skimmer (Orthetrum Cancellatum) was in the Green Heart of The Netherlands and I did not expect to see it here as well. So it was quite a surprise to see a mating couple of these dragonflies at Ruislip Lido.

And after this sighting I have seen some more near the water. Because the males will hold a vigil near the warm water edge until his significant other arrives.

Originally, I thought they were Broad-bodied Chasers (Libellula Depressa), but the golden edge on the wings show their true identity.

 

 

Whilst there are no Gatekeepers yet, there are plenty of Ringlets (Aphantopus Hyperantus) around. They can be found on green leaves which makes their colours  stand out even better.

A very pretty butterfly indeed! I will finish this blog with a surprise. I did take some pictures of Small Tortoiseshells (Aglais Urticae), but when I looked at home at this particular picture, there were actually two on the same leaf!

 

On a Sunny Afternoon

It was just one of those Saturday afternoons; sunny after some heavy rainfall and nothing else to do than to walk in the woods. And so I did, following my standard route to Ruislip Lido and back home. But it was still worthwhile… as always.

First I spotted Mr. Broad-bodied Chaser (Libellula Depressais) as well as Mrs. BBC. They look a little bit different, but are both beautiful. It was strange that they did not meet up because we need a next generation after all.

There were several different Dragonflies and damselflies to be seen. The Red-eyed Damselflies (Erythromma najas) had met up and were having the time of their life in the sun, which means there will be more of these beautiful insects soon.

But the biggest surprise this afternoon was the Buzzard (Buteo Buteo) flying over the water. It was chased by some ugly black birds and it flew away after some minutes. Therefore the pictures are not particularly sharp. I am just happy to have taken them in time.

A weekend of Insects

This weekend seemed to be perfect for insect chasing. It was sunny and dry and there was not too much wind; I was not disappointed at all! But I did not expect to see the ones I am about to show.

The Broad-bodied Chaser (Libellula Depressais) is a magnificent Dragonfly that makes a lot of noise when it flies around your head. Thankfully, this female was kind enough to rest on a plant to pose for my camera. With its transparent wings and the sun shining through it is a truly remarkable insect. The colours are fantastic, as you can see at the picture from my archive (taken in 2012).

It is always exciting to take a picture of an insect that I never saw before. Finding out what it is can take some time, but the internet is patient (just like me..?). The moth on the left is a Yellow Shell (Camptogramma Bilineata) from the family of the Geometridae and the two mating damselflies on the right are Large Red’s (Pyrrhosoma Nymphula) from the family of the Coenagrionidae.

 

Flying over the high grass of Tottenham Marshes I spotted my first Common Blue (Polyommatus Icarus) this year. They are cunning little creatures, because The chrysalis is attended by ants, which will often take it into their nests.The larva creates a substance called honeydew, which the ants eat while the butterfly lives in the ant hill. After changing into a butterfly, they just leave the ant hill…without a simple Thank You.

The first butterfly you normally see in the year, is the Brimstone (Gonepteryx Rhamni). And yet I wasn't able to take a picture from a close distance, until today.

And finally: this blog with pictures of a weekend of insects would not be complete, without a good old fashioned Bumblebee on a flower. I took this picture in my garden this weekend when the bee was feasting on the Osteospermum.