Windy Westbere!

I spent the morning indoors waiting for the rain to pass over which around lunchtime it did so. The forecast promised a sunny afternoon but windy so with this in mind, I made a visit out to a small lake south of Reculver to check the shallows. I spent about half an hour with the net and found quite a bit, 7 Emperor Dragonfly nymphs which are fully grown, 5 probable Four spotted Chaser nymphs, 2 Darter nymphs, Common or Ruddy I suspect and a few damselfly larvae. It won't be long now until the Emperor Dragonfly nymphs emerge and with this in mind, I returned home and spent some time positioning a few sticks and reeds in strategic places in the pond and in the next few nights, will spent some time with the camera testing out the flash and seeing what the shots may come out like. I think this will be the ultimate shot for me this year, to capture the mighty Emperor Dragonfly emerging in the darkness. I have read that not long after sunset, they begin to emerge from mid May so it won't be long now. With the sun finally shining well enough and the temperature warming up a little, I had a drive over to Westbere Lakes to once again go in search of the Hairy Dragonfly. On arrival it was very windy and despite an hour or so searching around the sheltered areas, I failed to see the target species again. Compensation though was made up with good numbers of Variable Damselflies with many now starting to mature up nicely. I spent a few minutes taking a few shots so the session was not wasted. Other bits seen included my first Blue tailed Damselfly of the year and back at the entrance, 1 Large Red Damselfly was noted but didn't hang around for a photo. No visit tomorrow as family are over but hopefully after work on Tuesday, I can get out for a look at Westbere. The forecast looks quite sunny for then but with winds foecast near 50mph, I may struggle to find something!

Variable Damselfly (male)