caudalis twitch

As part of my effort to see as many of the dragonfly omissions on my Swedish list this year I had planned a trip to see Nehalennia and coming back through Halland and coshing off Leucorrhinia caudalis. But bad weather has so far delayed the big day. Today I decided to make the most of a sunny afternoon and at least get the whiteface out of the way. So after swim-school me and the kids drove the 90-odd kilometres to our nearest known caudalis site, a small lake near Falkenberg. It turned out to be a popular swimming spot, so the kids got a bit agitated during the 45 minutes it took to track down a single male caudalis - a chunky fat little fella sitting on a lilypad that was a welcome lifer. The kids enjoyed yet more swimming before it was time to head home.

Stopped off for half an hour at Klarningen but the site was being disturbed by machinery and we only managed 7 wood sandpipers before calling it a day.

Chasing dragons

Yesterday I was at a tree nursery and literally bumped into my first Orthetrum coerulescens in Sweden. It was perched on a plant nicely but I had no camera... I think I will find this species in BK in time and now is the time to look.

Today me and the kids spent the afternoon in the field. We checked Bränneslätt out first. Lovely sunny day so stuff was on the wing. Two Anax imperator dominated the pond. At the back one or two Aeshna juncea/subarctica kept a low profile - a year-tick either way... Nice start, but no sign of any Somatochlora arctica (which has yet to be recorded at this site).

Our next stop was Älemossen where arctica does occur and we did see at least one. It would have been nice to catch it for confirmation but we had to settle for flight views. Not much else here although Pyrrhosoma were still flying here, they seem to have become scarce lately.

Night-birding

Well I did manage to stay up till it got sort-of-dark and headed back to the Smedje in Lahom kommun. I arrived just before 2300 and I could hear the river warbler chuffing away as I drove past the bridge to park. An incredibly powerful song. Also here a quail in song.

Driving back into BK I stopped for a while at Klarningen, just grasshopper warblers here with one on site and another across the river at Eskilstorpsdammar. Drove home slowly listening at a few spots but just scored a nightjar at Ehrenstorp for my troubles.

Singing Blyth's reed

Sun at last. Busy with swim-school in the morning, although we did manage to divert by the pond at Mäsinge strand for a quick look on the way home. Still plenty of Orthetrum cancellatum here and just one Libellula quadrimaculata. The only new Odo here was Lestes sponsa, so no surprises.

After lunch we headed out to check out the recently-found Blyth's reed warbler at Dömestorp. Just a kilometre or so outside BK... Luckily a birder was on it on arrival so we did not have to search it out, it was singing splendidly in between bouts of feeding and showing well in a small oak tree. Great bird, just got to find one in BK now. There has been a huge quail influx this year and with plenty of observers in the field at night, things are turning up. Our next stop was a nearby bridge over the Smedje, a small river, where river warbler had also been found! No sign of it singing in the heat of the day though, but dragonflies came to the rescue. Number 1 pointing out a superb male Onychogomphus forcipatus, perched at our feet! An ice-cream moment for the team. Also here Cordulia aenea and Libellula depressa.

Onychogomphus forcipatus - only my second in Sweden.

Last stop of the afternoon was a quick look at Klarningen. A few waders in front of the tower; green sandpiper (2), greenshank (1), wood sandpiper (4) and redshank (1). A night session beckons. Can he stay awake?

New dragonfly in BK

Instead of risking weather and heavy traffic and going for Nehalennia today I elected to stay at home with Team B. The weather was variable with plenty of cloud but we had a good day looking at invertebrates at a variety of sites up on the hill.

First up was a quick look at the Sphagnum bog at Bränneslätt. I was hoping for an early Somatochlora arctica but the weather was not really warm enough to be sure that they are not flying. We did not see one! Plenty of Leucorrhinia dubia on the wing and some females egg-laying. Also more cranberry fritillaries here, which were so cold you could pick them up, which enchanted Numbers 1 and 2.

More secondary genitalia! This is the hamule of a Leucorrhinia dubia, much straighter than that on rubicunda which I pictured earlier.

Crossing the road we strolled down to the man-made pools and adjacent peat bogs. This area is rather good for Odonata and we had two year-ticks here in the form of both Somatochlora metallica and flavomaculata. Also here an Aeshna grandis.

One of two patrolling male Somatochlora metallica at Bjäred today. New for the year, but regular at this site. flavomaculata was flying here too today.

After lunch we checked out the small stream and large reedbed at Hulrugered. A neglected bit of the patch me thinks, and just as I was thinking it, Mrs B earned the team an ice-cream by spotting my first Swedish Cordulegaster boltonii. It perched nicely for photos.

A long-anticipated addition to my BK list and a Swedish tick to boot. Cordulegaster really is a monster Odo. Kudos to Mrs B.

Last stop of the day was a recce into the mire at the eastern end of Älemossen, difficult to get into but full of potential. Just one Libellula quadrimaculata flying when we were there but some good butterflies including purple-edged copper and idas blue.

Idas blue - another first for me in BK.

A rather tatty female purple-edged copper spotted at Älemossen this afternoon.

Watching the sea

Cranberry fritillary, a new butterfly for me in BK.

Got up reasonably early for a spot of seawatching. We still had a 8-9 m/s westerly but it obviously was not enough to produce the goods. The three hour session at Yttre Kattvik netted just one gannet, as well as two splendid summer-plumaged black-throated divers and a light passage of southward curlews (18) and one bar-tailed godwit (the latter a BK year-tick). I felt pretty safe leaving at 0930 and only missed a single sooty shearwater some hours later so no damage done.

Later on in the day we all headed out to walk the Killeröd loop track. This track always throws up a surprise or two and today the Odonates recorded were bizarre, the only wetlands on this track are sphagnum-filled mires with little or no open water so why did we find Enallagma cyathigerum, Aeshna grandis and Orthetrum cancellatum? One of the mires had a small colony of cranberry fritillaries, my first in BK. A calling willow tit was my first of the year.

Anyone for crickets?

Great green bush-cricket - female nymph. One of many in the valley mire at Sinarpsdalen today.

Another lazy start saw us in the field at midday for a look at the valley mire at Sinarpsdalen. Strong westerlies and a cool temperature put down all Odonata activity. Twenty minutes tramping about failed to turn up a single damselfly or dragonfly. But I did find my first BK raft spider (Dolomedes fimbriatus), a shy female close to a web-nest crammed full of young. There were also plenty of Great green bush-cricket nymphs (Tettigonia viridissima) in the wetland today.

A quick look at Klarningen after lunch revealed the site to be empty of waders and ducks but a quail was singing away and as we drove off a 2K hobby dashed about after swallows.

Minky 'magic'

The kids and I headed out in the afternoon for some birding, still windy and grey which makes dragonfly work a bit tedious. First stop was Ranarpsstrand. An hour here produced three tufted duck, two goosander and seven redshank. I spotted a female American mink carrying a youngster and the kids charged towards it, the minklet was sacrificed as the female headed for cover, allowing us great close-up views of the cute youngster as it mewed plaintively. Not sure what would have happened to it if I had been alone, my boot was twitching but such thoughts had to be abandoned with Number 1 and 2 cooing over it. We retreated back 15 metres and lay down and the female eventually retrieved the infant and carried it away. Nice encounter, just a shame that the introduced American mink population is high enough to make it sadly rather commonplace.

Mink youngster, dropped by the female when she came face-to-face with my offspring.

Mink female at Ranarpsstrand today.

Black-necked grebe at Hasslarps dammar today, birds have been reported on-and-off since spring, maybe the same skulky birds are responsible.

Last stop of the day was a look at Hasslarps dammar, I was hoping to catch up with a couple of black-necked grebes and we eventually tracked them down. Also here a variety of wildfowl with wigeon (male), gadwall (pair) and pochard (two males). Small numbers of waders too with little ringed plover (2), green sandpiper (6), spotted redshank (1), greenshank (1) and wood sandpiper (6). Marsh warbler and grasshopper warbler sung sporadically.

more atlas work

The rosea form of Nymphaea alba was looking good today at Dagshög.

A single male Brachytron was new for the square today at Dagshög.

Another sluggardly start saw us all heading to Dagshög for a BBQ and dragonfly session. This proved to be an inspired choice as all the nasty looking squalls missed us over the next three hours. A light breeze form the sea did little to suppress Odonata activitity and we had a good look around the various wetlands at this under-watched location. Few surprises but Coenagrion pulchellum, Brachytron pratense and Orthetrum cancellatum were all new for the square.

We left ahead of potential rain and went north to a sunny Torekov to have a look at Flymossen. It was getting late by now and we found no libellulids on the wing here, just Enallagma and Ischnura elegans, as well as my first meadow browns of the year.

Grey

Both Lestes sponsa (pictured here) and Lestes dryas were sitting around in the gloomy weather this morning at Gröthögarna.

Stuck under a low pressure system at the moment which looks like it is here to stay. Makes dragonfly atlas work rather tedious, just damsels flying and the birding has gone quiet too. Managed to crawl out of bed for an 0830 (!) look at Torekov rev this morning. Fairly quiet although a single whimbrel resting at the tip was nice. A greenshank sped south calling mournfully, these failed breeders are a downer! The rev was very quiet, I think all the breeding birds have left already or failed.

Next up was a walk around Gröthögarna, which was very quiet, just two noisy pairs of redshank and a collared dove. The sedgy wetland did produce a single Lestes dryas and a small number of Lestes sponsa. It looks like Lestes dryas is going to turn up in suitable habitat throughout BK with some searching.

Later I picked up the team and we went for a wet picnic in the tower at Klarningen. A few waders present including ruff (2), spotted redshank (3) and wood sandpiper (1). It kept raining though and in the end we headed home.

A quick look

Nipped out with the kids this afternoon to check the sphagnum pool at Bränneslätt. An Aeshna grandis was my first of the year, otherwise just Leucorrhinia dubia and rubicunda, Libellula quadrimaculata and Coenagrion hastulatum.

Afterwards we checked Klarningen, the two spotted redshanks remain, also two ruff today, a wood sandpiper and five green sandpipers. Missed a red-necked phalarope here two days ago. My mobile phone was broken and the text message never got to me...

More atlas work

The well-hooked hamule of the secondary genitalia on male Leucorrhinia rubicunda is the most reliable feature.

We all headed out for a circular walk in the Venedike area this morning, taking in a number of dragonfly sites in the process. First up were the Venedike dammar. Plenty of pulchellum here but nothing out of the ordinary. Bengt-Olsmossen was heaving with over 250 Libellula quadrimaculata, as well as smaller numbers of both Leucorrhinia dubia and rubicunda. Tramping through the woods to the sedge mire near Simonstorp we went outside BK for a while. Here we had a nice soaring honey buzzard and found a single male Calopteryx virgo in the outflow stream.

After lunch I nipped out for a quick look at the nearby Vysterborg pools. Plenty of marsh warblers in the nettles and rank vegetation around the pools here. The far pool also produced some good dragonflies with my first Lestes sponsa of the year, as well as Anax imperator and Brachytron pratense.

This honey blur was just yards from the BK boundary today, on the wrong side...