With a few Southern Migrant Hawkers seen ovipositing into a drying up pool last year at Nethergong, I was keen to see whether they had grown since my last visit. Just one problem, the field has cows in it and I'm not that good with them. I was hoping they may have been moved to another field but when I visited at the weekend, they were sitting down at the far side of the field. I had no choice but to try and get to the pool so I made my way around the outside of the field and made my way to the pool which is drying up quickly by the looks of it. The cows were sat down at this point so I quickly got netting in some of the wet areas and was soon catching Common / Ruddy Darter nymphs, Chaser nymphs, a small Hairy Dragonfly nymph and best of all, 2 Southern Migrant Hawker nymphs. I could see the mask did not extend past the second pair of legs which the Migrant Hawker does and the shape is slightly different as well. At this point the cows were on their feet and making their way over to me quite quickly. I had no escape other than over a barbed wire fence into the reeds. They were soon all around me and spent the best part of 40 minutes just staring at me. Eventually they got bored and wandered off down the field allowing me to make my escape back to the car. I decided to bring the 2 Southern Migrant Hawker nymphs back with me and set up the tank at home to take some photos of them. Normally I prepare this before hand and get rid of any bubbles etc but I had to do this at the same time. As it had been a while since I had had a tank session, I was a little rusty with settings but through trial and error, I ended up with a few photos which show off at least the mask feature which does not extend past the second pair of legs.
The nymphs were returned later that day to the pool avoiding any cows but I am slightly concerned how dry it is getting. I'm not sure whether I should leave them and hope it rains or move them to another pool on the site with much more water. I would love for them to be successful so will monitor over the next few days and make a decision. On another note, I made my second visit to Thursley Common yesterday where I am trying to locate emerging Brilliant Emerald Dragonflies for a film company I am working closely with. No luck again but I did see c7 Downy Emerald, 1 emerging Black tailed Skimmer, a few Broad bodied and Four spotted Chasers and 2 Keeled Skimmer. I shall hopefully return again later this week where the date should give me a better chance. This morning I had a walk at Hothfield Common with Michelle and in sunny / cloudy conditions, I found a Downy Emerald in the woods flying around and landing occasionally. I had good binocular views and was surprised to see one here. I've not got a clue where this had come from but good to know they are around.
Those cows must have wondered what the heck was going on!!
ReplyDeleteI betbthey wondered why a human was hiding in the reeds behind a fence. Hopefully they're be moved soon to the field next door and I ca have a good check of the pool. Take care.
DeleteDon't know about your area, but up here beyond the north/south divide, I think the downpours we've had the past couple of days will have saved the bog and it's dragons at Birk Bank from a death by drought. Interesting post and images of nymphs Marc.
ReplyDeleteRegards...Pete.
Many thanks Pete for your visit and comment. We've had rain today so hopefully a bit f water has helped out. If the cows are moved, I would like a few evening sessions soon to see whether I can photograph one emerging at night. Take care.
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