Tuesday, 8 May 2012

Rising Sun Large Red Exuvia ???

An e mail this afternoon from Killy Birder sparked me into action and i had to get up to the Rising Sun. Nothing too exciting on the way up but on arrival i scoured the western ponds for a Large Red Damselfly.....NOWT, until.

I found this clinging to an old log in one of the ponds. No sooner had i scrambled to the ground to take some images than the heavens opened. I rattled off a few shots before getting the camera under cover and heading off towards the hide as it looked to be in for a while. The images aren't the best but they must be of a Large Red Exuvia. For those who don't know it is the empty case left by the nymph of that species of Damselfly. I can't be sure as there isn't enough detail from the angles i got as lots of these Exuvia are very similar with only subtle differences which cannot be confirmed here. I've handled Dragonfly cases but not Damselfly ones and they are very fragile, almost like rice paper, so i don't know if it will have survived after the heavy rain. I was going to call back on the way home but got sidetracked. I might pop up in the morning if i can find time and try to look again.
One of the reasons i got side tracked was a cracking Common Sandpiper on Dukes Pond.
Distant image from opposite side of pond
Then i had views of one of the Little Owls near the Organic Farm and first sightings for me of the Common Terns having returned to Swallow Pond. All that excitement AND the fact I'm getting old was just too much to cope with.





























































































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