The last couple of years has seen me fail to connect with Ruddy Darters at Kenfig. Therefore the recent news from Kenfig of them being seen on the wing was a real source of encouragement. Tony Messinger's and David Carrington's recent sightings was followed by Paul Grennard's report of good numbers just north of the main pool in the dunes and along the track, yesterday afternoon. A quick chat with Paul and I was making a shameless journey to twitch the Ruddys!
I found them exactly where Paul described and was excited by the numbers present. During an hour walking slowly along the path that runs around the back of the pool and in the adjacent dunes there were 30+ Ruddy Darters. Mainly males, but at least 5 females including a freshly emerged individual that was still uncurling. There were lots of stages present including adults, immatures and tenerals. Also, in support of Paul's comments I too was unable to find any Common Darters during my visit, which I was surprised about.
Paul had earlier supplied counts from his visit -
Red-veined Darter - 6 (inc 4m + pr in copula)
Ruddy Darter - 20+
Hairy Dragonfly - 1
Emperor Dragonfly - 10+
Four-spotted Chaser - 6
Black-tailed Skimmer - 20+
Common Blue Damselfly - c200
Blue-tailed Damselfly - 20
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1 comment:
I need to get down to Kenfig soon! Rose
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