Brown Hawkers.

With Pen once again at the hospice I managed a whole day with Nigel on the local Levels looking for more dragonflies and any other delights.

On the Fleabane was a very fresh Painted Lady and Red Admiral. We were also surprised to find some more Raft Spiders on the ditches. Dragonflies were very numerous and a male Brown Hawker surprised us by settling nearby and actually sitting tight for a couple of minutes.

Male Brown Hawker.

Two mating pairs of Southern Hawkers were seen and whilst following one pair I disturbed a Common Frog. It has been some time since I last saw this type of frog so it was good to get a good look at it.

Common Frog.

The most common dragonfly was the Migrant Hawker with lots of males hunting and occasionally settling.

Male Migrant Hawker.

On the way back to the car I was watching a Brown Hawker hunting nearby. I saw it catch a small insect and it then settled on a post to eat it. I crept up on it and managed a sideview shot of it. At this point I saw that it had caught a Ladybird and as it had eaten the inside it dropped the shell. Although the wire on the fence was a slight distraction it does show the fabulous eye of this magnificent species.

Brown Hawker with Ladybird shell.