It is a warm, but windy day with plenty of sunny spells. I had an overdue trip to Leven Canal to check out its dragonflies. The canal was looking stunning with both yellow and while lilies in bloom. We walked from the village bridge first east and then retraced our steps and carried on until the aqueduct of Holderness drain.
Overall, 6 species of odonates, with the most common being the Common Blue, followed by Blue-tailed. We spot a couple of Red-eyed Damselfies.
3/4 blue-tailed damselfly, most of the abdomen is missing.
Red-eyed Damselfly bending it's abdomen.
Blue-tailed Damselflies mating.
Four-spotted Chaser resting by yellow water lilies.
At least 3 ovipositing Emperors today.
Mating common blue damselflies with the ripples caused by the wing.
Common Blue damselfly.
The stars of the show: Hairy Dragonflies mating. Several more on the wing on the last stretch of the walk.
Birds
A relatively low list total of 26 species. Singing Reed Warbler, Willow Warbler, Reed Bunting, Skylark and Yellowhammer. A Crow mobbing a buzzard and making it mew.
...several Black-and-yellow Longhorn Beetle (Rutpela maculata) feeding on thistles and bramble.
A beautifully marked running crab spider from Leven Canal, found by Robert, identified by Matt Prince on twitter as a likely Philodromus cespitum.
Many more Red Admirals and Small Tortoiseshells than Painted Ladies on the wing today.
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