Chasing Dragons

This time of year is not always the best for watching birds - some are on nests, some hidden away with their youngsters, some moulting and only a few non-breeding migrants returning just yet. But it is the time to go searching for other treasures of nature.

They won't all be rare, of course, but who could ignore the fiery flash of a Red Admiral butterfly skittering among the thistles?

And who could pass by the poise of a Banded Demoiselle? And the photo reveals that this particular demoiselle has notably hairy legs!

There are still some birds to be found at the two reserves my brother and I visited last week. A watchful Grey Heron poses in one of the shallow pools of the reedbed. Nothing escapes that piercing yellow eye.

Great Mullein is a plant of roadsides, railway lines and waste places. It's impressively tall but only a small section of its flower spike is in bloom at any one time. When you look closely it's rather pretty; I've seen a lot less showy plants that are tended lovingly by gardeners.

Here's what I was really hunting for - dragons! Well, dragonflies anyway. This is the female, or perhaps an immature male, of the Ruddy Darter. 

Here's the male, which looks quite different. They are a common species around the reedbeds, flooded gravel pits and slow-moving rivers that feature heavily on our local nature reserves.

What's the collective noun for a group of Seven-Spot Ladybirds? 4 x 7 = 28! though there were actually far more of them than the picture shows.

A Painted Lady butterfly. The first one I've had a chance to photograph this year. They fly here from mainland Europe most summers and every few years we get a sizeable influx. I'll not tell you how many pictures I took before it agreed to turn to the right position.

While I was busy photographing the insects a young Muntjac deer tiptoed across the marshy ground. Even if the lack of little horns didn't give away that it was a very young individual, its complete innocence and heedlessness would have betrayed its youthful naivety. 

Damselflies everywhere! Two Common Blues and a Blue-Tailed Damselfly soak up the morning sun.

This is the Maiden Pink, a speciality of the sandy soils of Breckland - but a very uncommon one these days. It is threatened by both over-grazing and under-grazing of the heathland. Too much grazing and the plants are devoured by sheep, too little grazing and scrub encroaches, overwhelming the tiny flowers. These were growing in a small garden of native plants near the visitor centre at Lakenheath Fen RSPB reserve.

Back to the dragonflies. A Four-Spotted Chaser perches on its favourite reed. The dark spots on the wings give it its name. There are two spots on each of the four wings, 2 x 4 =  4 ? Hmmm...

One little yellow triangle just behind the wings though definitely equals a Norfolk Hawker. These were once restricted to the Norfolk Broads but, happily, they have now spread to other places - though they are still a threatened species and I always feel privileged to see one. And, indeed, all the other treasures found on my rambles.

Take care.