Migrant hawker dragonfly in flight
A few photos from 2012 of a Migrant hawker dragonfly in flight
Ruddy darter tandem pair in flight
LAst autumn I managed to get some shots of tandem pair ruddy darters in flight as they were laying eggs. None came out perfect in focus and/or sharpness but they are OK viewed at for web size. I also got a standard perched male shot.
Egg laying emperor dragonfly
Back in June I came across this emperor dragonfly egg laying in the RSPB’s pond at Wat Tyler Country Parks.
Beautiful Demoiselle nymph from Bellever, Dartmoor
Another thing that turned up in my river sampling was this beautiful demoiselle nymph. I placed it in my photographic aquarium and managed some close ups of this alien look creature. In this photo you can see the large ‘horn’ behind the eye which distinguishes it from the related banded demoiselle. I found it among…
Migrant hawkers in flight at Rainham Marshes
On Sunday I popped into RSPB Rainham Marshes in hope of finding some water voles. I had no luck but did find a couple of cooperative migrant hawker males. Sadly the light was not so cooperative m, with the sun increasingly dissappearing behind clouds, and doing so as the dragonfly hovering in front of me!…
Migrant hawker, Black necked grebe and clouded yellow at RSPB Dungeness
While at Dungeness on Saturday I came across a migrant hawker that had settles on a gorse bush. It stayed still while I got some close ups too. I also came across this clouded yellow butterfly. A kestrel posed, though a little distantly. A keeled skimmer sat on the path. A black necked grebe (as…
Black darter dragonflies, emerald damselflies and other odonata at Thursley Common
Yesterday I had my annual trip to Thursley Common, the most species rich site for dragonflies and damselflies in the country. I managed some nice photos, including these black darters (my first of the year) which posed for some shots. The black mature males were flighty and I only managed this shot of one. Some…
National Dragonfly Week 2013: Emperor Dragonfly
As its the British Dragonfly Society’s National Dragonfly week I thought I’d celebrate by posting about a species a day of these marvellous insects. First Up the Magnificent Emperor Dragonfly Anax imperator Its our largest dragonfly growing to 78mm in length and with a wingspan of 106mm, though some argued the female golden ringed is…
Video of Emperor dragonfly mobbed by azure damselfly
A couple of weeks ago I was watching a female emperor dragonfly ovipositing (egg laying) in a pond, when an azure damselfly started mobbing it. I took some video of it happening and 2 other instances and have put them together in the video below.
Emperor dragonfly in flight at Bedfords Park
Today I popped into Bedfords Park for a break and to have look for red eyed damselflies. But what caught my attention were the many emperor dragonflies spread along the lake margin, each patrolling their territories and scrapping with each other where they crossed paths. Occasionally one would hover, and this one did at a…