July 7th 2020
I have meant to visit this site every year since time began, every year something always gets in the way and I usually miss the window.
It’s a well known place of natural beauty and very well known for Dragonflies, especially the rarer ones, along with this it’s also a good place for birds.
Unfortunately someone with a disposable barbecue it seems set light to it on May 31st and much of the Reserve went up in flames. There is a donation website to help restore it online as well set up.
The loss of natural life would have been catastrophic, so when we visited I had an open mind and fully expected not to see much.
The Boardwalks out onto the really good Dragon areas had burnt out, many were simply stumps, they are also obviously closed off.
However I found enough boggy wet areas viewed from the main path to find 2 species I had never seen before – Keeled Skimmer and Black Darter. Got some photos of the Keeled but the Darter was impossible, very small and fast and not a chance of a photo as it never seemed to land.
 |
| Keeled Skimmers |
 |
| 4 Spot Chaser |
 |
| Keeled Skimmer |
 |
| Emerald Damselfly |
 |
| Azure Damselfly |
Of course lots of other Dragons present as well, 4 Spot Chasers seemed to be everywhere and I also caught up with Emerald Damselfly.
Birds – plenty to see, we didn’t walk too far but caught up with at least 3 pairs of Stonechat, 3 Red Kites, 2 Common Redstarts, Coal Tits, Treecreeper, Green Sandpiper, 2 Common Buzzards and 3 flyover calling Crossbills.
 |
| Distant Red Kite |
A long overdue visit, still some more of the rarer Dragons to see, so another visit is in order.
No comments:
Post a Comment