best part of the day: broad is beautiful

12-05-25 I took a gamble with this adventure. My plans were to visit Saltoun ponds on Monday. And then on Tuesday check out Colstoun Woods and pond for broad-bodied chasers, pretty much my favourite dragonfly found in the Lothians. Then Mary said we may be travelling up to Aberdeenshire Tuesday and I had to make a call. I decided to bump Saltoun and head for the BBCs near Haddington. As you can see it all worked out very well.

Colstoun Wood is on top of a small hill South of Haddington. You could problably get a bus to Haddington then the local Gifford bus and ask the driver to toss you off by the wood but it might meet with a frosty reception. I cycled. I did not relish the 20miles there and 20 back but I hoped a good workout and bellyburner although I just haven't been on my bike much at all lately (now that I am a gentleman of leisure) and I knew 40miles would reveal some hotspots and not in a good way. On the cycle there I was reduced to less than 10mph on anything uphill due to a stiff headwind. At least the return journey would be less of a grind. If a little tender.

I lifted my bike over the long metal gate at the top of the hill. It was greatly cheering that within 3minutes of arriving at the logpile I saw what looked like a huge golden wasp flying through the air. I was delighted. I could have checked iRecord to see if any had been recorded this year but find the rather old and glitchy website so intolerable and difficult to get any meaningful info out of that I never consider it a viable resource. I wish they would make a more user-friendly version where it was easy to post stuff seen, and see what other people have posted. I am not the only person who finds it discouraging. In fact I've never heard anyone rate it otherwise. And if people aren't using it, it fast becomes redundant.

I rested my bike up against a tree and pulled on waterproof overtrousers. The ground was all dips and furrows and covered in dead bracken. You can easily step down deep swampy holes or get slashed by brambles. The overtrousers at least put a thin layer between myself and the biters and scratchers (and ticks). Better for kneeling down and swimming through the waist deep undergrowth while trying not to disturb a twitching dragonfly assessing if you are a predator or more like a harmless shrub or tree. I had a pretty good success rate because I kept down low and employed maximum ninja skills.

Although most of the broad-bodied action was among the bracken an occasional one flew up into the small trees by the path and perched on a long dead buddleia plume from last season. This area beside the woodpile is something of a nursery ground. I have seen blue (mature) males here, but largely it is the stomping ground for yellow BBCs. Females and immature males. I have no idea how they agree all of this or how it comes about. Where the larvae spend their subaquatic lives before climbing out the water and flying to this logpile. But they do. I saw no blue dragonflies here today. Nor any other dragonfly species or damselfly. Just females and immature males who look very similar. In fact so similar I was having trouble telling them apart.

this fly(?) landed nearby and asked to be in the blog

So this couple of BBCs were landing near to where I was submerged in bracken. They would fly off but return to about the same spot. Most of the photos here are probably one of them. I assumed they were female but I may have been mistaken. The genders have different body forms although if you look at the video you can see bodyshape change with them breathing by moving their bodies, almost like a bellows. At the non-head end of their abdomens they have claspers - anal appendages which hold onto the opposite gender when they are mating. Each is different for that purpose and I often use this difference as a guide to gender.

a bona fide female from last year

I am fairly sure the above BBC is a female, photo taken last year. Note the body shape and anal appendages and how they differ from the 'chap' below. His look uncannily like the blue job 4 pics lower, who is definitely male. As the males mature they develop a powdery blue pruinescence, a bit like the dusty blue powder on a ripe plum.

compare the anal apendages and darker lower abdomen
I think this is an immature male

So my plan was to photograph the females at the woodpile and then go down to the pond some 700 yards North (by the road and trail) and photograph the males - if there were any there. As the crow flies it's possibly about 500 yards through the woods for these strong fliers. Unfortunately I may have failed to photograph any females at the woodpile.

large red damselfly, there were a number of damselflies around the pond
but I wasn't really looking for them today.

mature male BBC
both genders are just so fantastic!

When I arrived at the pond I was sorry the water level was quite as high as the previous visit. I had hoped the dry Spring might have taken the level down. Which would have left a little more perimeter path. In possibly 2 or 3 places I had to squeeze past a very aggressive gorse bush while trying not to step knee deep in the water. Each time seemed worse and I felt it was trying to push me in. Of course the main male BBC was always perched on just the other side of said jaggy bush. He had several favourite perches and I ended up sat on the muddy bank waiting for him to return to one, just a couple of metres from where I was muddying up my overtrousers and shoes.

The only other dragonflies at the pond were some male 4-spotted chasers. Every now and then the broad-bodied chaser(s) would mistake their golden shimmer for a female BBC and catch them mid-air. A second later they would spit them back out with a kind of OMG disgust. The 4-spotters didn't seem to hold a grudge and continued about their business. Mainly looking for females, much the same as every other male dragonfly at the pond.

definitely a female

I saw a female BBC appear. She immediately came over to where I was sitting (the least dragonfly-busy part of the pond!) and start to lay eggs (oviposit) by flying past a section of pond repeatedly, dipping her back end into the water with a flick. I saw no eggs, before during or afterwards but there was already a lot of flotsam and jetsam in the pond. This happened a couple of times and she was grabbed by a male on both occasions. There seemed to follow an inflight discussion during which the message "no thanks mister, I'm busy with something else" seemed to be comprehensively conveyed and understood and the couple disengaged, leaving the female to return to her previous mission.

I have seen female common hawkers being grabbed and bundled off under similar circumstances and never seen the female released. Perhaps the male broad-bodieds are better listeners. You do get the feeling watching dragonflies that they have not changed their behaviour in a few thousand years, and possibly because it is successful, if a little primative. However the BBCs at least seem to manage how to convey basic information. I saw the prompt release of an ovipositing female occur at least twice, so either they are very brisk at mating on the wing or able to communicate their needs and requirements. (Similar to a female butterfly displaying her abdomen when approached by unwanted suitors, to indicate her unavailability.) I'm sure someone will have written a paper on it. Maybe I should buy a specific dragonfly book to add to my growing library of insect books (hoverflies, insects, butterflies, moths, more butterflies) and find out. Tell you what I'd really like: a detailed recent map saying where to find the best dragonflies in Scotland. If only there was a great website where people could post this information to allow others to access it!?!

closest I got to a tandem couple of BBChasers
- they seperated just seconds after joining together

I have a laminate to identify dragonflies and damselflies. The latter have a confusing amount of forms and usually there is a small chart of body patterns & colours of about 6 types along with the more commonly found common blues, azures and blue tailed. Generally if you are struggling to ID a damselfly it will be one of the those three. But in this case I'm going out on a limb to say Variable, because that's what it looks like on the laminate drawing which isn't even in colour.

I'm not even going to cross reference it in the big book of insects to see if they live in Scotland because I don't care. I love the look of the damselfly in the photo, but beyond that, any more information will not be a game changer for me. Actually I've just remembered a chap who is very knowledgeable about all things insects - and he recently okayed the idea of me running a few photos past him to ID. Watch this space! Per, if you are reading this I'll keep it to ones I can't find anywhere else and are defo rarities! (Plus this common/azure damsel.)

I was really pleased with the above photo. I forgot until I checked that all these photos were taken using the long lens. (I thought on account of the quality they were macro, but no! This one was shot at 113mm so at the short end of the 100~400. Although I had crept very near to the dragonfly I was leaving room in the picture for it to fly through the empty frame after it took off. I am impressed the auto-focus stuck with it for at least 2.5 frames as it was shot at f/5, ISO 1250, and 1/4000 of a second. Which was enough to freeze the wings and show them in very crisp detail. I also enjoyed the aerodynamics of the subsequent frames - I don't think the BBC was chasing the insect coming in from the right but it might have been spurred into action on account of it approaching. The series of photos were shot in Pre-burst mode which I have discussed in several blogs of late so won't here, again. I'll animate the sequence in a video along with some clips of dragonflies perching and the female ovipositing.

I tried to use the pre-burst mode to get photos as the subject returned to land at the same gorse branch it had just left. But it is better capturing the take offs rather than the landings which don't involve much other than a bit of a careful arrival and choice of perch. (As above.) Much better when it takes off dramatically and swoops away.

I then focussed on this four-spotter because it was landing and taking off nearer to where I was positioned. I considered using the cammo poncho I carry everywhere as there was nobody within half a mile to smirk at my attempts to disguise myself with a raincoat, but it would have added another layer of heat insulation and I was already uncomfortable enough, straining to perch on the narrow muddy pond side. Also I was well covered in light clay mud from the pondside and beginning to smell like the pond. Pretty good disguise.

I took a few more photos then called it a day. I still had a 20 mile cycle ahead of me (much faster on the way home with the wind behind me!) and I was pretty excited about the footage and stills I had got. Remember at the start of the day I didn't even know if the broad-bodied chasers would be there. Really great to see them again and that they are obviously thriving. I should return soon to see them interact with the hawkers who tend to rule the pond once they arrive. However these gold and blue beauties are still my favourites. Just magnificent creatures!