Sunday 2 April 2017

The Large Red Damselfly Emerges

With temperatures in the past week reaching up to nearly 20 degrees celsius in east Kent, it was no surprise that a few Large Red Damselfly nymphs looked likely to emerge. A check of the pond most evenings have seen a number starting to take in air and with warm temperatures again today, I spent a good part of the day looking over the pond for any nymphs to emerge and my luck was rewarded when at 11.30am, a Large Red Damselfly nymph made its way up one of the stems I had provided. I already had the camera and tripod ready and settled down into a comfortable position to hopefully capture the whole emergence. The nymph took some time to settle down which gave me the opportunity to practice a few shots and move my pot of reeds nicely into the background to provide a natural colour to the shots. I then spent the best part of 4 hours taking a number of photos of the emergence and also making time to sit back and marvel at this miracle of nature in action. I had the odd break at times for drinks and lunch and returned every now and then to take a few more photos. I ended up with a very pleasing set of photos to start the season off and hopefully will have a few more opportunities with this species, ideally one with its caudal lamellae still attached would be nice. With a few weeks off work now and fingers crossed for some nice weather, hopefully the camera will be kept busy as the 2017 season gets under way. 













Emerging Large Red Damselfly (female)

20 comments:

  1. The A - Z of a Large Red Damsel emergence, very nice Marc, I like these a lot :-) Shame you are off work for a while........that's put the mockers on this fine weather :-) :-)

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  2. Thanks Warren. A real pleasure being able to witness and photograph a sight that many will never see. Hopefully the weather will be alright and we will get a good delivery of migrants and a few damselflies around.

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  3. Isn't it a beautiful damselfly, and what about the stages, genius.

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    1. Many thanks Bob. A pleasure to photograph and even better to bring these shots so that others can see the various stages of the emergence.

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  4. The magic of nature literally unfolding.

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    1. Certainly is Bob. After a couple of years in the water, she has made it. Good luck girl.

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  5. stunningly beautiful. What was the elapsed time?

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    1. The emergence took about 2 hours from start to finish. A further hour or so to get some colour into the body. Time well spent I think.

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  6. You're really starting the season in style, Marc. A wonderful set of images! I wish you all the best for your time off work, and will keep my fingers crossed for good weather, although Countryfile tonight suggested a return to cold next week, with the possibility of snow :-(

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    1. Many thanks Richard. Hopefully there will be some sunny weather for me to enjoy and a bit of odonata to keep me busy. Pleased with my start though and some nice photos to open the account with.

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  7. Unbelievable set of images Marc,what a wonderful experience to be able to record the emergence as it unfolds.
    Bravo,well done.
    John.

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    1. Many thanks John. It's amazing to watch the process in action. I don't think I will ever tire of watching this.

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  8. No matter how many times i see the emergence of Odonata it blows me away !!! I'm sure it does you Marc. Superb capture, as always. A great start to the new season.

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    1. Many thanks Johnny. Yes like you, I find this totally awesome to witness. Every emergence is different and it's nice to be able to bring the shots to life for others to appreciate.

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    1. Many thanks Richard for your kind words, appreciated.

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  10. Stunning set and dedication Marc.

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    1. Many thanks Mike. Considering the hours I'm putting in watching, it's nice to get some rewards.

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  11. Excellent set of photos, Marc. Well done,

    John

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    1. Great to hear from you John and I hope you are well. Many thanks for your kind words. Much appreciated.

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