Dragonflies in flight

A pair of ruddy darters in tandem.  A dragonfly's wings beat at 30-50Hz, similar to a  hummingbird's but much slower than a bee's (300Hz)   These photos were taken at 1/1000th of a second.

Birds of the week

It has been a mainly dragonfly week so here are a few waders.  Redshank, ruff and snipe from the Ponteland hide at Hauxley.

And a snipe at Big Waters.

Northern Southern

Beside the bumpy road at Prestwick Carr.  I think the Southern Hawker is the most beautiful of the hawkers.  Despite the wonderful colours in close up, it is amazingly well camouflaged from a metre or more away.

This is the male.

This is the female.

In tandem.

And in a mating wheel.

What's going on here, then?

This was a strange sighting.  Both these emerald damselflies are male.  The lower one didn't seem too pleased about it but couldn't get away.  Such confused behaviour is rare but is recorded.  Dr Pam Taylor of the British Dragonfly Society suggested that they started off as a trio with both males after the same female who probably disengaged before I found them - and the upper male hasn't quite realised what has been going on.

The Drinker

Seen yesterday on reeds at the pond.  I think it is the larva of the drinker moth (Euthrix potatoria).  Although the caterpillar is beautifully coloured, the moth is disappointingly plain brown.  The moth gets its name from its habit of drinking drops of water.

Darters at Banks Pond

A lovely day for dragonflies.  The common, black and ruddy darters were all making the most of it.

Insomniac hedgehog

Foraging in the garden at 2 o'clock this afternoon.  I expect it woke in the middle of the day and felt peckish.