After a meeting in Kirkwall mid-afternoon, I headed over to Russadale, near Stenness, as a friend had tipped me off that there was a Common Hawker at the quarry, HY334097. As I walked up the stony track towards the quarry, I met another keen amateur odonatologist, who confirmed the presence of the dragonfly, giving its location as about 100m short of the quarry entrance. As adult dragonflies are very mobile (in fact, this individual may well have emerged over on Hoy, where they are known to breed), my hopes weren't great, but I pressed on higher up the track, meadow giving way to heather.
Suddenly, my attention was whipped away from the calls of Stonechat, Sedge Warbler and Wren, by a movement ahead of me. It wasn't a bird or a butterfly, but a large dragonfly. Fortune was on my side, as it soon settled on some vegetation by the side of the path. I would guess that this spot was perfect as a temporary roost, in full sun but out of the worst of the cooling breeze. Where better for an ode to heat up its wing muscles? A quick check with bins confirmed that this was indeed a male Common Hawker (large, generally blue/black, thin antehumeral stripes, broad stripes on the side of the thorax, yellow costa, waisted abdomen with blue and yellow spots).
Once it had 'recharged its batteries', it was off over the heather-clad moor, hawking for insect prey.
Up at the quarry, the breeze was much stronger, being funnelled through the space by the rock walls. No damselflies were visible over the pool and a search for a large Hawker exuvia at the water's edge proved fruitless. It is just possible that the Common Hawker that has been seen here has emerged on Mainland, rather then flown across from Hoy. This would be a significant step in the expansion of the species' Orcadian range, so warrants further investigation.
No comments:
Post a Comment