Little Success...Big Disappointments.

In a week with perfect weather, I was off to check out Birk Bank bog and surroundings. But, bearing in mind the successes of recent sorties here and there, five hours later I came away from the area with little success and big disappointments.

Dealing with the disappointments first, given the conditions of calm hot sunny weather, I've not seen Four-spotted Chaser over or on the bog since 15 were seen on 16 June. I've also yet to see Black-tailed Skimmer or Black Darter here this year, and that's three species certain to be found around the bog at Birk Bank*

Dragons2blog....But not that many! 

To lift the visit to the bog out of total disappointment, I did see 4 Golden-ringed Dragonfly, 2 Keeled Skimmer male, 8 Common Darter all males, a Common Hawker and a Migrant Hawker. 

The Migrant Hawker was seen as a species that avoids acidic water, but tolerates brackish water. It can be found anywhere on migration which reaches its peak during the first half of September. My records in 2021 show a total of 90 Migrant Hawker seen in two trawls along the canal towpath, 43 Glasson-Conder Green 15 September, 47 Conder Green-Galgate 20 September. Both these records fit in nicely with the peak migration of Migrant Hawker in mid-September.

Keeled Skimmer Ottergear Bridge. Pete Woodruff.

A wander to Ottergear Bridge had me finding 2 Keeled Skimmer male again this year on the west side of the bridge. On the grit track to Cragg Wood, 2 Common Darter female and a Common Blue Damselfly.

Stonechat Birk Bank. Ian Mitchell. 

A pair of Stonechat with a young were east of the car park on Rigg Lane, and a juvenile Robin seen from the footpath as I came away from the bog. Butterflies, 6 Red Admiral, 2 Small Copper, 2 Meadow Brown, and a Speckled Wood.

Sundew Drosera rotundifolia. Pete Woodruff. 

A recent star find goes to the Sundew. A plant which carries the symbol indicating the need for protection, and which Charles Darwen once wrote in a letter in 1860....'at the present moment, I care more about Drosera than the origin of all the species in the world'.

Black Darter bog boardwalk (Archive Image) Pete Woodruff.

* In relation to my lack of sightings this week at Birk Bank in mid-August, some notes on flight periods of three species in Lancashire which may go some way to explain reasons for the disappointment.

Four-spotted Chaser....The first large dragonfly to appear in spring, and the earliest to disappear in autumn, falling rapidly in early August.

Black-tailed Skimmer....Appears mid-June, rapidly declining in mid-August.

Black Darter....A late emerging species, beginning during August and gradually reaching a peak in September.

Looks like I may have been too late for the top two species, and too early for the last one....My next visit might throw up some answers on that.