In the last couple of weeks the macro season has got into full swing with damselflies in particular now out in good numbers. I have managed to find some Damselflies that posed well enough for close ups, including this large red damselfly. Including a photo showing the underside of the thorax. I also got this…
Yesterday I was walking around Wat Tyler Country Park, trying out my new macro rig, with the windy conditions causing some frustration. Wandering into a more sheltered area I saw the delicate fluttering of a large insect, and unlike those on previous days it was not a cranefly, but a lovely red damselfly. I got…
I’ve been seeing large red damselflies for a couple of weeks, but none until today have settled anywhere I could get a half decent photo. This male I found today in Wat Tyler CP sat nicely on a leaf and let me photograph him. There was however a bit of a light breeze and it…
Species number 3 in my series to celebrate National dragonfly week. Today the Large red damselfly, Pyrrhosoma nymphula. This species is well known to UK odonata fans as the first species to emerge, usually with the first sightings in April, but in exceptionally mild springs they can emerge in March, as some did in 2012.…
On couple of days ago, on a warm morning (before the horrible bitter cold wind returned), one patch of nettles near a large pond was teeming with invertebrates. Among them was my first Azure damselfly of the year. I also saw a number of red damselflies there and throughout the day, with 12+ seen around…
I had a nice half hour or so of macro photography this afternoon, despite the blowing gale and sporadic sun! In a relatively sheltered spot I spotted a male orange tip patrolling, feeding and sun bathing around the garlic mustard. A bit further along I spotted 4 large red damselflies as I walked along the…
I had a bit of a rotten start to today when my key broke in the lock to one of my survey areas. Then I couldn’t find anything the rest of the morning and the cuckoo continued to evade me all day. But the day to a turn for the better when my first Odonata…
Back at the start of September I was walking around KWT Oare Marshes Nature Reserve in North Kent with a couple of friends when one spotted this creature running across the path. I recognised it imediately as one of the velvet ants, the female of a type of solitary wingless wasp. I had always wanted…
Some more photos from that day back in June when I got the marbled white butterfly. I got another butterfly species, a large small skipper. There was plenty of goats rue in flower. I spotted this wood mouse. And a male scarce emerald damselfly.
Following on from my last post, at Hadleigh Country Park there were were also plenty of butterflies. This Essex skipper was a nice find. It looks like a small skipper but the underside of the antennae are black. There were also some marbled white butterflies about. This one was looking a little tatty I tried…