Moving on all of about 7 miles from my previous location of Fen Bog, I now want to explore with you the beautiful and picturesque location that is Goathland. More famous for its T.V. appearances than anything else you wouldn't necessarily expect it to be a wildlife haven. But that would be where most people are wrong. If you meander from the main path from the town to the railway station, a steam railway of course the same that runs through Fen Bog, and you ascend ever so slightly onto the Moors which surround the village you encounter an entirely new world rarely approached by humans other than farmers. This "new world" is more often than not admired from cars parked up in lay-bys, or from the train which thunders through the valley bottom but really you need to be hands on about this tactile and interactive environment.
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| Water on the Moors |
When it comes to the Moors as an environment, it is like nothing else you have ever encountered. It is unique in every sense of the word and you need to treat it like it is, move through it with stealth and delicacy and most importantly tune your eyes and ears into every movement around you, every ripple of water, every gentle sway of every piece of heather. The Moors, for me personally, is so versatile. Its vast variation in terms of habitat makes it an ideal place for all manner of creature, large or small, mammal or insect. Obviously as I am exploring the "wilderness" at my feet in this series of blogs I shall be focusing on the smaller encounters, which are nevertheless, beautiful. The are I have chosen to focus on in particular is a microcosm of the wonder of the Moors as a whole. A small pond area, with crags on the hill side, water, reeds, heather, ferns, shrubs, grazed land. Everything. So now I will guide you through this magical environment, one I grew up in, step by step.
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| Emerald Damsel Fly |
To begin with therefore, a time old favourite of both my father and myself, the Damsel fly. A creature so stunning in vibrant colour you would think that it was hard to miss it however it's tiny frame and delicate flight make it quite the evasive creature, my best advice is pick one spot, sit, and wait. Sometimes once discovered these beautiful creatures as so docile that you can pick them right up and get them on your fingertips, other times they spread their beautiful bubbled wings and drift away on the next breeze. The most likely variety, because there are, despite first appearances, many different species of this animal, is the common blue. One of my favourite insects ever I think, I always grew up assuming they were the same as Dragon Fly's, a common misconception between the two species. However in the last two years my father and myself have been on a wonderful learning curve using my favourite resource of books (I am an English student after all) and a process of self discovery. Going out there, photographing everything we see, then hours of deliberating what exactly we have seen later when it's too cold, dark or damp to stay out any more.
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| Note the stunning metallic gleam |
So why do I love this insect more than any other? I really couldn't tell you apart from I think it is beautiful, a truly magnificent feat of nature to condense such intricate perfection into one tiny little body. Far more stunning than a butterfly, especially the glowing eyes which gleam like freshly dropped dew on a morning leaf, or the wings so thin and flimsy they look like a sweet wrapper yet durable enough to contend with the harshness of the Moors which it has chosen as its home. The body of this wonder should not be overlooked either in my opinion, gleaming like a fresh cut gem or liquid metal, compare this to the matte tones of say a common skipper and you can see immediately why this, the Damsel fly, may appeal to the more extravagant amongst us.
It is worth remembering at this point the environment I was exploring when I took these photographs as this can greatly affect they types of insects which you are likely to encounter on your travels. This area, marshy, boggy, damp and full of reeds is the ideal habitat for insects from the Dragon Fly family such as the Damsel Fly, Crane Fly and Scorpion Fly. Therefore whilst these animals are not usually at foot level whilst active, when resting they are at floor level and before they emerge from the water they are in fact under floor level.
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| Common Darter |
To continue on then from my almost random interlude about habitat, although it is something of paramount importance in this bug hunting business, I will now examine the discovery of the Dragon Fly and why I personally think that it carries with it a sort of unexpected vulgarity which the childish descriptions do not carry with them. Like with the Damsel Flies it is not until investigating the Dragon Fly a bit further that you begin to discover it in fact is sub divided into many differing species. On the left you can see a Common Darter which, as the name would suggest, is pretty common. However the size of the thing amazed me at first, from a glance, flying rapidly and casting a shadow on the floor you would be forgiven for mistaking it with a small bird! They are in fact large, bulky animals, and this is where the vulgarity begins. Aside from this they make a raucous noise, far more than a gentle hum or buzz as most other winged creatures make, these large bodies tend to thump as their wings beat the air, leaving a trail of noise just like a jet as it glides through the sky.
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| A settled Darter |
No where near as dainty as their cousins the Damsel Flies, these creatures are far more durable in terms of weather - we found some on a summit peak near Ben Nevis over the summer! But be under no illusions, their size does not increase your chances of actually finding and photographing one of these creatures. Faster than a bullet and about the same shape as well you will need a keen pair of eyes and a lot of patience to first of all locate one and then allow it to settle before you can even chance the approach! From a distance the Common Darter is, like cartoons depict, a thing of beauty and wonder, almost cute, but approach it and descend to its macro world and you will quickly discover it boasts a slimy exterior, not gleaming and gem-like like a Damsel Fly, but instead of a much less attractive colouration and far uglier and more prominent features such as bulging eyes. However its wings are indeed things of beauty and to behold their delicacy is truly a treat for any eyes, young or old, and you can suddenly see why they inspire positivity despite their mostly negative attributes.
So in this brief guide to the wonders that are to be found around one small tarn near Goathland on the Moors, you can hopefully again see reinforced the diversity of animals available to be seen and learned about and appreciated in such a tiny area, and begin to understand that if you move your feet and look further afield more wonders await you...
