Kibblesworth Brick Works…

 …or Bowes Valley Nature Reserve is a great place for Dragonflies so around the middle of last month my wife and I had a walk around the pond to see what was there. We weren’t disappointed.

Female Emperor Dragonfly.

She landed on the pond

And began to lay eggs.

She was laying eggs in several places.

Male Emperor Dragonfly.

They were always patrolling

So, getting one in a perched position was a bonus.

Emperor with an Azure Damselfly flying close by.

An Emperor with a Four-spotted Chaser above.

Four-spotted Chaser.

One of them kept landing in the same place sometimes with prey.

Black-tailed Skimmer.

Burnet Moth.

Small Skipper.

Large Skipper.

Shaded Broad-bar Moth.

Grasshopper.

Little Grebe humbug.

Little Grebe.

Dragonflies

 

Images of Dragonflies from various sites over the last few weeks. Kibblesworth was predictable I knew what I was going to see however I didn’t see a lot. Twizell Woods was surprising I didn’t expect to see what I found there. Cragside was disappointing I say that but it was the weather that was disappointing (the BBC weather app got it wrong) not the Dragonflies however I have never seen so few Dragonflies in all the time I have been visiting Slipper Tarn.

Mating Black-tailed Skimmer.

A poor record shot of an Emperor Dragonfly.

I didn’t expect to find a female Brown Hawker at Twizell Woods.

Hopefully looking good in a couple of years.

Common Hawker.

Female laying eggs.

The same female laying eggs in a different spot.

She was still laying eggs when this male tried to mate with her. All the wrong settings on the camera.

Southern Hawker.

The reason I went to Cragside Black Darter. This male seems to be looking at his lunch.

This one took a fancy to my wife even leaving a little gift.  

Female Black Darter.

I watched this newly emerged Black Darter crawl up this stem to dry out.

Common Hawker.