Chase Me, Chase Me

 

A few days ago I was walking in the woods a few miles from where I live and noticed a sign about how a local conservation group had dredged the pond in the woods to encourage more wildlife to the area. When I got there I discovered a small pond about 10m across, and it stunk. There was no obvious inlet or outlet so the water was just sitting there looking lifeless.

However, from the corner of my eye I noticed something zoom around the edge of the pond. It was a light blue dragonfly flying around the perimeter of the pond and then disappearing. I watched for a while and then noticed a brown dragonfly hovering and dipping it's abdomen into the water - clearly a female ovipositing her eggs. I then realised that the two must have just mated and whilst the female was depositing the eggs the male was 'keeping guard'.

I walked slowly around the pond and then spotted the blue dragonfly on the branch of a small bush on the waters edge - that's where it had been disappearing to.

On my return home I identified the dragonflies as Broad Bodied Chasers (Libellula depressa) - very common in the UK but it was the first time I'd seen one.

Wikipedia has a page here:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Libellula_depressa


I'll head back to the pond again this summer and see if any other wildlife has colonised it.

Catch You Later!

Bugs and Blooms

Recently I've been on a few of trips in deepest, darkest Somerset.

A couple of weeks ago I was on the Somerset Levels, the first time I'd visited since the horrendous flooding. It was good to see (at least in the part that I visited) that the area is nearly back to normal.

 

 

 

There were plenty of damselflies around but I didn't spot any dragonflies. I'm no damselfly expert and identifying them can be a bit of a minefield as there is a certain amount of variability in the markings of the blue species but I think the following show either Azure damselflies (Coenagrion puella) or Variable Damselflies (Coenagrion pulchellum) and a Large red damselfly (Pyrrhosoma nymphula):

 

 

 

 

 

 

My next trip was to a secret location 'somewhere in Somerset'. I'd heard of an unspoiled meadow that was supposedly full of orchids and after some investigation found someone who knew where it was and was willing to tell me. So many sites are damaged that I won't reveal the location but here's what I found:

Green winged orchids (Orchis morio)

 

Green winged orchid (pink variety)

 

 

 

Water forget-me-not (Myosotis scorpioides)

Red clover (Trifolium pratense)

 

 

 

 

Greater spearwort (Ranunculus lingua)

 

Common fumitory (Fumaria officinalis)

 

 

 

 

More Green winged orchids

 

 

 

 

 

 

My last trip was to Broomfield Hill near Bridgwater to see this year's spectacular display of bluebells:

 

 

 

English or Common bluebell (Hyacinthoides non-scripta)

&

Red campion (Silene dioica)

 

 

 If I've mis-identified anything here please comment and I'll amend the page.

 

 

Catch you later!