Revenge of the Odontates

Went back to Blarney lake the last day to get some more pictures of the dragon and damselflies that live there before winter sets in and they disappear, surprisingly the species I found last time seem to have declined or disappeared entirely and have been replaced by a large population of ruddy darters. All in all we saw about 50 of these very picturesque dragonflies (below).

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Very approachable species and quite easy to capture on camera as well, perhaps the only downfall is their tendency to sit flush with the ground making side profile shots difficult. They are quite territorial and jealously defend their patch of about 2 meters from passersby. I know very little about insect behaviour but my guess would be that the dragonfly with the best territory gets the girl. There was plenty of egg laying couples present as well bobbing up and down together over the water’s surface. Very interesting!

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The drastically smaller population of damselflies that remains consists of the same species I saw here before, namely blue tailed, common blue and azure. There may have been variables too; frankly telling them apart gives me a migraine! (Some of the ones below may be wrong). 

Blue tailed damselfly

Azure damselfly

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I thought this was quite interesting, a pair of blue tailed damselflies mating and getting attacked by an azure damselfly. Weird behaviour! Perhaps this again is a territorial dispute but the damsels generally don’t seem that fussed over territories, maybe these species are in competition for egg laying spots. Heck, maybe he crash landed!

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Finally we spotted several emperor dragonflies, the largest dragonflies I have ever seen in Ireland and also a bit nightmarish in appearance. It’s as big as my fist and flies around in quite an aggressive manner. The fact that it buzzes while doing this and comes quite close at times doesn’t help either. Instinctive caution aside it is actually harmless to humans (obviously). The females seemed busy looking for the best lilies to lay their eggs under. Unlike the darters and damsels the pairs aren’t attached whilst laying eggs. Not sure if this is a trait of their subfamily or if they are simply too heavy to do so. Interesting to compare the three species and their different methods of egg laying though.

If ever there was a competition for perfect predator then the massive emperor would be a prime candidate.

Female laying an egg

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Oh yeah, almost forgot about the butterflies. Quite like the red admiral below, delighted to get a non cropped picture of one of these beautiful butterflies before they too disappear.

Common blue

Red admiral buttefly, one of several on a thistle bush

It really 'bugs' me...

...when I can't find any birds

The past week or so has turned up very little in the form of city birds. Don’t get me wrong, they haven’t all fallen from the skies or anything, it’s just that generally there is nothing out of the ordinary going on. There are still a couple of flycatchers around and my ever present friends the blackbirds and robins are still busy distracting me but there is nothing out of the ordinary. I had hoped to get some shots of Blackcaps, Chiffchaffs, willow warblers, barn swallows, sand martins, grey wagtails and various other small and brown birds but have found pretty much nothing.


(some dodgy shots of the old familiars)

A drying cormorant

Grey wagtail taking a walk on a pipe

A hooded crow still being harrased by its child

Eventually I decided to spend a day down in Blarney looking to photograph the reed buntings and blackcaps that live alongside the small lake there. Again, nothing but glimpses and silhouette shots. In the end I decided to focus my energies on chasing some of the local butterflies, damselflies and dragonflies with some interesting results. I must say that the disappointment of not finding many birds was quickly offset by the pleasure of observing these lovely insects. The four spotted chaser in particular was a pleasure to watch, it’s a rather massive insect that flits across the lake surface with lightning speed whilst grabbing smaller insects with great precision. The much smaller damselflies too are deadly hunters in their own right as the picture of the common blue damselfly on the right proves!

So without further ado I present some of the members of the rather large Odonata family. The damselflies in particular are rather hard to tell apart and there is a good chance I misidentified one or two of them. A thanks to Mothman at boards.ie for helping to ID them.

Most likely a female freshly emerged Ruddy Darter (Sympetrum sanguineum)

The mentioned four spotted chaser (Libellula quadrimaculata), the pic doesn't do him justice but its so fast that I was lucky to get this shot!

A Rufescens form Blue tailed damselfly (Ischnura elegans)

A regular blue tailed damselfly (Ischnura elegans)

Azure damselfly (Coenagrion puella)

Common blue damselfly (Enallagma cyathigerum)

Not too sure what this is (I forgot to get it ID'd) if anyone knows please do let me know

Not a bad haul right! It definitely made my day; still, tomorrow it would be nice to find something with feathers. Later.

A beaten up looking robin, poor little guy

Blarney

Today I’ll venture outside the city to the town of Blarney which lies about twenty minutes drive (or bus ride) outside Cork city. The castle within its grounds is world renowned and visited by rather a lot of tourists yearly who like to get their picture taken whilst they kiss a stone. No I’m not mocking the place I’m just poking fun at a tourist industry that adds a somewhat whimsical dimension to genuine archaeology (I understand the need for reservation and safety, but adding concrete floors to a castle, really!?). Ahem...anyway, this place is not just a castle but also has a large wooded area that surrounds it full of interesting creatures.

The presence of a large lordly house and extensive gardens make the whole place feel like a miniature model version of Killarney national park. Plenty of rooks, jackdaws, hooded crows (below), magpies, rock doves and wood pigeons to be found all around the place this time of year.

Additionally an impressive amount of songbirds can be found enjoying the scattered trees of the gardens. Robins, Chaffinches, Greenfinches, blackbirds, song trushes, house sparrows and linnets can all be seen regularly around the grounds and can be quite approachable. The aged walls of the castle too allow for tree creepers, goldcrests and tits to nest (blue tit on right).

Again, like Killarney, the grounds are surrounded by a mixture of farmland and woodland with various paths running through them. The forest path is quite an enjoyable twenty minute stroll, (not sure why the sign says an hour and a half ??) and has an impressive variety of vegetation including deciduous, pine and even some very fancy looking ferns. These trees are filled with the sounds of songbirds going about their routines, especially robins and blackbirds but also the occasional blackcap warbler (left). Notably a lot of rabbits live in the forest and can regularly be glimpsed from the path.

The forest eventually opens out to a small lake surrounded by forestry. This time of year only the occasional moorhen, heron, warbler or mallard can be seen from the lakes limited access points but an impressive number of insect species can be seen here.  Several species of butterfly and damselfly can be seen here and are so common that photographing them is relatively easy. 

 

The forest and lake walk can be done as one circular journey which takes about an hour to complete, it may not be the largest place but the fact that it’s close to the city, its picturesque views and its varied flora and fauna certainly make it worth visiting for a photograph or two or just a day in the sun!

 (Please note, bird photographs weren't actually taken in Blarney but are rather indicative of actual sightings)