The emperor and the empress

Best viewed large! A bit of private behaviour in a public place. I spotted these lovers when with Froghollow in the Wetlands Centre. I was fortunate that the male took a rest from his mating flight (with the empress still attached) and I could snap the couple for a blip. If you're wondering what on earth they're up to, here's a bit of knowledge gleaned from the web:

"The male flies out and grasps a female's head with his clasping genitalia at the abdominal tip. Each species' male genitalia fit the head of only the female of that species. Once the male has grasped a female, they fly in tandem for some time. The male usually flies while the female rests. Rarely, the female will fly while the male rests. It is unusual for both odonates to be flying at the same time. After some time, the female reaches the tip of her abdomen below her body and grasps the male's second segment to pick up the spermatophores he placed there. During this process, called the wheel formation, the two dragonflies take on a circular or heart-shaped pose. The two may stay in the wheel formation for upwards of fifteen minutes before the female releases and returns to the tandem position."

The sun shone all afternoon and we had a wonderful walk through glorious wildflowers and stately swan families, while being buzzed by dragonflies and bees. We, of course, had tea and cake. It was so lovely to catch up and I'm already looking forward to another meeting in November.

My favourite sound of the day came from the Chiloe wigeon who were very much in good tune - a joyful sound indeed and so sweet!