Darter Dragonfly

From the visitor centre we saw a handsome fallow buck with his hinds grazing in the meadow.  As we walked along the lane from the centre a wren scolded us as we searched the hedgerow and meadow for finches as there were large clumps of flowers with their seed heads which are loved by these birds.  However, only a few greenfinches and chaffinches appeared along with a robin and a blue tit.  Several crows wheeled overhead and a male blackbird was spotted in a tree. 

The hedgerows were full of berried shrubs including hawthorn and blackthorn which supply food for birds and along the stream edges a few darter dragonflies were sunning themselves.  We were not certain whether they were common darters or ruddy darters.  Darters can often still be seen in the first weeks of November and the mild weather had encouraged the survival of those at Pulborough Brooks.

Visiting the hides gave us different aspects of the wet meadows and splendid views of flocks of Canada geese, greylag geese, lapwing, wigeon and starlings.  Male pintails were looking very fine in their black and white plumage and other water birds included teal, shovelers, shelducks, mallards, a juvenile mute swan, moorhens, heron and cormorants.

We had problems identifying a common gull which was standing alongside a black headed gull.  From the first hide we watched a kestrel and some stonechats, and a buzzard was spotted high in an oak tree while we had lunch in another hide. The oak leaves were only just turning into their autumn colour.  Several more robins were seen along with a dunnock on the path and pheasants and pied wagtails by the water’s edge. 

On our way back to the visitor centre, a flock of long tailed tits drifted through the shrubs and trees. After a thoroughly enjoyable day, we stood and watched coal tits and blue tits on the feeders at the visitor centre before heading back home.

At the Society’s indoor meeting on Monday 27th November, we welcomed Nick Armitage who gave us a fascinating illustrated account of his travels watching whales and dolphins around the British Isles and further a field.

Nick started the evening by describing the differences between the two.  Whales, dolphins and porpoises are all ‘cetaceans’ that are divided into two main groups.  Those with teeth are called Odontocete and are the largest group that include dolphins, porpoises and toothed whales.  The smaller group without teeth are Mysticetes, these whales have a rough material inside their mouths called baleen instead of teeth.  Nick passed around a couple of pieces of baleen and one quite heavy piece felt like wood.

We were also amazed to learn orcas are Odontocete and so belong the dolphin family! Nick captured our imagination with tales of his trips to Scotland where he watched minke whales, common dolphins, harbour porpoises and bottle nose dolphins.

He has also been lucky enough to travel to Mexico and read a moving extract from his diary of his first encounter with blue whales.  He also showed us video footage of the whales riding the waves in front of his boat.  Hearing the excitement from the passengers on board the boat gave us a feeling of just how special the moment was. Nick’s enthusiasm for his subject certainly rubbed off on the group and gave us inspiration for trying see these beautiful creatures ourselves someday.

The Waterside Natural History Society's next outdoor meeting will be on Sunday 10th December with a bird watching and general wildlife visit to Blashford Lakes.   Meet at Oak Road Car Park, Dibden Purlieu at 9.00am (strong footwear recommended.)  Visitors welcome.

There is no indoor meeting in December, however, the Society's next meeting will be on Monday 22nd January 2007, which will be our Annual General Meeting and American Supper.  Meet for a 7.30pm start at the St. Andrew's Centre, Dibden Purlieu.