Unfortunately, Yours Truly was working until mid-afternoon, so I couldn't attend. However, it was still warm and sunny, correction, make that hot and sunny, when I closed the Yard, so Our Lass and I decided to head for a site in Stenness, Russadale quarry, on the off chance of an ode. Kindly, the organiser of the field trip, Dick Matson, had previously given me directions to this water body as it was, potentially, a good place to look for damselflies.
As we drove up the single track road towards Bigswell, an Orkney Vole ran across the road in front of us. After parking the car, Our Lass then spotted a female Hen Harrier gliding over the meadows. Pleasing moments both and perhaps good omens, too. The gentle climb uphill through Russadale was accompanied by the delightful babbling sound of a burn. The views back down the valley, taking in heather clad moor, grazing pastures, Harray and Stenness Lochs, the Ness of Brodgar and, beyond, the Bay of Skaill were well worth the effort.
Once in the quarry, we were surrounded by a low cliff festooned with Fuschia bushes, whilst a largish but shallow pool covered a good proportion of the floor.
Two birds of prey appeared overhead, which resolved themselves into a Kestrel trying to chase off a Sparrowhawk. Turning our attention to the pool, it was a while, probably due to lack of practice, before we managed to set eyes on a damsel, but we eventually found a dozen or so Large Reds, Pyrrhosoma nymphula, and perhaps half a dozen Blue-tailed Damselflies, Ischnura elegans. Several pairs of Large Reds were ovipositing, but we only identified one female Blue-tail and she was well away from the water.
All the above photos are courtesy of Our Lass.
So, finally, I can stop the clock on my wait for Orkney dragons in 2014. Yay!
The following morning, we discovered that the field trip had not had much luck at Russadale during their visit, there being too much cloud cover and not enough sun at noon. Crivens, how lucky were we?!
No comments:
Post a Comment