On Wednesday it was down to the Levels hoping for the Brown Hawker and the much rarer Raft Spider, the Fen Raft Spider. A lot of luck and patience is needed for both these species and as usual the Brown Hawker was only seen flying away or egg laying. With the weather being once again, a bit cloudy, I suppose I was lucky to get pictures of anything. Fortunately a male Migrant Hawker was quite keen to rest up a few times near me giving me some photo opportunities. A male Ruddy Darter was also seen defending its territory along the bank.
Male Migrant Hawker.
Male Migrant Hawker.
Male Ruddy Darter.
All the time I was on the lookout for the spider. Nigel has managed several really good shots this year of this rarity. I've totally flopped until now so it was quite a relief to spot one of these enormous creatures in the reeds over the other side of the ditch. There it stayed long enough for a few pictures before it casually walked back into the reeds and out of view. This species is only found at 3 localities in Britain naturally, although it has been introduced to a couple more apparently, so it is extremely rare.
Fen Raft Spider.
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