Black-tailed skimmer

28 Tuesday Jun 2022

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Black-tailed skimmer, British dragonflies, dragonfly, Orthetrum cancellatum, skimmers

Though the British Dragonfly Society website says this species ‘favours lakes, slow rivers, ponds and occasionally marshy area[s], that have open water and bare patches along the shore’, I usually find Black-tailed skimmers (Orthetrum cancellatum) locally in wildflower fields and along woodland rides, not always with water or damp habitat nearby.

220628 black-tailed skimmer (2)

Perhaps it’s their flexibility in preferred habitat that has enabled this dragonfly to spread so widely – the BDS website again: ‘Quite common in south-east Britain. This species has spread significantly in both England and Wales since the late 1980s.’ Although I saw my first Black-tailed skimmer of the year over three weeks ago, on 2 June, this particular skimmer is the first I’ve managed to get close enough to for reasonable photographs.

220628 black-tailed skimmer (1)

There be dragons

20 Tuesday Jul 2021

Posted by sconzani in insects, nature

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Black-tailed skimmer, British dragonflies, Broad-bodied Chaser, dragonfly, Emperor, Southern hawker

Our local dragonflies seem to relish this hot summer weather we’ve been experiencing, but they are so speedy and flighty I find them quite difficult to photograph. Fortunately, these few were more co-operative …

Black-tailed skimmer

Emperor

Broad-bodied chaser

Southern hawker

153/366 Skimming and resting

01 Monday Jun 2020

Posted by sconzani in insects, nature

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Black-tailed skimmer, British dragonflies, Cosmeston Lakes Country Park, dragonfly

The Black-tailed skimmers are out and about again at Cosmeston Lakes Country Park, and I was delighted to spot both males and females during last Saturday’s exercise walk.

200601 black-tailed skimmer (1)

My guide book*, and most websites I’ve checked, say these dragonflies are ‘typically found resting on bare surfaces near water’, and, as its name implies, Cosmeston has two large lakes, as well as a dragonfly pond. But, perhaps surprisingly, I often find these dragonflies several hundred metres away from water, basking on the bare dirt of the tracks through the wildflower meadows.

200601 black-tailed skimmer (3)

The females and immature males are yellow and black, with what’s described as a ‘ladder’ pattern on their abdomens. One female I found this week had a twisted abdomen – perhaps she was damaged when transitioning from a larva to an adult. Luckily, she was still able to fly freely.

200601 black-tailed skimmer (2)

Mature male Black-tailed skimmers have a blue abdomen, which darkens to black at the end, hence the name of the species.

200601 black-tailed skimmer (4)

* I have the new edition of Europe’s Dragonflies by Dave Smallshire and Andy Swash – highly recommended, and I’m not just saying that because I got a complimentary copy in return for having one of my photos included in the book.

177/365 Skimmers

26 Wednesday Jun 2019

Posted by sconzani in 365DaysWildin2019, insects, nature

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#365DaysWild, Black-tailed skimmer, British dragonflies, Cosmeston, Cosmeston Lakes Country Park, dragonflies, dragonfly

I was just saying to someone the other day that I haven’t been seeing many dragonflies this year and what happens? The very next time I go walking at Cosmeston, I see several.

190626 black-tailed skimmers (2)

These two Black-tailed skimmers were the most obliging, as they tend to station themselves along the pathways through the wildflower fields, rising up as you get near them and then re-settling a little further along the path. If you watch where they land and you’re slow and quiet as you approach, you can get quite near them.

190626 black-tailed skimmers (1)

160/365 Spoilt for choice

09 Sunday Jun 2019

Posted by sconzani in 365DaysWildin2019, insects, nature

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#365DaysWild, Black-tailed skimmer, British butterflies, British dragonflies, butterfly, Clouded yellow, Cosmeston, Cosmeston Lakes Country Park, dragonfly

I may have got rather wet during my walk around the east and west paddocks at Cosmeston this morning but it was worth it, as I wandered through an abundance of gorgeous orchids and other colourful wildflowers, spied numerous small insects munching on leaves, was charmed by the fluttering butterflies and meandering moths, and entertained by the myriad fledglings flitting through trees and bushes, harassing their parents for food.

190609 Cosmeston wildflowers

I was wondering which of these delights might be today’s blog subject, when I spotted a bright yellow ‘something’ flying across the field in front of me. I quickly followed and, luckily, it settled on the ground so I was able to get photos. It was a Clouded yellow, a butterfly I’ve only seen half a dozen times before, a migrant to Britain which may well have been blown in by yesterday’s wild weather. Blog sorted: ‘On the wings of the storm II’, I thought, and continued my walk.

190609 Clouded yellow

Then, just as I was nearing the top of the east paddock and about to head homewards, I made another chance discovery, a cracking dragonfly, a Black-tailed skimmer, another creature that I don’t see all that often. So, being spoilt for choice today, I thought I would share that with you as well.

190609 Black-tailed skimmer

Descrying dragons

21 Tuesday Aug 2018

Posted by sconzani in insects, nature

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Black-tailed skimmer, British dragonflies, Common Darter, Cosmeston Lakes Country Park, dragonflies, Emperor dragonfly, Lavernock Nature Reserve, Migrant hawker

I’ve not seen a huge number of dragonflies this summer, possibly because of the heatwave, which has seen water levels shrink to record lows and the pond at Lavernock Nature Reserve dry up altogether. Luckily, not all dragonflies spend their adult lives in close proximity to water so I have enjoyed some close encounters along field edges and pathways. Here are a few of those recent dragons.

These two are both Migrant hawkers; one was near the pond at Lavernock before it dried up completely, the other was just hanging around on vegetation beside the south Wales coastal path, a good choice as there are always an abundance of flying insects along the path’s hedgerows.

180821 emperor

This Emperor was hawking low over the tall wildflowers and grasses in one of the paddocks at Cosmeston. I had to wait quite a while for it to settle, then creep up very slowly and silently to get this photo, but it was worth the wait.

180821 Common darters mating

Last year at this time Cosmeston Lakes Country Park seemed to be swarming with Common darters – they sat like mini sculptures on every gate and fencepost, and there were so many sitting warming themselves on every piece of stone along the pathways that you had to be careful not to step on them. This year I’ve seen very few so it was a delight first to see this male (the red) and female in one paddock and then to spot the mating pair in another field. Let’s hope they return in numbers next year.

180821 black-tailed skimmers

Those Common darters weren’t the only mating dragonflies I almost disturbed at Cosmeston this week, as my stomping carelessly along the path homeward caused these two Black-tailed skimmers to fly up and away. Luckily, they didn’t fly far and I was able to get my camera out and take a few photos before leaving them to carry on their sterling efforts.

Here be dragons

10 Sunday Jun 2018

Posted by sconzani in insects, nature, nature photography, parks

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#30DaysWild, 30 Days Wild, Black-tailed skimmer, British dragonflies, Cosmeston, Cosmeston Lakes Country Park, dragonflies, Emperor dragonfly, Four-spotted Chaser, Odonata

This is Wales. We have dragons!
More specifically, this was Cosmeston Lakes Country Park on day 10 of #30DaysWild, where I managed to find three different species of dragonfly.

180610 Black-tailed skimmer immature male

An immature male Black-tailed skimmer

A mature male Black-tailed skimmer

Above and below, a female Emperor, ovipositing (i.e. egg-laying)

180610 Emperor female (2)

As above, so below: Four-spotted chasers

180610 Four-spotted chaser (2)

The skimmers

24 Saturday Jun 2017

Posted by sconzani in insects, nature

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Black-tailed skimmer, British dragonflies, dragonflies, dragonfly, Keeled skimmer, Orthetrum cancellatum, Orthetrum coerulescens

When the birds disappear behind the leaves of the trees during the summer months, my eye turns to the other creatures that delight and amaze with their aerial displays, and the dragonflies are some of the most impressive. In recent weeks I’ve seen my first Skimmers.

170624 Keeled skimmer

Keeled skimmer (Orthetrum coerulescens)
I was on a walk with my bird club buddies in the hills above Swansea this week when I saw my first Keeled skimmer. It was flitting back and forth quite restlessly in a boggy reed-filled area, perching on the reeds and other vegetation but only for short periods, so I was lucky to get some reasonable photos. I love the brilliant blue colour, called pruinescence, which is actually a covering of wax particles and which can be rubbed off during mating or if the dragonfly accidentally rubs against vegetation. Keeled skimmers are mostly found in western Britain and fly from June through to September.

170624 Black-tailed skimmer

Black-tailed skimmer (Orthetrum cancellatum)
Though very similar in appearance to the Keeled skimmer, the Black-tailed skimmer has, as its name implies, a darker end to its abdomen, and it’s much more common, as it’s happy to live around any pond, lake or stream, rather than the acidic moorland that the Keeled skimmer prefers. Though it is more common in southern parts of Britain, it has gradually been extending its range northwards, and its flight period is a little longer than its keeled cousin, being on the wing sometimes as early as late April right through to October if conditions are mild enough.

Critters at RSPB Ham Wall

13 Tuesday Jun 2017

Posted by sconzani in animals, insects, nature, parks

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Tags

Black-tailed skimmer, caddisfly, Common tortoiseshell, damselfly, Four-spotted Chaser, nature reserve, Roe deer, RSPB Ham Wall, Shapwick Heath

The only problem with going on a birding trip is that, in order to get photos of the birdies, I usually have my long lens on my camera, which means it’s then not easy to get photos of all the lovely smaller creatures I see as I’m walking around. And both RSPB Ham Wall Nature Reserve and, just across the road, Shapwick Heath National Nature Reserve have a profusion of delightful, and sometimes rare smaller creatures to be seen.

170613 Shapwick Heath

In particular, we saw a wealth of damsel- and dragonflies, including several of the Four-spotted chasers and Black-tailed skimmers shown below and, we think, the unusual Variable damselfly (though this can be tricky to identify). Spiders were particularly abundant on the path-side scrub, as were Dock beetles, judging from all the holey leaves we saw.

170613 RSPB Ham Wall critters (1)

170613 RSPB Ham Wall critters (2)

We rescued several large hairy caterpillars which were determinedly marching across the paths but risked annihilation from feet and bicycle tyres, as well as one large and very friendly Caddisfly (above). Butterflies weren’t as plentiful as I expected, though we did see good numbers of very fresh Small tortoiseshells, presumably newly hatched.

The most unexpected sighting, and a highlight for me, was a Roe deer on the canal-side bank in Shapwick Heath. Only its head and its very large ears could be seen, as it munched happily on a large green mouthful of vegetation while keeping a close eye on our admiring group of photographers.

170613 Roe deer

As I mentioned in yesterday’s piece on the birds of Ham Wall, you really need a week to explore these superb reserves thoroughly and then you might be lucky enough to see their resident water voles and otters. I have to go back!