Tails and the unexpected

Swallowtail butterflies were the main target of my recent Bank Holiday weekend in the fens and I was not to be disappointed, seeing them shortly after my arrival at one of the most well-known and accessible sites for this species, Strumpshaw Fen near Norwich. I arrived mid-afternoon to find unexpected traffic chaos caused by a fair at the nearby Steam Museum, swelling the ranks of the Swallowtail admirers who head there at this time of year. The famous 'Doctor's garden', whose planted beds are a favourite haunt of the butterfly, was out of bounds but, having seen them on the somewhat gaudy flowers there some years ago, I was in any case hoping to see them in a more natural setting.

Swallowtail, Strumpshaw Fen

A wider angle showing more of the nectar source

A portrait crop which I quite like

After a short wait near the garden, a Swallowtail arrived, turned its nose up at more exotic plants, floated over the mown lawn and headed for an unkempt patch full of Red Campion. I enjoyed extended views as it sought nectar from almost every flower, some of which were close to the path. Due to the long grass it was difficult to get a clear photograph but with patience, and high ISO ratings in the gathering gloom of late afternoon, I was able to take a few opportunities to capture the butterfly in this habitat.

Swallowtail, Hickling Broad

Nectaring on Yellow Flag Iris, abundant around the Broad

A different individual, judging by the nick in the right forewing

I returned early the following morning to look for butterflies and dragonflies but, having found both in short supply, on the advice of a local butterfly enthusiast I headed a little further east to Hickling Broad, which had the added advantage of avoiding more steam fair related chaos arising from the ongoing festivities at Strumpshaw!

This pair appeared to be engaged in some form of courtship, with some elaborate parallel flying manoeuvres

Swallowtail must be one of the few butterflies large enough to photograph in flight distantly over a reedbed!

A close-up of the exquisite hindwing pattern and tails

This turned out to be good advice, as good numbers of Swallowtail were visiting a recently cut patch of reedbed in which Yellow Flag Iris were flourishing. Getting a clear photograph through vegetation was, again, difficult, but there was an uncluttered view of several flowers from a conveniently placed bench, so I made myself comfortable and waited. Eventually Swallowtails obliged by nectaring at the nearest flowers and then it was just a question of hoping that my chosen camera settings could capture the action of these restless, hyper-active insects.

The long tongue can be seen here searching for nectar

The mating pair - note the tails of the lower individual poking through the closed wings of the one above

Not something you see every day: Swallowtail threesome!

Sitting in the same spot for so long enabled me to become intimately familiar with the surrounding habitat, and eventually I noticed a pair of Swallowtail apparently mating low down in the reedbed. They were repeatedly bothered by a third individual, which seemed determined to get in on the action! The pair stayed bonded for at least half-an-hour before the indiscreet third party finally seemed to have ruined the moment for them, and they went their separate ways. Hopefully not before the seeds of the next generation were sown!

Hickling and Strumpshaw were also excellent for dragonflies - this a male Broad-bodied Chaser at Strumpshaw...

...a female Black-tailed Skimmer at Hickling...

...a Hairy Dragonfly at Strumpshaw...

...and, best of all, a Norfolk Hawker at Hickling

My view of this green-eyed monster was very restricted but made for a nice soft focus edge to this image 

Scarlet fever at Longham Lakes

On Saturday evening Dorset birder Martin Wood posted on Twitter a photograph, taken at Longham Lakes, of a startlingly bright red dragonfly, along with a request for help with the ID. Martin is a popular figure on the Dorset birding scene, not least due to his endearing habit of not checking what the auto-correct function has done to his posts before he sends them. Thus, a number of new species have been added to the Dorset list over the years thanks to these typos, including Montagu's Barrier, Woodstock, Wedge Warbler and the aptly-named Wood Sandpaper.

Scarlet Darter (confusingly also known as Scarlet Dragonfly or Broad Scarlet) is an incredibly vivid shade of red - here resting with wings swept characteristically forward 

The abdomen is flattened compared to other red Darters, and it has a small yellow patch at the base of the hindwing. Note also the blue underside to the eyes, a feature evidently shared with Red-veined Darter

A different angle to show the brilliant scarlet head and eyes. On one of the finer points of ID, 10 or 11 ante-nodal cross-veins on the leading edge of the forewing can be seen on the photos above (compared to 8 in other red darters)

Red-veined Darter had been reported at Longham in recent days and Martin posed the not unreasonable question of whether this might be one of that species. The internet 're-identified from photos' phenomena reared its head at this point with dragonfly buffs confidently proclaiming it to be a Scarlet Darter Crocothemis erythraea - only the 8th record for Britain and apparently the first for Dorset. I had trudged around Longham Lakes in the heat of Saturday afternoon trying to improve on my earlier photographs of Lesser Emperor - unsuccessfully I should add - and was unaware of the presence of the even rarer visitor which must have been present at the same time. So with a good forecast on Sunday morning I made the short journey back to Longham while the rest of the family were having a lie-in, arriving just after 0900.

Lesser Emperor at Longham Lakes - note the pale blue band at the base of the abdomen. An absolute swine to photograph - they seemed to patrol over a much larger area than Emperors, and they hovered only rarely

I never saw one perch in almost 6 hours at Longham - as a result I had to wait patiently in the baking sun and hope for one to pause long enough for the auto-focus to lock on

Fortunately this one did and although the light was unkind I was pleased to have improved on my earlier efforts

Checking the areas of the lakes allegedly favoured by the Lesser Emperors (again, unsuccessfully), after about an hour I headed down to the bottom end of the south lake where Martin had photographed the Scarlet Darter. There I met up with some other local dragonfly hunters who had come to search for the Darter. We spread out and covered the area near where Martin had photographed it, before moving on to pay close attention to a small pool at the base of the south lake.

On any other day this Red-veined Darter would have been the star of the show - but yesterday it played 3rd fiddle to the Scarlet Darter and Lesser Emperor

Brown Hawker - the only other dragonfly to be as restless as the Lesser Emperor, I had to settle for a flight shot

This Golden-ringed Dragonfly was more inclined to perch on tall vegetation - though it seemed to want to stay in the shade unfortunately

As I walked slowly along the edge of the pool, primarily looking for Small Red-eyed Damselflies close enough to photograph, I was stopped in my tracks by a tiny telephone box of a dragonfly which I surmised could only be the Scarlet Darter. Hailing the others, we all enjoyed close views as the Darter basked and made occasional hunting sallies before returning to perch on the same stalk of vegetation.

Emperor Dragonflies were sparring with the Lesser Emperors

A female Emperor

Emperor is more inclined to perch on vegetation than Lesser Emperor

After a bit of debate about the ID during which our disbelieving minds were almost in denial of the clear evidence before our eyes, we eventually ruled out Red-veined Darter and put the news out that the Scarlet Darter was still present. A number of locals and a few from further afield managed to get to Longham to see it before it went missing around lunchtime. Thanks to his discovery of the Scarlet Darter, we can now celebrate Martin for yet another addition to the Dorset list! A great find and a just reward for his diligent coverage of the Lakes.

Black-tailed Skimmer was by far the most numerous large dragonfly at Longham Lakes this weekend

Here a female Black-tailed Skimmer captured in flight

Three species of damselfly in this picture - Small Red-Eyed (top left), Blue-tailed (top right) and Common Blue (bottom left)

After success with the Scarlet Darter, everything else then fell into place - the Lesser Emperor(s), previously so elusive, were found faithfully patrolling the same stretch of the south lake shore, a Brown Hawker floated past, a Golden-ringed Dragonfly played hide-and-seek in some brambles with a pair of Banded Demoiselle, and a Red-veined Darter posed for photos. Some 16 species of Odonata were recorded at Longham Lakes this weekend - firmly establishing it as one of the country's leading sites for this fascinating family.

Common Blue Damselfly

The much rarer Small Red-eyed Damselfly

Banded Demoiselle

Dragons' dens

Dorset is a something of a dragonfly hotspot but I have visited a few others on recent travels, including on our holiday to the north west of Scotland at the start of the month, an area which hosts a number of species with restricted ranges in the UK. Site guides old and new suggested that Bridge Of Grudie on the southern shore of Loch Maree would be worth a look. Not an easy site to cover with wellingtons being essential to get out to some boggy pools which I had read host the White-faced Darter, though I had almost immediate success with one of my targets on leaving the car and flushing a Northern Emerald in a forest clearing just behind where we had parked.

Northern  Emerald - a female judging by shape of the abdomen - compare to....



...a male Northern Emerald, which has a more 'waisted' appearance. Note also the calliper-shaped anal appendages. Call me puerile, but it's great to have an excuse to use the phrase 'anal appendages' on this blog again. It's been a while.

Lateral yellow spots on the frons also identify this as Northern Emerald - one is just visible here

I eventually located the pools, which can't be seen from the roadside, but unfortunately there were no White-faced Darters on them and I had to make do with several Four-spotted Chasers and a variety of Damselflies. James Lowen's A Summer of British Wildlife also suggested checking out a site in Slattadale Forest (where a tantalising glimpse of what was probably a female Azure Hawker left me slightly frustrated) and the Woodland Trail at the Beinn Eighe NNR where a brief but conclusive view of a male Azure Hawker in flight was more satisfactory. Annoyingly, despite heavy rain starting as it floated around a clearing, it just would not land to pose for a photo. Still, two new dragonflies in two days was good going.

Four-spotted Chaser, Bridge of Grudie

Blue-tailed Damselfly, Bridge of Grudie

Common Blue Damselfly, Bridge of Grudie

Within a week or so of returning home to Dorset from Scotland, the chance of seeing another new species arose when Olly Frampton discovered a couple of Lesser Emperor, a rare migrant to the UK, at nearby Longham Lakes. As it was during the recent heatwave, despite the lateness of the hour and some afternoon cloud cover, I felt it was worth a try after work to see if they were still on the wing.

Lesser Emperor, Longham Lakes - readily identified by the pale blue saddle behind the thorax.

This attractive Banded Demioselle was also on the wing at Longham

Female Emperor at Longham Lakes - during warm weather the normally green abdomen can turn blue

Sure enough, with the help of son George and the rest of the family who I had lured to Longham with the promise of pizza on the way home, we found one shortly before 8pm. It didn't settle, so I had to make do with a ropey flight shot as it sped past some lakeside reeds. This run of close encounters with rare dragonflies encouraged me to spend a bit more time photographing them on some recent walks in Wareham Forest - great habitat for odonata.

Female Black-tailed Skimmer, Wareham Forest

Emperor, Wareham Forest

Keeled Skimmer, Wareham Forest

On one tiny pool in the forest I came across three blue male dragonflies each of a different species - the impressive Broad-bodied Chaser, the slightly less chunky Black-tailed Skimmer and the sleek Keeled Skimmer - testament to how fortunate we are to have all this on our doorstep.

Broad-bodied Chaser, Wareham Forest

Black-tailed Skimmer, Wareham Forest

Keeled Skimmer, Wareham Forest