Plenty Still to See!

Having not been out for a while now and going back to work last week, I was eager to get out this morning and the weather also looked quite promising for a nice sunrise and day. The first part of the day did not work out as intended as I woke up too late for the sunrise which was a little disappointing as it looked quite good when I eventually left home. I soon arrived at a site near Reculver where I spent a couple of hours walking around to see what dragonflies were still on the wing. Initially the wind was quite breezy but it soon started to drop out which made the morning quite nice in the sunshine. Walking up to the pools, I soon saw the first of c5 Migrant Hawker flying up and down the rides and walking through the grasses revealed quite a few Common Blue Damselfly at rest. As I continued on, I come across a male Emperor Dragonfly at rest, one of 5 seen today but unlike many of this species I have seen this year, this individual spent a good twenty minutes at rest where I was able to move around it at close quarters and take a number of pleasing photos with the Sigma 150mm macro lens. Although sunny and warm enough to fly, he looked a bit battle worn but it was just nice to spent time studying details I have never seen before at this distance and appreciate the moment. After having his photo taken many times, he seemed content that I had got my shots and slowly flew off ready for his day of action. With this I moved on where along with a few Ruddy Darter, there were good numbers of Common Darter on the wing. I spent the last hour checking a sheltered sunny ride with high hedges where I was pleased to find 7 Willow Emerald Damselfly with a few posing beautifully in the sunshine, and with the bonus of some nice clear backgrounds as well. I shall post these later in the week all being well. A lovely morning spent in the sunshine and nice to see a good number of dragonflies still flying and as always, a bonus to get the camera out of the bag and give it some action!

Emperor Dragonfly (male)