Lazy Sunday

Could not get out of bed this morning, eventually got out for the tail-end of the windy weather at Yttre Kattvik for a mid-morning session with the whole team. The results of the hour-long watch, whilst not stunning did suggest that I should have made the effort to get out earlier! A big surprise was a female scaup, belting past in the company of a female tufted duck. Other good birds included a flock of six 1K little gulls, a 1K kittiwake, a single knot and a whimbrel.

After lunch I nipped out on my own to look at Torekov and Ripagården. The rev was excellent but once again the birds were distant and spooky (too many raptors around, including an excellent 1K peregrine). Best of the waders; knot (8), sanderling (1), little stint (1 - patch year-tick), Temminck's stint (2), curlew sandpiper (1 1K), dunlin (68), ruff (3) and turnstone (2). A few passerines dropping out too with lesser whitethroat, whitethroat and yellow wagtail evident. Had a recce around the back of Flymossen enjoying a food pass between an adult and a juvenile marsh harrier and adding a few dragonfly species to the fledgling square list.

Last stop of the day was at Ripagården. The beach had knot (3) and bar-tailed godwit (7) and the bushes had at least one red-backed shrike. It was eyes down for dragonflies though and I may have glimpsed a male Sympetrum striolatum (scarce here). Did see a few definite Sympetrum vulgatum. and some other common species.

Sympetrum vulgatum male.

Sun!

Another pre-breakfast session saw me checking out Storahultsstrand, Vejbystrand and Ranarpsstrand. Storahult had three Temminck's stints that were quite confiding and a scattering of other waders including 25 common sandpipers and a single bar-tailed godwit. Walking off-patch to Vejbystrand produced my first 1K curlew sandpiper of the year (together with an adult and 20 dunlin). The weed was covered in white wagtails and at least four yellows.

Last stop before home was Ranarpsstrand, fairly quiet there though three shoveler, eight greenshank and 15 wood sandpipers were nice.

After breakfast we went to Bösketorp and checked out the wetlands, mostly for dragonflies. Birds appeared inevitably though with a fast hobby through at the start (always a good sign on a dragonfly mission), four excellent and small 1K little grebes, a honey buzzard (possibly migrating), a single green sandpiper and a couple of 1K red-backed shrikes.

Bösketorp had four half-pint little grebes, the first time I have proved breeding in BK. I am not very familiar with this plumage, which seems strange but is very true.

Female Sympetrum vulgatum. Oooh, look at the vulvar scale on that!

Dragonflies here were predicatable enough with a single Anax imperator taking the honours, amongst a collection of commoner species.

What a drag!

Took the team for the annual blueberry/dragonfly walk today. I love this day, I potter about catching odonates and listening to the kids mucking about and scoffing berries.

Sympetrum vulgatum (female) - a big emergence of Sympetrum was underway at Bjäred våtmark, the first site on our itinerary.

First up was a rare visit to the man-made wetland near Bjäred. Number 1 and I did a circuit picking up a few good birds, including green sandpiper (2) and a pair of honey buzzards. But it was dragonflies we concentrated on, picking up Anax imperator (a recent colonist to southern Sweden), Libellula quadrimaculata, a patrolling male Somatochlora metallica, Lestes sponsa, Erythromma najas, Enallagma cyathigerum, Coenagrion puella and Ischnura elegans.

Driving past Ehrenstorp we spotted a pair of cranes feeding in the wet valley near the lake. A red kite cruised past.

The pools at Frestensfälla were our next destination. The weather was a bit unkind at this point and the sun hid behind clouds a lot. Nevertheless we managed a few more dragonfly species; Sympetrum danae, Leucorrhinia dubia and rubicunda, Coenagrion hastulatum and Pyrrhosoma nymphula.

Coenagrion hastulatum, showing the diagnostic S2 'arrow-head' mark.

An early Aeshna subarctica was a great find at Älemossen.

Our last stop was Älemossen which gave us three more species, bringing the total recorded during the day to 16, not bad considering the weather. I think 25 would be a good day total and I may try next year. The new species were a brief Aeshna grandis in the woods and then the small very dry Sphagnum pools provided one teneral Aeshna subarctica and an egg-laying Somatochlora arctica. A brilliant end to the day and the blueberry crumble was superb!

My second ever Somatochlora arctica was this egg-laying female, it flew with its anal claspers and S10 up in the air, you could see the eggs building up in a ball before they were slapped into the wet Sphagnum.

Caught this male Somatochlora arctica at Älemossen on 27/07/08, it was my first. The site was a lot wetter that year, huge volumes of water are being lost at the moment to the rail tunnel currently being drilled through Hallandåsen. The site is drying rapidly and will never be the same I fear.

Same individual, showing the fantastic 'earwig-style' male appendages.

Birding - 16/08/09

Number 1 scored another hawk-moth caterpillar on the walk between Yttre Kattvik and Hovs Hallar - this splendid privet hawk Sphinx ligustris.

We all went out for walk this morning and had lunch at Hov Hallar. The wind was a breezy SW when we left home but by the time we got to Hovs Hallar it was blowing well from the west. Things are shaping up for a good sea-watch tomorrow I reckon. Number 1 kindly pointed out the only gannet of the day during lunch! It begins... This bird heralded a brief burst of activity with a couple of grey plover, one knot and one bar-tailed godwit past. Typically we moved off just before a pomarine skua went through...

After lunch I checked out Båstad for an hour. Nothing doing here, although a fine male velvet scoter floated just offshore and two goosander shuttled overhead. A quick look at Petersberg revealed some dragonflies including the year's first Sympetrum vulgatum, a Sympetrum danae and a possible Somatochlora metallica. Damsels included Ischnura elegans and Enallagma cyathigerum.

Moustached darter Sympetrum vulgatum - flying at Petersberg this afternoon.

This Sympetrum danae was a surprise find at Petersberg - not really ideal habitat, possibly a migrant?