Ashton Dragonfly Museum 19 August 2001
by Brian Stone
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PBC Trip Report Ashton Dragonfly Museum 19 August 2001 by Brian Stone |
All but a couple of the small select band that turned out on Sunday, 19 August started out having difficulty telling a Dragon from a Damsel. Then came 2 sunny hours in the hands of PBC’s very own Dragonfly expert, Neil Crossman, and the extremely friendly and knowledgeable staff at the National Dragonfly Museum at Ashton. After that we were well on our way to becoming hooked on a whole new group of flying creatures.
The Museum in based around the old Mill at Ashton near Oundle, Northamptonshire and is the only centre dedicated to Dragonflies in the country. It offers a range of exhibits, film shows, talks and demonstrations as well as ponds and river walks teeming with wildlife.
The group met at 2:30pm shortly after an extremely heavy downpour. But as the sun shone and the temperature rose it became clear that there would be plenty of insect activity and we lost no time in heading out to make the most of the fine weather. The reedy meadow area was dominated by a number of Brown Hawkers, the most numerous dragonfly seen during the afternoon. The brownish translucent wings are unique to this large species and became easy to pick out with a little practice.
A brief diversion to a footbridge over the Nene provided some stunning views of Banded Damselflies as the numerous males harassed mercilessly the much scarcer females. This also provided us with our first views of Common Blue and Blue-tailed Damselflies. The Blue-tailed is easy to identify from the mainly black "tail" with a blue tip. Common Blue is more tricky without good close views.
The first pool had a Ruddy Darter, which obligingly sat still for everyone to enjoy. There were more Damsels and our first Migrant Hawker here. Holly Blue butterfly and Silver Y moth were also added to our list. The very pretty area between the weir and lock produced more Banded Damsels, Migrant and Brown Hawkers but the smaller darters kept too far out of range to confirm a suspected Common Darter sighting a little earlier. As with birding there is always one that gets away!
Of course some of us couldn’t resist turning our attention to some of the birds present and a Spotted Flycatcher, Sedge Warbler, a couple of Swifts and a Green Woodpecker obliged those suffering withdrawal symptoms.
There are many other attractions and exhibitions in the grounds of the Mill. The well preserved Victorian electrical generator that ran from turbines driven by the water wheel is well worth noting.
Back at the centre we watched a fascinating demonstration where, in scenes recalling Alien, dragonfly nymphs were fed bloodworms under a microscope relayed to a TV. Whether an active hunting species or an impossibly well camouflaged one lying in wait the scene was devastatingly dramatic as the worm was caught and devoured.
There can be few of us who left without learning a great deal about these remarkable insects and I would like to thank the staff and Neil for making so interesting and enjoyable.
Brown Hawker
Migrant Hawker
Ruddy Darter
Common Blue Damselfly
Blue-tailed Damselfly
Banded Damselfly
Small White
Red Admiral
Comma
Silver Y
Grey Heron
Moorhen
Black-headed Gull
Sparrowhawk
Woodpigeon
Swift
Green Woodpecker
Swallow
Willow Warbler
Sedge Warbler
Spotted Flycatcher
Blue Tit
Great Tit
Treecreeper
Spotted Flycatcher
Carrion Crow
Goldfinch
Greenfinch
Bullfinch
Reed Bunting
