Monday 10 August 2009

Bank's Pond

I had read about Bank's Pond on The Darter and visited the site last week. Bank's Pond is actually two ponds, one large and one small, set in rough pasture land near to Dinnington, a village on the northern fringe of Newcastle upon Tyne. The ponds appear man-made as opposed to being formed by colliery subsidence which is common in South East Northumberland.

I had read that Emerald, Common Blue and Blue-tailed damselflies and Emperor, Common Darter and Ruddy Darter dragonflies were present. I did not find Blue-tailed damselflies but Emerald damselflies and the two darters were present in very large numbers. There were lesser numbers of the Common Blues present and I saw only two individual male Emperors and a pair flying in tandem.

My recent quest to photograph a male Emerald damselfly was completed almost upon my arrival. The mature male in this first picture is perching with its wings half open, which is common for lestids ...

Emerald Damselfy (Lestes sponsa)

While the mature male in this picture is shown from the side ...


Here a pair are in tandem prior to mating ...


And then a copulation wheel ...


My visit to Bank's Pond involved a lengthy drive, but I made a day of it and the effort was more than rewarded. I hope to make another visit in the very near future.

6 comments:

Wilma said...

Great shots and a great day of sightings!

holdingmoments said...

A productive day for you Emma.
And you completed your personal quest too. Great shots.

Anonymous said...

Well done on the Emerald Emma and the macro shots are really good.

ST said...

Hi Emma,
i have only found the blue tails around the larger pond, on the road side edge.
By far, the most dominant species there, are the emeralds.
I have also been told brown hawker has been seen there, but not by me yet.
I'm please you got something, for your efforts.

FAB said...

Hi Emma. My 1st visit & I very much enjoyed looking & reading about the wildlife around you. A very accomplished blog & I'll definitely be back. Cheers Frank.

fabearlybirder.blogspot.com

kirstallcreatures said...

Lovely shots Emma, great stuff. Linda